Alan Jacobs's Blog, page 77

Ezra Klein: “A town square controlled by one man isn’t a ...

Ezra Klein: “A town square controlled by one man isn’t a town square. It’s a storefront, an art project or possibly a game preserve.” Yep. 

Street furniture

Street furniture

NYT: “As weird as the story [Pinocchio] is, it’s been mad...

NYT: “As weird as the story [Pinocchio] is, it’s been made all the stranger by the decision to turn it into a metaphor about fascism, a conceit that is as politically incoherent as it is unfortunately timed.” A movie’s not “a metaphor about fascism” when it actually has fascists in it (including Mussolini himself). 

Leo Strauss and the Closed Society by Matthew Rose | Arti...

Leo Strauss and the Closed Society by Matthew Rose | Articles | First Things:

Strauss was not the only thinker who turned to questions of education in the darkest days of the war. A few months later, Jacques Maritain delivered the Terry Lectures at Yale, calling for the renewal of the modern university through a rediscovery of Christian philosophy. Maritain was joined by T. S. Eliot, Simone Weil, C. S. Lewis, and Dorothy Sayers, whose wartime reflections on education gave voice to religious ideas that would succeed in inspiring postwar democratic movements, if not postwar universities. 

Fascinating! Someone should write a book about all that. 

The Struggle To Be Human – by Ian Leslie – The Ruffian:Wh...

The Struggle To Be Human – by Ian Leslie – The Ruffian:

Whether it’s music, movies or politics, we seem to be creating a world more amenable to AI by erasing more and more of what makes us, us. Even if we think we have got the better of this deal up until now, we shouldn’t assume we always will. A little resistance is prudent. The bar for being human has just been raised; the first thing we should do is stop lowering it.

In my experience — and I do have some experience with thi...

In my experience — and I do have some experience with this phenomenon — when a journalistic outlet responds to criticism by saying “We stand by our story,” that always means that (a) they know they have been caught red-handed in either dishonesty or incompetence, (b) they cannot stage a proper defense of their work, but (c) they are unwilling to confess their shortcomings. 

DHH argues that European nations should pursue digital so...

DHH argues that European nations should pursue digital sovereignty. I think this is right. So far the idea of a global internet has meant primarily an American internet, and I believe (a) it would be good for other nations to declare their independence from the American tech behemoths, and (b) it would be good toe my country to be reminded that we cannot dictate technological and moral terms to the rest of the world. 

common ground and its enemies

From the More in Common report on the History Wars:

[M]ore than twice as many Democrats agree that all students should learn about how the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution advanced freedom and equality than Republicans think (92 percent versus 45 percent). Similarly, about twice as many Democrats believe students should not be made to feel guilty or personally responsible for the errors of prior generations than Republicans think (83 percent versus 43 percent). […] 

[T]he proportion of Republicans who agree Americans have a responsibility to learn from our past is three times more than Democrats perceive it to be (93 percent versus 35 percent). Similarly, more than twice as many Republicans think schools should teach our shared national history as well as the history of specific groups such as Black, Hispanic and Native Americans than Democrats think Republicans believe (72 percent versus 30 percent). 

Similarly, a while back I wrote that we don’t disagree as much about free speech as most people believe we do. 

One of my most vital convictions is summed up in this post: “Wondering how to decide what to read? Here’s a simple but effective heuristic to cut down the choices significantly. Ask yourself one question: Does this writer make bank when we hate one another? And if the answer is yes, don’t read that writer.” Americans have these wildly distorted views of people whom they perceive to be their political enemies because so many journalists and talking heads enrich themselves through stoking hatred. Those people should be utterly shunned. 

Olivia Snow:I’ve already been lectured about the dangers ...

Olivia Snow:

I’ve already been lectured about the dangers of how using [Lensa] implicates us in teaching the AI, stealing from artists, and engaging in predatory data-sharing practices. Each concern is legitimate, but less discussed are the more sinister violations inherent in the app, namely the algorithmic tendency to sexualize subjects to a degree that is not only uncomfortable but also potentially dangerous. 

Who could have known? 

imagined railways

Matt Yglesias thinks that Amtrak should focus all of its efforts on bringing high-speed rail to the Northeast Corridor, because of course he does. But the distances between those cities are sufficiently small that the speeds don’t matter as much. What this country really needs is high-speed rail connecting more widely-spaced cities. Consider: Houston Austin El Paso Albuquerque Phoenix Los Angeles. Or, even more plausibly: San Antonio Austin (Waco?) Dallas Oklahoma City Kansas City Des Moines Chicago. I don’t think I’m alone in seeing high-speed connections among these cities as dramatically preferable to air travel.