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Jay Rosen posted a message on Twitter

“@matthewburton What can be done about http://is.gd/2eaG ? There's no plan B. The press has no ideas for covering asymmetrical party behavior”

8 hours ago - Link

j1m liked this

Chris White posted a message

“Twitter is bothering me. I'd rather have discussions I can follow.”

Wednesday at 9:12 pm - Link

j1m liked this

MG Siegler shared an item on Google Reader

Are You Experienced? Palin and Obama. A Comparison.

Wednesday at 7:28 pm - Link

j1m, Atul Arora and Paul Buchheit liked this

this isn't a debate, since one is running for the Presidency, and one is not... McCain may be old, but he isn't *dying*. - Jeremy Toeman

There's about a 1 in 3 chance that he won't make it through 8 more years - Jason Carreira

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@jason, there's a 1 in 3 chance WE won't make it through 8 more years. - jeneane is in the house

@Jason please link to your evidence... - Jeremy Toeman

@jeremy - true, but she obviously had no problem comparing herself to him in that regard tonight. - MG Siegler

Look at life expectancy figures. That doesn't even include controlling for the cancer, etc. He's not exactly the healthiest. - Jason Carreira

average life expectancy is 78 (he's 72 - hardly a 1/3 chance). dont forget, however that life expectancy is not the same as longevity, which isn't reported but is always higher... - Jeremy Toeman

It doesn't matter how old or young he is ... if elected there is a chance, no matter how small, that something could happen as soon as this January and she would suddenly be President. It's a fair point to consider in any circumstance. - M. Donaldson

Jay Rosen posted a message on Twitter

“#rnc08 Howard Kurtz's column on the McCain camp's "war against the press" http://is.gd/2aFk fits well with my analysis in: http://is.gd/2a94”

Wednesday at 6:06 am - Link

j1m liked this

Kevin Fox posted a link

YouTube - Is McCain Palin's Bitch?

Tuesday at 5:08 pm - via Bookmarklet - Link

Kelly Norris, Anne Bouey, j1m, Daisy and 4 other people liked this

Dugg for the joke about the nut. - Josh Lowensohn

lol (literally!) - j1m

Jay Rosen posted a message on Twitter

“Mark Halperin's 10 unanswered questions about Palin shows where the press corps is at: http://is.gd/27Od The one I'm watching is 5.) You?”

Monday at 6:28 pm - Link

j1m, Bora Zivkovic and tom matrullo liked this

Paul Buchheit posted a link

Obama Explains His Choice, Reacts To Palin, Tells 60 Minutes Biden "Can Step In And Become President," Calls McCain's VP Pick An "Up-And-Coming Public Servant" -...

Monday at 5:21 pm - via Bookmarklet - Link

Sudhakar Chandra, Shakeel Mahate, Dan Hsiao, MG Siegler and 13 other people liked this

Go get them Obama. "An up and coming Public Servant". - Russellreno

"The Republicans don't govern very well. But, they know how to campaign. " - Clare Dibble

A nice, subtle dig by Obama. Impressive. - Jamelle

Paul Buchheit posted a link

George Lakoff: The Palin Choice and the Reality of the Political Mind

Monday at 4:14 pm - via Bookmarklet - Link

MG Siegler and j1m liked this

"But election campaigns are primarily about the realities of voters' minds, which depend on how the candidates and the external realities are cognitively framed. They can be framed honestly or deceptively, effectively or clumsily. And they are always framed from the perspective of a worldview. The Obama campaign has learned this. The Republicans have long known it, and the choice of Sarah Palin as their vice presidential candidate reflects their expert understanding of the political mind and political marketing. Democrats who simply belittle the Palin choice are courting disaster. It must be taken with the utmost seriousness." - Paul Buchheit via Bookmarklet

