Link post
Plymouth Street can help top talent get an O-1 or EB-1 visa
Econ Twitter science fiction summer book club, July 12
Olivine weathering: “Fixing global warming is a simple matter of applying energy to an unfavorable material situation.” (Related, sulfur stratospheric injection is cheap and easy for solar radiation management)
Edison as a technical entrepreneur (by @eric_is_weird)
Also: why Britain is NIMBY, how we solved acid rain, and more in the full issue
Richard Rhodes interview by Dwarkesh Patel
The birth of the electrical grid (by @_brianpotter)
Anton Howes in the Telegraph on a new Great Exhibition (based on the full essay featured in the last digest)
The Manual of Illegal Floor Plans
Neuralink receives FDA approval for a human clinical study (via @shivon)
Oklo announces two more sites for nuclear plants (via @caorilne)
Any private companies that hire metascientists to improve their internal processes?
What is the best history of the climate crisis?
Why did the open hearth process use external fuel, but Bessemer did not?
As an economy grows, do zero-sum activities occupy a larger share?
Before no-fault divorce, how widely did states differ in the “fault”?
Is there a difference between an “institute” and a “center”?
Extending the number of operations we can perform without thinking about them
What does rule of law require?
Why I am reluctant to share stories about supposed breakthroughs. E.g., did AI really discover a new antibiotic against resistant bacteria? (Domain experts: yes, but this isn’t actually interesting/important)
Allen vs. Mokyr on the limiting factor of innovation (excerpted from my recent post)
I have questions for Bret Devereaux on “Why No Roman Industrial Revolution?”
RL can’t learn long-horizon tasks with sparse rewards; LLMs can (e.g., in Minecraft)
Alarmists, accelerationists, and pragmatists on AI (see also my essay on solutionism)
The “mac” in “tarmac” comes from John L. McAdam, 1756–1836, British surveyor
We already have a word for “degrowth.” It’s called impoverishment (@paulg)
Why does it take three years to restore… a carousel?
Childhood should be serious; your life should be serious
Cyborg insects
We are not running out of resources
Jason’s links and tweets, 2023-06-01
Link post
Announcements/opportunities
Plymouth Street can help top talent get an O-1 or EB-1 visa
Econ Twitter science fiction summer book club, July 12
Works in Progress Issue 11
Olivine weathering: “Fixing global warming is a simple matter of applying energy to an unfavorable material situation.” (Related, sulfur stratospheric injection is cheap and easy for solar radiation management)
Edison as a technical entrepreneur (by @eric_is_weird)
Also: why Britain is NIMBY, how we solved acid rain, and more in the full issue
Other links
Richard Rhodes interview by Dwarkesh Patel
The birth of the electrical grid (by @_brianpotter)
Anton Howes in the Telegraph on a new Great Exhibition (based on the full essay featured in the last digest)
The Manual of Illegal Floor Plans
News
Neuralink receives FDA approval for a human clinical study (via @shivon)
Oklo announces two more sites for nuclear plants (via @caorilne)
Queries
Any private companies that hire metascientists to improve their internal processes?
What is the best history of the climate crisis?
Why did the open hearth process use external fuel, but Bessemer did not?
As an economy grows, do zero-sum activities occupy a larger share?
Before no-fault divorce, how widely did states differ in the “fault”?
Is there a difference between an “institute” and a “center”?
Quotes
Extending the number of operations we can perform without thinking about them
What does rule of law require?
Tweets
Why I am reluctant to share stories about supposed breakthroughs. E.g., did AI really discover a new antibiotic against resistant bacteria? (Domain experts: yes, but this isn’t actually interesting/important)
Allen vs. Mokyr on the limiting factor of innovation (excerpted from my recent post)
I have questions for Bret Devereaux on “Why No Roman Industrial Revolution?”
RL can’t learn long-horizon tasks with sparse rewards; LLMs can (e.g., in Minecraft)
Alarmists, accelerationists, and pragmatists on AI (see also my essay on solutionism)
The “mac” in “tarmac” comes from John L. McAdam, 1756–1836, British surveyor
We already have a word for “degrowth.” It’s called impoverishment (@paulg)
Why does it take three years to restore… a carousel?
Childhood should be serious; your life should be serious
Cyborg insects
Charts
We are not running out of resources