Richard

> Quite a bit of the not wanting to just stop the process is due to the parties not wanting to overturn "democracy" and the outcome of the referendum. I don't think democracy requires that a question be asked once and only once. That's why we have …

Yes, I agree that it is absurd to decide matters of tremendous national import by simple majority. The UK joined the EU after 67% voted in favor in the 1975 referendum, which was a lot more convincing. Now it's true that referendum results aren't …

In the long run, it might turn out that European integration is more successful without the UK. As you said, the UK has received special treatment (waivers for Schengen, Euro, and more). If they leave now, it is doubtful that they will ever be …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xx0e8ppefQ I know most Americans are all wrapped up in Season Three of the Trump Show, but here in Europe, we have other concerns. The UK Parliament plans to vote tonight on Theresa May's unpopular Brexit proposal, …

Nice idea. Pears would be in my top ten and I see they're on your chart. The main problem with them in Spain seems to be lately they have roughly a fifteen minute window between when they're too hard and dry and when they begin to rot. Maybe some …

My entirely subjective sense is that while zealotry has increased in the past 25 years, it is not as pronounced as it was 50 years ago, and of course, that was nothing compared to 150 years ago. But OK, looking only at recent history, I don't …

The Atlantic did a good summary of the norms that He broke: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/12/15-worrying-things-about-crispr-babies-scandal/577234/ Corruption wasn't mentioned then, but it does sound like there may have been …

There's no single gene for beauty, intelligence, athletic ability, or other characteristics we value. Rather, these traits are the results of complex interactions of many genes and possibly developmental factors as well. Editing for beauty is many …

The closer one examines the data, the more misleading the administration's claims regarding terrorism turn out to …

I don't think I want to know... https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/6/18170575/kohler-konnect-bathroom-smart-gadgets-numi-intelligent-toilet-ces-2019

Unless or until there's a breakthrough in fusion reactors, nuclear power seems like a losing proposition, especially compared to wind and solar. Besides the well known accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima (plus other less severe …

I'm pretty sure the one with the Spanish greeting is A Coruña, in northern Spain. Happy new year to all.

I remember reading about that and thinking that it was immensely cool, but not especially threatening. It would not be surprising if adversarial generative networks could devise data compression algorithms that haven't occurred to humans. But in …

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2018/12/30/feature/dave-barrys-year-in-review-2018/?utm_term=.ecb7ab09c2d5 We laugh to keep from crying. Edit: Link above may be pay-walled. Alternate link here.

Thanks for the link. It sounds like my fears may be a bit premature, which is just as well. Still, I think the mere prospect gives us reason to devote more attention to the general problem of making AI more transparent and accountable.

Yes, I read it some time ago. But as disturbing as it was, at least the basic principle was comprehensible: arbitrage carried to ridiculous extremes. I don't know anything about the newer AI techniques that traders are using, but what worries me is …

I just saw yesterday's numbers and something else occurred to me that I haven't seen discussed much recently: algorithmic trading. I'm wondering whether the volatility we've been seeing recently might have more to do with trading software than …

I wonder whether it's possible for companies to pool their training data. While a few might have to give up some competitive advantage, the possible overall improvement in reliability and safety might outweigh the difference. There could be …

> Do things really trickle down from the rich? While it may sound plausible to some, the track record of trickle down economics is mostly negative. Reagan's tax cuts on the rich are sometimes given credit for ending the 1980 recession, but …

Here's a charming description of how a typo in 1955 changed Christmas forever: https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/12/24/child-calling-santa-reached-norad-instead-christmas-eve-was-never-same/?utm_term=.5019218767b7

Index funds track the performance of the market as a whole. They are generally highly automated and thus offer very low fees. Basically, you use them to invest in business as a whole and don't have to worry about the performance of specific …

Interesting result, and not entirely surprising. Of course, one does have to apply critical thinking when deciding whether to trust the fact checker. Would you trust one on InfoWars? I certainly wouldn't. Hey, here's a thought: let's make fact …

I think it would need doors (and heating) before I would want one. The Renault Twizy is getting to be fairly common in Madrid: https://photos.smugmug.com/Public/New-pics-1/i-HpdBphV/0/dc680932/XL/181103_0130-XL.jpg All electric, seats one with a …

Awesome!

> The justice department will not indict a sitting president. If they did the legal argument as to whether they can or not might last longer than his term, anyway. I agree that an indictment is unlikely, though it is only Justice Department policy …