Michael Nielsen bookmarked a page on delicious

William James - The PhD Octopus

Monday at 1:22 pm - Link

Björn Brembs, Rob Schonberger, Sally Church, Jere and 3 other people liked this

"America is thus a nation rapidly drifting towards a state of things in which no man of science or letters will be accounted respectable unless some kind of badge or diploma is stamped upon him, and in which bare personality will be a mark of outcast estate. It seems to me high time to rouse ourselves to consciousness, and to cast a critical eye upon this decidedly grotesque tendency. Other nations suffer terribly from the Mandarin disease. Are we doomed to suffer like the rest? " - Michael Nielsen

Plus ça change... - Dorothea Salo

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Didn't exactly turn out the way James wanted... - Michael Nielsen

When the saxophone professor I studied with at Illinois State went on sabbatical, he tried to tap me to take over his jazz ensemble, but the higher-ups nixed it for my lack of a degree. Then as now, depending on where one stands, that's either a confirmation that a degree is a necessity, or a confirmation that it's ... not. Me, I ended up quitting school so I could read books, and am still and always grateful to the Milner Library staff for allowing me to retain full checkout privileges as a non-student. - Mark Stiarwalt

any idea what "Mandarin disease" refers to exactly? - bob

Coming as it does from the WSJ, here in our "increasingly class-riven America," make what you will of this, but still, good points are made: "For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time" http://online.wsj.com/article/... - Mark Stiarwalt

It's a rather racist term meaning roughly "stuffed shirt" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...) - Dorothea Salo

Ah, it's Charles Murray, the Bell Curve guy. Shoulda known. Still, though: "First, we will set up a single goal to represent educational success, which will take four years to achieve no matter what is being taught. We will attach an economic reward to it that seldom has anything to do with what has been learned. We will urge large numbers of people who do not possess adequate ability to try to achieve the goal, wait until they have spent a lot of time and money, and then deny it to them. We will stigmatize everyone who doesn't meet the goal. We will call the goal a 'BA.'" - Mark Stiarwalt via fftogo

Lot o' begged questions there, particularly around "do not possess adequate ability." Takes two to tango; why not "fail to provide an environment in which all can thrive"? - Dorothea Salo

Yeah Dorothea, that's the phrase that stopped me, too. The biggest begged question for me though is why can't people with no degree be as secure in the middle class as they were in the 60's (and to some extent even the 90's)? Were that happening again, universities would have to again make good on the notion that a degree is something more than a sort of crowbar with which to pry more money out of a corporation ... and Murray's other points would take care of themselves. - Mark Stiarwalt

Well, the place to start there might be Daniel Bell on "post-industrial society." I find Bell's prose stifling, personally, but that doesn't mean his thought isn't still influential. - Dorothea Salo

Thanks Dorothea; Bell was new to me though as you say, his ideas have percolated all over. Information Economy/Bell's P-IS vs. The-[insert Powerful Boogeyman]-noticed-that-a-too-prosperous-Middle-Class-was-troublesome-to-manage-and-so-decided-to-Do-Something-About-That. I can put on my Fox (neither News nor Hedgehog) hat and see both sides. So, though ... was James ultimately just fussing over academic infighting, or did he have a point with broader reach? Or (entirely possible) do I just have a big ol' chip on my shoulder? :-D - Mark Stiarwalt

Probably both, says the hedgefox. :) - Dorothea Salo

Reading that Murray WSJ article again, it's a pretty remarkable example of question-begging: "It's difficult to determine a prospective employee's level of competence, and a four-year bachelor's degree is an imperfect measure. Wouldn't it be nice to have a perfect test of ability in the form of a written certification exam?... Therefore, written exams are better tests of ability than college degrees, which are a waste of money." - Jim Norris

"Also, IQ tests are designed to measure intelligence. Some races score higher on IQ tests than others. Therefore, some races are more intelligent than others." Am I the only one who sees a pattern in his thinking? - Jim Norris

