Weekend Thoughts - 8.19.17

Image by neonow, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. Earlier this year I wrote about the discovery of seven Earth-sized planets that were found orbiting an ultra-cool star. At the time, three of the planets were thought to live in a habitable zone, which meant that they might have oceans of their own that could have harbored life. However, new evidence shows that the TRAPPIST-1 star-system may be too old to have life, after all. The age isn't necessarily a problem in and of itself, but it increases the chance that any habitable planets would have lost their atmospheres and water to high-energy radiation that would've pummeled them for billions of years. As I wrote back in February, the search for life outside our own solar system continues...

2. Creative people face a unique set of toxic habits that can harm their creative process. This article is a good reminder of how to deal with these habits and keep being creative!

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.

Weekend Thoughts - 8.12.17

Image by Pedro Travassos, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. Although the general consensus in the tech community supports the idea that autonomous vehicles will eventually largely replace human-operated ones, so far humans are still able to see the world better than self-driving cars. As of right now, autonomous vehicles are probably better than inexperienced, tired, drunk, visually-impaired, or elderly human drivers, but they're no match for competent and experienced drivers. A big factor in that equation is the current state of these cars' sensors, which are still quite limited. However, self-driving cars already have human-operated vehicles beat in scenarios like driving in the dark or in situations that test reaction time. Ultimately though, autonomous vehicles are coming and in my opinion they will be a significant improvement over the typical unreliable human driver.

2. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the digital rights watchdog group, has submitted a court filing arguing that federal agents at international airports should be required to obtain a warrant before demanding access to citizens' technological devices. Warrantless border searches are currently allowed under an exception to the Fourth Amendment, and they have more than doubled under the reign of Donald Trump. EFF has argued that that since devices like laptops and cell phones store highly personal information, "agents should be required to show they have probable cause to believe that the device contains evidence of a violation of the immigration or customs laws", and that border agents should not be able to examine a device's contents until after a judge has issues a warrant. In addition, the US Customs and Border Protection Agency restricted border searches to only locally-stored data back in July, but the EFF asserts that distinguishing between local data and cloud-based data isn't straightforward, and that data stored in the cloud can "appear as a seamless part of the digital device when presented at the border". For the record, I'm firmly on the side of the EFF here—I don't believe border agents have legitimate reasons to pry into our digital devices en masse, but I would support their right to do so if a judge granted search warrants on a case-by-case basis.

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.

Weekend Thoughts - 8.5.17

Image by bernissimo, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. All's not well in the world of Bitcoin. A recent community feud split the cryptocurrency in two—the original Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. At the core of the argument was the decision of how to handle the increasing amount of transactions that Bitcoin needs to handle to continue growing. Bitcoin Cash may or may not stick around for the long haul—this will be one to keep an eye on.

2. Confirmation bias is the phenomenon in which humans seek out evidence to confirm what they already believe, while ignoring information that would discredit those beliefs. As a way of countering that, this article suggests an exercise that we can all do that will have us assessing our thoughts, beliefs, and more so that we can work to become the best version of ourselves that we can possibly be. Give it a try!

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.

Weekend Thoughts - 7.29.17

Image by Greg Walters, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. Going through airport security is already annoying, and soon the TSA will separately screen all devices larger than a mobile phone for those flying within the country. The program has already been piloted at 10 airports and is now being implemented nationwide. Devices like laptops, tablets, e-readers, and handhold game consoles will fall under this category, but the TSA has not defined what "larger than a cell phone" actually means. As mobile phones increase in size, what will the TSA consider to be the upper limit on size? Although the definition is still not clearly defined, you can still expect to see this extra security theater in your local airport within the next few weeks and months.

2. Imagine Nietzsche, Epictetus, Buddha, and Schopenhauer playing a game of Sorry!, and you may arrive at the same conclusion as this comic. Remember: the roll of the dice you receive is not what's important; it's how you choose to react to it. In your own approach to life, which character do you most closely resemble?

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.

Weekend Thoughts - 7.22.17

Image by ShyViolet09, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. "The first global analysis of the production, use, and fate of all the plastics our species has ever produced" has been completed, and the results are grim indeed. Since plastic production began in the 1950s, 8.3 billion tons have been created—76% of which has already gone to waste! And unfortunately, plastic production is still growing—roughly half of the plastic ever created was produced in the last 13 years. The article argues that our civilization should refocus its efforts on creating alternative materials, methods that can convert plastics to liquid fuel, and options for responsible disposal. Changing our approach to those topics would benefit all life on Earth.

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.