Letture per la domenica La tecnologia che non ci ama ci ammazzerà. O ci renderà molto stupidi.
Money quote: "But we’re not entirely to blame if technology is making us less intelligent. After all, it was designed to captivate us totally. Silicon Valley’s dirtiest design feature – which is everywhere once you spot it – is the infinite scroll, likened to the “bottomless soup bowl” experiment, in which participants will keep mindlessly eating from a soup bowl if it keeps refilling. An online feed that constantly “refills” manipulates the brain’s dopaminergic reward system in a similar way. These powerful dopamine-driven loops of endless “seeking” can become addictive."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/09/brain-rot-word-of-the-year-reality-internet-cognitive-function
Money quote: "But we’re not entirely to blame if technology is making us less intelligent. After all, it was designed to captivate us totally. Silicon Valley’s dirtiest design feature – which is everywhere once you spot it – is the infinite scroll, likened to the “bottomless soup bowl” experiment, in which participants will keep mindlessly eating from a soup bowl if it keeps refilling. An online feed that constantly “refills” manipulates the brain’s dopaminergic reward system in a similar way. These powerful dopamine-driven loops of endless “seeking” can become addictive."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/09/brain-rot-word-of-the-year-reality-internet-cognitive-function
the Guardian
Is doom scrolling really rotting our brains? The evidence is getting harder to ignore | Siân Boyle
‘Brain rot’ is the Oxford word of the year – a fitting choice, given the startling impact the internet is having on our grey matter, says journalist Siân Boyle
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Ci sta che l'anno prossimo Intel muoia.
Money quote: "The past decade is the worst in Intel’s history, with much of the damage done in the 2010s. Pat Gelsinger’s spent the past few years spent correcting the course, but turning the Titanic is not a quick task. There is one constant in Intel’s demise: seven board members. They are still at large on the board today."
https://semianalysis.com/2024/12/09/intel-on-the-brink-of-death/
Money quote: "The past decade is the worst in Intel’s history, with much of the damage done in the 2010s. Pat Gelsinger’s spent the past few years spent correcting the course, but turning the Titanic is not a quick task. There is one constant in Intel’s demise: seven board members. They are still at large on the board today."
https://semianalysis.com/2024/12/09/intel-on-the-brink-of-death/
Semianalysis
Intel on the Brink of Death | Culture Rot, Product Focus Flawed, Foundry Must Survive
Board Short Circuits, Cultural Rot, x86 Has No Moat, Sell PC Business, Nvidia's PC CPU Push, Roadmap Review
👍1
La storia non si ripete uguale ma tende a fare rima. Ecco come mai l'AI sarà l'ultimo chiodo nella bara delle aziende editoriali: non hanno capito cosa avevano sbagliato prima e stanno ripentendo gli stessi sbagli adesso.
Money quote: "The widespread lack of understanding among the establishment media allowed Google to become a behemoth. And then they essentially handed the keys to the kingdom to Mark Zuckerberg and Co. They are making the same mistake with the new AI platforms. Despite all the brouhaha about fighting Perplexity or OpenAI, it will amount to nothing more than a short-term squeeze play.
Some media companies are simply signing deals, taking the cash while they can. By doing deals with these platforms and giving them access to their content, most publications might feel they will be rewarded with traffic to their websites."
https://om.co/2024/12/21/dark-musings-on-media-ai/
Money quote: "The widespread lack of understanding among the establishment media allowed Google to become a behemoth. And then they essentially handed the keys to the kingdom to Mark Zuckerberg and Co. They are making the same mistake with the new AI platforms. Despite all the brouhaha about fighting Perplexity or OpenAI, it will amount to nothing more than a short-term squeeze play.
Some media companies are simply signing deals, taking the cash while they can. By doing deals with these platforms and giving them access to their content, most publications might feel they will be rewarded with traffic to their websites."
https://om.co/2024/12/21/dark-musings-on-media-ai/
On my Om
Musings on Media in the Age of AI
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash I recently wrote about the future of the browser and Surf, a new app from the creators of Flipboard. Both stories explore the c…
Auguri di buon anno: quand'è che ha senso mollare? Cioè, perché intestardirsi se non riusciamo? Meglio riconoscere i propri limiti e lasciar andare.
Money quote: "When should you give up? You certainly don’t want to give up too soon on finding your way out of the woods, and call the ski patrol unnecessarily. Similarly, you don’t want to give up on your dreams before they’re realized, or on your relationships because they’re sometimes troublesome; you want to be a reliable, determined, heroic individual—someone with grit, who follows through. But, also, persevering can be a grave mistake: sometimes, either actually or metaphorically, you need to admit that you’re lost and call for rescue. How much effort is enough? And when does continued effort become unwise?"