@Jim: Yes. That piece showed up on a new feed in my reader from polymeme.com, which bills itself as a more thoughtful Digg. Low bar, I know (the WSJ editorial guys are poison all the way around), and Murray's pattern of thinking is widely discredited among, you know, non-racists. I'm just saying that when times are hard, the bar gets lowered for higher education as well, and it's all the easier for it to slip into the self-justifying credentialism (in degree-granting as well as faculty hiring) that James so hated to see, and that makes Murray's argument so insidious. - Mark Stiarwalt via fftogo

Jim Norris - Don't be too quick to assume a trend in his thinking. The disparity is a well-documented fact. The reasons are murky, but the phenomenon is real. - Mr. Gunn

I can't believe you guys are actually discussing a Charles Murray article as if it were a valid intellectual entity. What's next? Why not see what David Duke has to say about the subject? The irony is this is all an off-topic ramble from an article by William Freaking James. - j1m

http://tinyurl.com/54sccy - Mark Stiarwalt

Sorry if I was unclear; the pattern I was seeing was Murray assuming that written tests are perfect indicators of performance and that intelligence/ability/competence is an immutable, quantifiable attribute of individuals. I agree that college is probably a waste of time for some people, I'm just suspicious that Murray has in mind a very specific group of people and is using this argument as a justification for cutting off education funding for that group. - Jim Norris

In natural sciences, there is a tendency to abandon PhD studies and go into banking or IT sectors. This is quite widespread in the US and in Europe. Those who do get their PhDs in physics and chemistry are rare to stay in science - this is due to the internal kitchen of natural sciences and their modern development. I have been myself a PhD student and have seen more than I would like to. Now, I am over and done with nuclear physics (my PhD) and am in business. I know quite a few like myself. - Hayk Hakobyan

1903?? - Rob Schonberger

Paul Buchheit posted a link

Cheney Waits Until Last Minute Again To Buy Sept. 11 Gifts | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Monday at 1:24 pm - via Bookmarklet - Link

Josh Staiger, Ňicķ, Brad Nickel, j1m and Keith Pelczarski liked this

"I looked at the calendar yesterday, and I couldn't believe my eyes—9/11 is almost here!" a rosy-cheeked Cheney said upon returning to the White House Sunday with two giant bags overflowing with gift-wrapped boxes and big red bows. "It's the most wonderful time of the year." While Cheney is known by many to be cold and taciturn for the other 11 months of the year, those close to the vice president say there is something about the 9/11 season that puts a smile on his face and a spring in his step. Each Sept. 11 morning since 2001, Cheney has come to work donning a fireman costume and handed out small, thoughtful gifts to all White House staffers. In addition, at his home on 9/11 Eve, Cheney lays out large piles of presents for his children and grandchildren underneath the colorfully lit, six-foot-tall 9/11 towers that he sets up by the fireplace." - Paul Buchheit via Bookmarklet

"No, 9/11 is about the warm feeling you get when you help an elderly woman cross the street and then whisper to her that the terrorists can strike at any moment" - what kind of a pov is this ? - Krishna Gade

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I think I got it, but anyway: wat? - Rodrigo Jaroszewski

"Although Cheney himself has never received any Sept. 11 gifts, with the exception of a pair of silk pajamas from his wife and a second term in office, he insisted that he gets more joy from giving than receiving." - Roberto Bonini

For those who don't know, The Onion is humor. - Paul Buchheit

That is brilliant! - Brad Nickel

lol@Paul's last comment. Occasionally I almost forget, it's all so well produced. Heh, in some cases, Onion news items do get eerily close to the truth though. - Slippy Lane

not just humor but satire. Biting, evil, but oh so funny satire. - Sujal Shah

Bora Zivkovic posted a link

Obama answers the 14 science questions for the ScienceDebate2008

August 30 at 2:10 pm - Link

Karen James, Ayşe E., Robert Scoble, j1m and 8 other people liked this

Huh, I just looked at the list of people supporting the science debate, and it was a HUGE impressive list, and then somewhere near the bottom it says "David Schwimmer, actor and director". Why? He's not a scientist, he just played one on TV a decade ago. - Eva

