Curated Commons // Edition 35
Thank you for subscribing and welcome to the Thirty-Fifth edition of Curated Commons. Let’s dive right in.
The case for, and against, Bitcoin
A good collection of points from Balaji S and a counter from Peter Thiel’s former portfolio manager.
It’s an insecure world
The Irish health service was taken down by a ransomware attack - https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/14/irish-health-service-hit-by-sophisticated-ransomware-attack.html
A US pipeline was taken down by a ransomware attack. Maybe because some employee wanted to watch CSI:Miami?
And while at it, Cisco’s Talos unit warns of an aggressive Pakistani hacking group likely backed by the State deploying new tools to target Indian defense targets.
Also, don’t be this person at the place you work/study, or even on your own computer!
Self-driving cars do funny things…when YouTubers and traffic cones are around
Our algorithmic identities are here
Today in shit you can’t make up.
A young female Japanese biker named Soya no Sohi attracted thousands of followers on Twitter over the past year by posting selfies on her travels through northern Japan. It turns out she was actually a 50-year-old dad using FaceApp on his iPhone.
And then there’s this
The most curious subplot in the news right now is the admission, at the most senior levels of the United States government, that the military services have collected visuals, data and testimonials recording flying objects they cannot explain; that they are investigating these phenomena seriously; and that they will, in the coming months, report at least some of their findings to the public. It feels, at times, like the beginning of a film where everyone is going about their lives, even as the earthshaking events unfurl on a silenced television in the background.
There’s uncertainty on Heisenberg
Apparently from a small college in interior Andhra Pradesh in South India. Can’t make this up!
Neural implants for helping the paralyzed write
This is a fascinating development. A paralyzed individual was able to hit 90 characters per minute with a 99% accuracy…by thinking what they want to write! Very early days in the development, but still, whoa!
Fab science experiment…of the century
One of the world’s longest-running experiments sends up sprouts…After lying dormant in buried bottles for 142 years, 11 seeds germinated on the Michigan State University campus after scientists planted them
Cars that spy
Soon, if not already, everything with a chip will collect ‘data’ because they can!
More interesting links:
18 prominent biologists have asked for an investigation into the origins of the SARS-COV-2 virus - https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/05/13/1024866/investigation-covid-origin-wuhan-china-lab-biologists-letter/
Telling rant on the US healthcare system, from the perspective of expensive prescription apps - https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/welcome-to-the-terrible-world-of
Journalist writes big, long story on why there’s a battle between tech & journalism- https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/05/tech-vs-journalism-silicon-valley-reporters.html
“The Cicadas Are Coming. Let’s Eat Them!” - https://www.wired.com/story/eating-cicadas-brood-x/
“South Korean couples are wooing each other with Tesla stocks — not flowers — while dating” - https://www.insider.com/young-korean-couples-are-gifting-tesla-stocks-not-flowers-2021-5
Researchers in Singapore have found a way of controlling plants using signals from a smartphone. Yeah!
Can you trade your way up from a hairpin to a house? - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/may/12/demi-skipper-bobby-pin-trade-house
Do you want to buy a bottle of wine that spent 14 months aging aboard the International Space Station? - https://www.retaildive.com/news/retail-therapy-the-million-dollar-wine-thats-out-of-this-world/599790/
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