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/should-you-just-give-up
archivio: https://archive.is/czR81
Money quote: "When should you give up? You certainly don’t want to give up too soon on finding your way out of the woods, and call the ski patrol unnecessarily. Similarly, you don’t want to give up on your dreams before they’re realized, or on your relationships because they’re sometimes troublesome; you want to be a reliable, determined, heroic individual—someone with grit, who follows through. But, also, persevering can be a grave mistake: sometimes, either actually or metaphorically, you need to admit that you’re lost and call for rescue. How much effort is enough? And when does continued effort become unwise?"
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/should-you-just-give-up
archivio: https://archive.is/czR81
The New Yorker
Should You Just Give Up?
Sisyphus couldn’t stop pushing his boulder—but you can.
❤5
Special. La mia lettura di Lofi Girl: come un canale di musica in streaming può mostrarci la solitudine di una generazione
https://antoniodini.com/lofi-girl/
https://antoniodini.com/lofi-girl/
Mostly Here
Lofi Girl
La storia di un'icona virtuale racconta come è cambiato il nostro rapporto con la solitudine
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Ehi ehi ehi, è tornata Tilde. Perché chi lo fa a capodanno poi lo fa tutto l'anno.
https://tilde.show/podcast-35/
https://tilde.show/podcast-35/
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Il primo dell'anno si guarda avanti ma poi si fa anche un po' di ricapitolazione dell'anno precedente. Quindi, un po' di cose sulle parole del 2024 in inglese e non solo.
Money quote: "And that’s only the English-language WOTY winners! The German Association for German Language — it’s in Germany, in case you had any doubt — selected ampel-aus, which translates to “traffic light off” and refers to the demise of Germany’s SPD-Greens-FDP “traffic light coalition” (Ampelkoalition), whose respective colors are red, yellow, and green."
https://fritinancy.substack.com/p/words-of-the-year-fritinancy-edition-f59
Money quote: "And that’s only the English-language WOTY winners! The German Association for German Language — it’s in Germany, in case you had any doubt — selected ampel-aus, which translates to “traffic light off” and refers to the demise of Germany’s SPD-Greens-FDP “traffic light coalition” (Ampelkoalition), whose respective colors are red, yellow, and green."
https://fritinancy.substack.com/p/words-of-the-year-fritinancy-edition-f59
Substack
Words of the year: Fritinancy edition
Welcome to my sixteenth annual WOTY roundup.
Il 2024 è stato un anno interessante per la matematica.
Money quote: "Mathematicians have been extremely busy this year: they’ve discovered the biggest prime number yet, a new formula for pi, mysterious patterns in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and even a whole new kind of shape. Some of these findings are practical—the newfound shapes, for instance, show up in nature and have been used for creative architecture designs. Others, such as the 41-million-digit prime number, aren’t quite as useful—but all are fascinating. Here’s a look at a few of the most exciting mathematical discoveries we wrote about this year."
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-7-coolest-mathematical-discoveries-of-2024/
Money quote: "Mathematicians have been extremely busy this year: they’ve discovered the biggest prime number yet, a new formula for pi, mysterious patterns in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and even a whole new kind of shape. Some of these findings are practical—the newfound shapes, for instance, show up in nature and have been used for creative architecture designs. Others, such as the 41-million-digit prime number, aren’t quite as useful—but all are fascinating. Here’s a look at a few of the most exciting mathematical discoveries we wrote about this year."
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-7-coolest-mathematical-discoveries-of-2024/
Scientific American
The 7 Coolest Mathematical Discoveries of 2024
Unsolvable problems, many-dimensional wheels and new prime numbers are among new mathematical discoveries this year
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In Italia è entrato in vigore il nuovo codice della strada. Ma in generale stiamo entrando una fase nella quale l'uso dell'automobile viene messo sotto pressione. Negli Usa, per esempio, si comincia a pensare che guidare sia pericoloso quasi sempre.