In answer to q1, Obama states: "My administration will increase funding for basic research in physical and life sciences, mathematics, and engineering at a rate that would double basic research budgets over the next decade....I will also... increase National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate fellowships" What would this mean for open science/open data efforts? If the funding climate is less competitive, would scientists be more likely to share their research? - Hilary

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more graduate fellowships = more competition for jobs. the climate is already bad enough for fresh phds, do we need more graduate students or more job openings? - Kevin Z

Also, where is the Science Advisor position from Day one? How is he going address these concerns without a National Science Advisor? - Kevin Z

You say this because you think there should be a multiple cabinet-level posts responsible for science? "Where's my biochemistry czar?!" - j1m

Well, I was reacting more to the "graduate fellowships" comment. I'm not sure what "more funding for basic research" means if not "more job openings". - ⓞnor

Most funding for basic research goes to professors, who then can choose to spend part of that money on graduate student salary....The issue created by graduate fellowships is that you can think of basic science careers as a pipeline, and if you make it easier to get jobs earlier in the pipeline that then makes it harder to get higher-level jobs, for the now-increased number of people that get through the first part. - j1m

So Obama's proposing to increase research funds and increase graduate student fellowships. What else would you want him to do? Launch new universities? Or is more funding for science just pointless? Not all graduate students go on to become professors, not all universities refuse to grow in the face of more funding, and not all federally funded research happens on university campuses. - ⓞnor

Mind you, I just got into this to try to understand your previous comment (now deleted) which I thought was in reply to Kevin Z, and then explained the pipeline issue because it seemed worth clearing up. The policy solutions are fairly simple: gov't granting agencies pay many of these salaries, and most grants are explicitly to individuals at known points in their career. As long as you increase the faculty head-count you're funding as quickly as you increase it at the level of grad student head-count you're funding, you don't make things worse. (However, someone who's actually involved in this stuff might have a more nuanced opinion.) - j1m

I agree that grad student funding rate needs to = faculty position opening rate. Is there enough industry and non-profit to pick up the PhDs when faculty (or otherwise academic) openings aren't keeping pace? I think there it is great there is more grad student funding! But, that money is misplaced if those trainees can't go on into the field after commencement. I don't know where the money should be placed. If its more research money, well someone needs to do that stuff right? 2 grads = 1 technician lol - Kevin Z

Re: Science advisor - the crucial decisions in a presidency happen or get set up in the first 60-90 days right? Why have the last several presidents entered into their presidency without a cabinet level science and tech advisor, even though many of their platforms will based entirely, or loosely, about science. Is all i'm sayin - Kevin Z

I wonder if this statement is related to the "pipeline" problem: "Progress in science and technology must be backed with programs ensuring that U.S. businesses have strong incentives to convert advances quickly into new business opportunities and jobs" Perhaps the idea is to support more grad students, in order to encourage/support growth in science industry? There's been a recent trend towards the role of universities in supporting the economy rather than providing knowledge for knowledge's sake. - Hilary

Ross Miller posted a link

Pixdaus: God Gave Us Pics!

August 20 at 9:49 am - via Bookmarklet - Link

j1m, zgjie, Phil Smirnov, Karim and 13 other people liked this

Quack Air - AJ Batac

Look! M.R. Ducks. O.I.C. M.R. Ducks. UC1? - Josh Haley

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What is this thing? - Paul Buchheit

I think it delivers babies... - Ross Miller

Is that a real plane!? And if it is would you want to fly in it? - Arthur Guy

photoshop? I don't think aerodynamically that plane can fly - JungleG

Pretty sure it's a photoshopped version of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A... - Mihai Parparita

