Link post
The Roots of Progress Blog-Building Intensive endorsed by @sapinker, @vpostrel, @johanknorberg, @CharlesCMann, @antonhowes, @s8mb, @kevin2kelly, @Marian_L_Tupy, @atrembath, @jposhaughnessy, @eric_is_weird, @CJHandmer, @srajagopalan, @s_r_constantin, @danielgolliher, @krishnanrohit, and @krisgulati
Progress studies meetup in Miami on Saturday, July 22
Progress studies reading group (via @jayendra_ram)
Hollywood for Intellectuals: Writing Big Ideas for the Big (and Small) Screen
University of Austin’s summer high school program (via @mbateman, who will be teaching there)
Sid Sijbrandij wants a postdoc to help him learn about incentive structures
Loyal (longevity startup) starting to look for a board member
Elon Musk announces x.ai (via @pitdesi)
Claude 2 improves performance in coding, math and reasoning (via @AnthropicAI)
Major new AI alignment effort from OpenAI (via @janleike)
Fundraiser for an asylum-seeker who left Russia rather than fight Ukraine (organized by @Marian_L_Tupy)
Very good Kevin Esvelt talk on securing DNA synthesis against misuse
Panel discussion on fundamental research featuring me and others (via @PrimeMoversLab, recorded last October but just published)
Nick Touran (@whatisnuclear) has been scanning old film of nuclear reactors: here’s one about a reactor that powered a military radar station and one about a prototype nuclear cargo ship
A “protein printer” could “change biology as much as printers changed the news.” Related, “DNA printers are on the cusp of a big upgrade”
“The power to maintain is the power to improve.” Stewart Brand on auto maintenance
The prospects of molecular manufacturing (via @annasofialesiv)
Cleaning wool in classical times (via @NadyaWilliams81)
Brian Potter tells the story of titanium
Moralizing about consumption vs. economic reality (via @atrembath)
The Engineering and Technology History Wiki (via @Ben_Reinhardt)
Who have been the best research and development leaders in industry history?
What is the best writing about positive AI futures?
Which companies have incredibly thorough, detailed books written about them?
Foundational texts for a course on economic growth? (And some actual examples)
What happened to public trust in government in 1964?
“A goddess enthroned on a car”: automobiles represented empowerment for women
A Ford factory as “a daring expression of the human spirit”
We used to terraform
The importance of statistics in the spread of sanitation and hygiene practices
Deirdre McCloskey on the British Empire
Wisdom from James Watt Jr.
Bones evolved via biochemical recycling
The bill creating Social Security was only 37 pages long
Many people upset about this weed zapper, but the alternative is spraying poison
Gardens in late-19th c. Paris produced crops using manure from city horses
Rather than “work” vs. “post-work”, the reality is a continuous, gradual change
A new technology that could reduce costs of whole-brain connectomics by 1000x
Portable MRIs are a thing now
Academics once saw their work as in service to engineers/industry
Project idea: a series of studies of how different technologies got cheaper
“You cannot separate the ability to make a decision from the ability to make a wrong decision”
Safety is only one reason to want self-driving cars, and not necessarily the top one
Glenn Seaborg, who discovered plutonium and several other elements. See also my essay on nuclides
Richard Ngo is “optimistic about almost all aspects of AI”
Alex Tabarrok’s message to Americans: “double down on America”
We need a capitalism appreciation day (or a course)
“The Age of Invention,” a proto-steampunk card game
Treadwheel cranes were a real thing
The world has made enormous progress against diarrheal diseases
Different types of prefab building systems according to Brian Potter
Quantum computer aesthetics
Jason’s links and tweets, 2023-07-20: “A goddess enthroned on a car”
Link post
Opportunities
The Roots of Progress Blog-Building Intensive endorsed by @sapinker, @vpostrel, @johanknorberg, @CharlesCMann, @antonhowes, @s8mb, @kevin2kelly, @Marian_L_Tupy, @atrembath, @jposhaughnessy, @eric_is_weird, @CJHandmer, @srajagopalan, @s_r_constantin, @danielgolliher, @krishnanrohit, and @krisgulati
Progress studies meetup in Miami on Saturday, July 22
Progress studies reading group (via @jayendra_ram)
Hollywood for Intellectuals: Writing Big Ideas for the Big (and Small) Screen
University of Austin’s summer high school program (via @mbateman, who will be teaching there)
Sid Sijbrandij wants a postdoc to help him learn about incentive structures
Loyal (longevity startup) starting to look for a board member
Announcements
Elon Musk announces x.ai (via @pitdesi)
Claude 2 improves performance in coding, math and reasoning (via @AnthropicAI)
Major new AI alignment effort from OpenAI (via @janleike)
Fundraiser for an asylum-seeker who left Russia rather than fight Ukraine (organized by @Marian_L_Tupy)
Audio & video
Very good Kevin Esvelt talk on securing DNA synthesis against misuse
Panel discussion on fundamental research featuring me and others (via @PrimeMoversLab, recorded last October but just published)
Nick Touran (@whatisnuclear) has been scanning old film of nuclear reactors: here’s one about a reactor that powered a military radar station and one about a prototype nuclear cargo ship
Other links
A “protein printer” could “change biology as much as printers changed the news.” Related, “DNA printers are on the cusp of a big upgrade”
“The power to maintain is the power to improve.” Stewart Brand on auto maintenance
The prospects of molecular manufacturing (via @annasofialesiv)
Cleaning wool in classical times (via @NadyaWilliams81)
Brian Potter tells the story of titanium
Moralizing about consumption vs. economic reality (via @atrembath)
The Engineering and Technology History Wiki (via @Ben_Reinhardt)
Queries
Who have been the best research and development leaders in industry history?
What is the best writing about positive AI futures?
Which companies have incredibly thorough, detailed books written about them?
Foundational texts for a course on economic growth? (And some actual examples)
What happened to public trust in government in 1964?
Quotes
“A goddess enthroned on a car”: automobiles represented empowerment for women
A Ford factory as “a daring expression of the human spirit”
We used to terraform
The importance of statistics in the spread of sanitation and hygiene practices
Deirdre McCloskey on the British Empire
Wisdom from James Watt Jr.
Bones evolved via biochemical recycling
The bill creating Social Security was only 37 pages long
Other tweets
Many people upset about this weed zapper, but the alternative is spraying poison
Gardens in late-19th c. Paris produced crops using manure from city horses
Rather than “work” vs. “post-work”, the reality is a continuous, gradual change
A new technology that could reduce costs of whole-brain connectomics by 1000x
Portable MRIs are a thing now
Academics once saw their work as in service to engineers/industry
Project idea: a series of studies of how different technologies got cheaper
“You cannot separate the ability to make a decision from the ability to make a wrong decision”
Safety is only one reason to want self-driving cars, and not necessarily the top one
Glenn Seaborg, who discovered plutonium and several other elements. See also my essay on nuclides
Richard Ngo is “optimistic about almost all aspects of AI”
Alex Tabarrok’s message to Americans: “double down on America”
We need a capitalism appreciation day (or a course)
“The Age of Invention,” a proto-steampunk card game
Treadwheel cranes were a real thing
Charts
The world has made enormous progress against diarrheal diseases
Different types of prefab building systems according to Brian Potter
Beauty
Quantum computer aesthetics