Money quote: "Speeding is now a factor in almost a third of the crash deaths in the U.S. The traditional approaches to reducing that toll all have significant limitations. Police can issue tickets to individual drivers, but law enforcement can hardly be in all places at all times. Automatic speed cameras, which allow police to mail citations directly to vehicle owners, are more effective; but many states, such as New Jersey and Texas, have banned their use (and they’re far from ubiquitous even where they’re allowed). Another partial solution would be to reconfigure dangerously fast roads with narrower lanes and additional intersections that naturally lead drivers to slow down, but doing so nationwide would be prohibitively expensive—and it would do little to combat reckless speeding on highways and interstates that facilitate car traffic at speeds of 45 to 85 mph."
https://www.fastcompany.com/90985257/you-shouldnt-be-driving-over-100-mph-and-your-car-shouldnt-let-you
Money quote: "Speeding is now a factor in almost a third of the crash deaths in the U.S. The traditional approaches to reducing that toll all have significant limitations. Police can issue tickets to individual drivers, but law enforcement can hardly be in all places at all times. Automatic speed cameras, which allow police to mail citations directly to vehicle owners, are more effective; but many states, such as New Jersey and Texas, have banned their use (and they’re far from ubiquitous even where they’re allowed). Another partial solution would be to reconfigure dangerously fast roads with narrower lanes and additional intersections that naturally lead drivers to slow down, but doing so nationwide would be prohibitively expensive—and it would do little to combat reckless speeding on highways and interstates that facilitate car traffic at speeds of 45 to 85 mph."
https://www.fastcompany.com/90985257/you-shouldnt-be-driving-over-100-mph-and-your-car-shouldnt-let-you
Fast Company
You shouldn’t be driving over 100 mph—and your car shouldn’t let you
The NTSB recommended that automakers be required to install technology to prevent reckless speeding.
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Lettura per la domenica
Le divertenti (si fa per dire) contraddizioni del minimalismo come stile di vita.
Money quote: "It is rarely acknowledged, by either the life-hack-minded authors or the proponents of minimalist design, that many people have minimalism forced upon them by circumstances that render impossible a serene, jewel-box life style. Nor do they mention that poverty and trauma can make frivolous possessions seem like a lifeline rather than a burden. Many of today’s gurus maintain that minimalism can be useful no matter one’s income, but the audience they target is implicitly affluent—the pitch is never about making do with less because you have no choice. Millburn and Nicodemus frequently describe their past lives as spiritually empty twentysomethings with six-figure incomes. McKeown pitches his insights at people who have a surplus of options as a consequence of success. Kondo recently launched an online store, suggesting that the left hand might declutter while the right hand buys a seventy-five-dollar rose-quartz tuning fork. Today’s minimalism, with its focus on self-improvement, feels oddly dominated by a logic of accumulation. Less is always more, or “more, more, more,” as Millburn and Nicodemus write: “more time, more passion, more experiences, more growth, more contribution, more contentment—and more freedom.”"
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/02/03/the-pitfalls-and-the-potential-of-the-new-minimalism
Archivio: https://archive.is/dHsKO
Le divertenti (si fa per dire) contraddizioni del minimalismo come stile di vita.
Money quote: "It is rarely acknowledged, by either the life-hack-minded authors or the proponents of minimalist design, that many people have minimalism forced upon them by circumstances that render impossible a serene, jewel-box life style. Nor do they mention that poverty and trauma can make frivolous possessions seem like a lifeline rather than a burden. Many of today’s gurus maintain that minimalism can be useful no matter one’s income, but the audience they target is implicitly affluent—the pitch is never about making do with less because you have no choice. Millburn and Nicodemus frequently describe their past lives as spiritually empty twentysomethings with six-figure incomes. McKeown pitches his insights at people who have a surplus of options as a consequence of success. Kondo recently launched an online store, suggesting that the left hand might declutter while the right hand buys a seventy-five-dollar rose-quartz tuning fork. Today’s minimalism, with its focus on self-improvement, feels oddly dominated by a logic of accumulation. Less is always more, or “more, more, more,” as Millburn and Nicodemus write: “more time, more passion, more experiences, more growth, more contribution, more contentment—and more freedom.”"
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/02/03/the-pitfalls-and-the-potential-of-the-new-minimalism
Archivio: https://archive.is/dHsKO
The New Yorker
The Pitfalls and the Potential of the New Minimalism
The mantra of “less is more” still obeys a logic of accumulation—but it hints at genuinely different ways of thinking.
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Quarant'anni fa, il 5 gennaio del 1985, venne una nevicata tremenda che seppellì il Nord Italia sotto una coltre di neve e ghiacciò molti fiumi tra i quali l'Arno, sul quale a Firenze si poteva camminare. Due articoli di qualche anno fa che ne parlano.