The "Nils Holgerson Lines" seems to put it in the fictional category. - Brian Sullivan

Nice catch @Mihai - JungleG

In the film, "Fly Away Home II: Danger Zone," a family of orphaned Iraqi geese have lost their way, and it's up to an American Top Gun pilot to lead them home to Basra. Starring Tom Cruise as Lt. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell, and Anthony Edwards as the ghost of Lt. Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw. Music by Kenny Loggins. ♫ Highway... to the.. Danger Zone... ♫ - Karim

Sheila Taylor dugg a story on Digg

A scenic 3-day hike in California's Marin County

Sunday at 6:11 pm - Link

Amber, Emily Miller, Ross Miller, j1m and 3 other people liked this

Did Wine Country Trekking plan the older couple's trek? - Anne Bouey

Yes, they did! - Sheila Taylor

Congrats on the exposure! - Anne Bouey

Steven Perez shared an item on Google Reader

NYTimes plays dumb about Little Green Footballs

August 30 at 9:04 pm - Link

j1m and Bora Zivkovic liked this

Shellee shared an item on Google Reader

David Byrne and Brian Eno's kick ass new album in a million downloadable and physical formats

August 30 at 1:27 pm - Link

Alex Mendes da Costa, Paul Haahr and j1m liked this

Shellee posted a link

Mono Wheel Bikes at Beijing Olympics (and Elsewhere) : TreeHugger

August 30 at 11:37 am - via Bookmarklet - Link

Kelly Fox and j1m liked this

The official, somewhat overwrought, description of the bikes goes: ‘With a diameter of 2.008 meters, the "light wheel" gives off romantic and pure fluorescent light, resembling the structure of the Bird's Nest. When it revolves in the stadium like a beautiful light circle, it shows the collision of time and space and the human spirit of constantly surpassing oneself and never giving up.’ - Shellee via Bookmarklet

Best of YouTube: Thai Tran posted a link

YouTube - YouTube in 1985

August 26 at 12:00 pm - via Bookmarklet - Link

j1m and Cyvros/fyc liked this

bob posted a link

The Decade of the Dude : Rolling Stone

August 27 at 6:25 pm - via Bookmarklet - Link

silpol, j1m, Thomas Brox Røst, RAPatton and 18 other people liked this

"Now Bridges, a four-time Oscar nominee, is rooting through a giant stack of cardboard boxes in his garage. After a while, he clutches something and pulls it out. "Ahhh," he says. "Here it is."It's the Sweater. As in, the beige and brown zigzag cable-knit sweater that the Dude wears through much of Lebowski. For a die-hard fan, it's like seeing Harrison Ford dig out Indiana Jones' fedora." - bob via Bookmarklet

The film abides. - Abby Martin

Dear people that don't understand this movie, I don't understand you. It's so...dude. - Pete Delucchi

*goes to watch it on hulu* - BCK

Watching The Big Lebowski is like eating comfort food. - Ginger Makela

Sacca posted a link

Barack Obama | Explaining the riddle | Economist.com

August 29 at 9:44 am - via Bookmarklet - Link

Anne Bouey, j1m, Siddharth Deb, Adam Kazwell and 8 other people liked this

"Eight years ago Barack Obama was thoroughly humiliated at the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles. He had recently lost a congressional primary in Chicago, and both his political and personal bank accounts were empty. The rental car company rejected his credit card. He failed to get hold of a floor pass and ended up watching the proceedings on a big screen in a car park. He returned home with his tail between his legs before the week was out—and left the celebrations to the people who mattered, not least the Clintons, who took every chance to seize the limelight from the Gores." - Sacca via Bookmarklet

I deeply admire stories like this. I particularly like how Silicon Valley tends to embrace them more than other places. As long as your failure was not a result of moral turpitude, you can wear it like a badge of honor out here. - Sacca

He's gonna be humiliated again on November 4th. - Peter Simard

niniane posted a link

Bloomberg mistakenly publishes obit for Apple CEO Steve Jobs - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

August 29 at 4:26 pm - via Bookmarklet - Link

Anne Bouey, Jessie Norris, silpol, Michael J Cohen and 2 other people liked this

I like how they say that Bloomberg 'prides itself on its accuracy', as if most other newspapers are totally cool with it if the accidentally publish some living guy's obit. - j1m

“Steve Jobs, who helped make personal computers as easy to use as telephones, changed the way animated films are made, persuaded consumers to tune into digital music and refashioned the mobile phone, has XXXX. He was TK. Jobs XXXX, TK said XXXXX.” - Jim Norris

Jay Rosen posted a message on Twitter

“The media bias discussion is a brain-dead discussion and this article proves it. "Netroots push back against MSM 'bias'" http://is.gd/1Y4L”

August 27 at 7:22 am - Link

j1m liked this

Mihai Parparita favorited a video on YouTube

Google Reader in Plain English

August 26 at 2:24 am - Link

Michael Ryan, Chieze Okoye, Manas Tungare, j1m and 4 other people liked this

Geoff Schultz shared an item on Google Reader

Dial A Human Cuts Through Automated Phone Prompts [Phones]

August 25 at 10:01 pm - Link

Amy Tureen and j1m liked this

Ionut posted an entry on Google Operating System

Google Translate OneBox

August 25 at 5:40 am - Link

Benjamin Lee and j1m liked this

Summary: [translate <word> into <language>] - Paul Haahr

Paul Haahr posted a link

Freedom to Tinker » Blog Archive » Lenz Ruling Raises Epistemological Questions

August 24 at 11:19 am - via Bookmarklet - Link

Ruchira S. Datta and j1m liked this

"The essence of Lenz’s claim is that when Universal sent a notice claiming her use was “not authorized by… the law,” they already knew her use was actually lawful.... Universal’s view is very different from Lenz’s and, apparently, from the judge’s—they claim that the sense of “not authorized by… the law” required for a DMCA takedown notice is that a use is unauthorized in the first instance, before possible fair use defenses are considered." - Paul Haahr via Bookmarklet

Adam Kazwell shared an item on Google Reader

Red-Light Cameras

August 23 at 12:52 pm - Link

Chester, Sacca, j1m and Dustin liked this

"In fact, six U.S. cities have been found guilty of shortening the yellow light cycles below what is allowed by law on intersections equipped with cameras meant to catch red-light runners. Those local governments have completely ignored the safety benefit of increasing the yellow light time and decided to install red-light cameras, shorten the yellow light duration, and collect the profits instead." - Adam Kazwell

That seems so weird why they would ever do that. But to know a little trick/hack against these lights. If you roll through them at around 5mph, you will not get flashed with these cameras... I believe you have to be going at least 10 - 15... so keep that in mind on those dead nights at 3am when nobody else is around. - Dustin

Howard Trickey shared an item on Google Reader

An amazing economics experiment and how it got field workers to pick a lot more fruit.

August 23 at 5:21 am - Link

bob and j1m liked this

I wonder what it's like to be on the other side of this. Is the whole tournament thing kind of fun, or demeaning and humiliating? Are seasonal agricultural workers in the UK really mostly Eastern European university students? I wonder how they would transfer to, say, the US. - ⓞnor

Howard Trickey posted a link

How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity

August 23 at 4:52 am - Link

j1m liked this

I agree with Catmull's disagreement with a studio head's belief that the "central problem was not finding good people—it was finding good ideas". I find I just can't predict how well I'm going to like a movie if all I know is the "high concept". - Howard Trickey

Matthew Maroon posted an entry on Matt's Homepage

6% Ain’t Really That Much

August 21 at 8:52 pm - Link

Clare Dibble, j1m, Atul Arora and Paul Buchheit liked this

"Actually, you sort of do have infinite slices." - Clare Dibble