Saving Diversity on Kuro5hin: The Dangers of Careless Voting. It seems that there is a widespread agreement that if you do not care about a story, you should vote it down (in other words, -1). There are several difficulties with this view, and if it remains fashionable, it can have seriously bad effects on the site. [...]
I don't want K5 to be nice and easy; I want it to be bad and challenging. We need to keep the alternatives alive. Otherwise our ability to choose what we read will be limited in the future, because those that think different will have already left the site. We will not have more interesting articles by voting down the uninteresting ones; indeed, we can have interesting articles only by creating a friendly environment that encourages every kind of intellectual contribution. Please use -1 responsibly, and always encourage serious effort.
The author makes a good point, and argues convincingly. This is the basic tradeoff in participating in any collective publication (journalistic, scientific or artistic): to some extent you have to please the group in exchange for increased visibility. If the majority of the group does not value diversity, the selection will get homogenized to some extent. So far K5 is probably the most open-minded non gullible community I have ever seen, in any category. The range of topics and views there is impressive.
Das Glasperlenspiel. Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962) wrote Das Glasperlenspiel, (The Glass Bead Game), during the years 1932 - 1943. It was published in 1943 by Fretz & Wasmuth, Zurich, after being rejected by the Nazis. In 1946 Hesse won the Nobel Prize in Literature 'for his inspired writings which, while growing in boldness and penetration, exemplify the classical humaitarian ideals and high qualities of style.' Das Glasperlenspiel is regarded as his masterpiece. [kuro5hin.org]
I'm happy this came up - I had been meaning to write a story about The Glass Bead Game for some time. There's a direct connection between the driving idea in this book and my work on overcoming language barriers between disciplines. Read my comment on the story at k5 for more details.
Matt's Particle Physics Column - Special Edition - commemorating the life and work of Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac. The occasion is the centenary of Dirac's birth, which happened on August 8. This short special edition will outline Dirac's contributions to modern physics, and relay a few famous stories about Dirac, to illuminate his unique personality. [kuro5hin.org]
AIWiki is an AcademicWiki devoted to the whole field of Artificial Intelligence in its broadest sense. It is hosted at the [AI Lab Zurich] but is a free and open project. Everyone is welcome to contribute. [Meatball Wiki]
One more academic wiki. I shall put up a list. Maybe the time is also ripe for setting up a bus tour between those?
New in hardcover, We've Got Blog, a collection of famous essays about weblogs, chiefly by weblog writers. From Cameron Barrett to Derek Powazek, from the Kaycee Nicole FAQ to the Blogma 2001 diatribe, this slender volume collects a variety of key documents about the early history of weblogs.
If you study weblogs, you read most of these essays when they first appeared on the Web. Still, a nicely bound collection is a pleasant reference tool. [Mark Bernstein]
Many (and there are many) people who are now getting interested in weblogs missed those the first time around. It would be nice to have a list of pointers to the online version of those essays, wouldn't it?
Roland has a great overview of some major advances in making quantum computers using today's fab techniques. So, if we build it, what can we do with it outside of decryption? [John Robb's Radio Weblog]
Applications of quantum information theory are by no means limited to computation; several communication tasks can also be improved. See this article for a sample of other uses of quantum goodness.
In her story for the New York Times, Sara Robinson reports that the discoverers sent out their preprint by email last Suday. On Monday morning, Carl Pomerance of Bell Labs received, read it, was excited by it, and held an informal seminar on it for Bell colleagues on Monday afternoon. He credits the algorithm's beauty and simplicity for his ability to give a seminar on it so soon after its release. Clearly that was part of it. But part of the credit must also go to free online dissemination... [FOS News] What do you think? [] links to this post 5:43:29 AM
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Sebastien Paquet. Last update:
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