Asher

“We should be afraid. Not of intelligent machines. But of machines making decisions that they do not have the intelligence to make. I am far more afraid of machine stupidity than of machine intelligence. Machine stupidity creates a tail risk. Machines can make many many good decisions and then one day fail spectacularly on a tail event that did not appear in their training data. This is the difference between specific and general intelligence.”
― Melanie Mitchell, Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans

“We drive as fast as road designs tell us to drive. The result: drivers kill four times as many pedestrians on spacious suburban residential streets than on the narrow streets of traditional neighborhoods, because those spacious roads make driving faster feel safer. And it is not collisions that kill people, but collisions at high speed.”
― Charles Montgomery, Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design

“Terrible, terrible state for a man to be in. A few things can ease The Madness—can I give you my advice?” “Please.” “Okay, first and foremost: stop wanking about her.” “How do you know I’m wanking about her?” “Just a feeling I have. But you’ve got to stop.” “Well, it’s not, like, the start of Street Fighter where you choose your fighter. It’s not like I select her as my subject. Sometimes she just pops into the room, you know? The mental room. It’s the erotic equivalent of that adrenaline jolt you feel when you realize you’re both in the same pub. Do you know what I mean?” “Yes and it’s pathetic,” he says, taking a piece of gum from the multipack in his glove compartment and shoving it in his mouth. “As long as she’s the subject of your masturbation, your body is still attached to her.” “So you’re telling me you NEVER have a nostalgiwank about your exes?” “I mean, I feel like I’ve had a wank about everything at this point,” he says. “But once a relationship is over, I don’t allow myself to think about her in that way for at least a year. It’s the only way I can move on.” “Maybe I’ll just stop wanking altogether.” “No, you mustn’t do that,” he says gravely. “Samuel Johnson said: ‘Having a penis is being imprisoned with a mad man. But you must let the mad man speak.’ ”
― Dolly Alderton, Good Material

“When you come across something that you cannot part with, think carefully about its true purpose in your life. You’ll be surprised at how many of the things you possess have already fulfilled their role. By acknowledging their contribution and letting them go with gratitude, you will be able to truly put the things you own, and your life, in order. In the end, all that will remain are the things that you really treasure. To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose.”
― Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing