“The Rise of Crime-Sourcing”
The Internet is good for a lot of things… not all of them good. (Via Schneier on Security)
Archive of posts filed under the Systems category.
Includes stuff about anything where feedback causes the system to adapt, including the systems of nature, those that are man-made or cultural, and those of the human mind.
“8 Reasons Young Americans Don’t Fight Back: How the US Crushed Youth Resistance”
I’ve often wondered why things were so different in my parents’ childhood books, which I often read as a child myself. Teenagers seemed far freer to do things in those days than what I experienced in my youth, as well as far more willing. While part of that might be poetic license and wishful thinking …
“The neurobiology of politics”
Science is all about reproducible facts. Politics is all about who can fool the most people that he’ll listen to them long enough to get into office. The intersection between them is apparently as chaotic as the subject matter.
“Isaac Asimov on Security Theater”
In another case of life-imitates-science-fiction, Bruce Schneier reports that someone has discovered the perfect description of today’s “security theater” in a 1956 Asimov story. (For those of you not following along at home, “security theater” refers to all the crap the TSA is doing that is trivial to get around, but that they’re doing just …
“Creationists are infiltrating US geology circles”
Ridiculous. The belief that the Earth is less than 10,000 years old is about on par with the heliocentric geocentric model of the solar system — the evidence is pretty damning against both. However, as I suggested recently to a voluble evolution denier, they’re welcome to try. The discipline of science is self-correcting, and will …
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“A Little Deception Helps Push Athletes to the Limit”
Did you ever hear the story about the first man to run a sub-four-minute mile? As I heard it, after he did so, it suddenly seemed that everyone could do it. I’ve also heard that the first man to lift 400 pounds was tricked into it by his trainer, who told him it was only …
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“Nigerians panic over killer calls”
You know, I can understand this. If you don’t know how technology works, you’re as likely to believe impossible things as possible ones. What I can’t believe is how many people here fall for things just as ludicrous.
“Beautiful Brains”
I don’t know how long this article will stay available, but it’s worth taking the time to glance at, because it explains why teenagers’ minds work the way they do — and why, despite the more-than-occasional stupidity of their actions, the system actually makes them smarter in the end.
“UK man exterminates record for most Daleks”
Parent, be warned. This is what happens when you refuse your child something he wants: […] As of this writing, he possesses 571 of the evil alien overlords after 20 years of collecting. In a real head-scratcher, Hull isn’t a fan of the TV series that gave birth to his beloved Daleks, “Doctor Who.” According …
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“Citizens against Governments”
This one is interesting because it’s what a lot of people are thinking, in one form or another: […] Everywhere we look, citizens are chipping away at the power of government. And behind much of it is the Internet. […] The basic idea is that politicians play politics, at the expense of those they’re supposed …