Money quote: ""Il dato più citato dai fiorentini sulla nevicata dell'85 resta l'Arno ghiacciato, su cui i più arditi si spinsero con pattini e slittini. O anche a piedi" ha ricordato Gianni Greco."
https://www.quinewsfirenze.it/firenze-i-fiorentini-ricordano-la-grande-nevicata-del-1985.htm
https://www.rivistailmulino.it/a/15-gennaio-1985-br-la-nevicata-del-secolo
Money quote: ""Il dato più citato dai fiorentini sulla nevicata dell'85 resta l'Arno ghiacciato, su cui i più arditi si spinsero con pattini e slittini. O anche a piedi" ha ricordato Gianni Greco."
https://www.quinewsfirenze.it/firenze-i-fiorentini-ricordano-la-grande-nevicata-del-1985.htm
https://www.rivistailmulino.it/a/15-gennaio-1985-br-la-nevicata-del-secolo
www.quinewsfirenze.it
I fiorentini ricordano la grande nevicata del 1985
FIRENZE: Sono trascorsi trentacinque anni dal 5 Gennaio 1985 quando il capoluogo toscano si risvegliò imbiancato dalla neve con temperature glaciali
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La probabilità esiste? Forse no, ma serve pensarci lo stesso.
Money quote: "Probability was a relative latecomer to mathematics. Although people had been gambling with astragali (knucklebones) and dice for millennia, it was not until the French mathematicians Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat started corresponding in the 1650s that any rigorous analysis was made of ‘chance’ events. Like the release from a pent-up dam, probability has since flooded fields as diverse as finance, astronomy and law — not to mention gambling."
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-04096-5
Money quote: "Probability was a relative latecomer to mathematics. Although people had been gambling with astragali (knucklebones) and dice for millennia, it was not until the French mathematicians Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat started corresponding in the 1650s that any rigorous analysis was made of ‘chance’ events. Like the release from a pent-up dam, probability has since flooded fields as diverse as finance, astronomy and law — not to mention gambling."
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-04096-5
Nature
Why probability probably doesn’t exist (but it is useful to act like it does)
Nature - All of statistics and much of science depends on probability — an astonishing achievement, considering no one’s really sure what it is.
👍4
Pensiamo veloce ma a quanto pare Internet è più veloce.
Money quote: "Dr. Meister got the idea for the study while teaching an introductory neuroscience class. He wanted to give his students some basic numbers about the brain. But no one had pinned down the rate at which information flows through the nervous system.
Dr. Meister realized that he could estimate that flow by looking at how quickly people carry out certain tasks. To type, for example, we look at a word, recognize each letter and then sort out the sequence of keys to press. As we type, information flows into our eyes, through our brains and into the muscles of our fingers. The higher the flow rate, the faster we can type."
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/science/speed-of-thought.html
Archivio: https://archive.is/rpMIh
Money quote: "Dr. Meister got the idea for the study while teaching an introductory neuroscience class. He wanted to give his students some basic numbers about the brain. But no one had pinned down the rate at which information flows through the nervous system.
Dr. Meister realized that he could estimate that flow by looking at how quickly people carry out certain tasks. To type, for example, we look at a word, recognize each letter and then sort out the sequence of keys to press. As we type, information flows into our eyes, through our brains and into the muscles of our fingers. The higher the flow rate, the faster we can type."
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/science/speed-of-thought.html
Archivio: https://archive.is/rpMIh
NY Times
The Speed of Human Thought Lags Far Behind Your Internet Connection, Study Finds
A new study is “a bit of a counterweight to the endless hyperbole about how incredibly complex and powerful the human brain is,” one researcher said.
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"Goldrake U", il ritorno del mito che non soffre di nostalgia - la mia recensione per Fumettologica
https://fumettologica.it/2025/01/goldrake-u-il-ritorno-del-mito-che-non-soffre-di-nostalgia/
https://fumettologica.it/2025/01/goldrake-u-il-ritorno-del-mito-che-non-soffre-di-nostalgia/
🔥4
I videogame soffrono di una forma tutta particolare di "cancellazione" rispetto a tutti gli altri manufatti culturali
Money quote: "Unless there’s imminently mineable gold in the hills of a remaster or re-release, the video game industry rarely displays interest in its own history. Last year, the Video Game History Foundation published a study showing that 87 percent of classic video games released in the US verge on inaccessible. That makes the archival work done by the VGHF all the more important, but the road to long-term preservation is full of potholes. On this week’s Aftermath Hours, we talk to VGHF founder and director Frank Cifaldi about what those look like and how you can help."
https://aftermath.site/aftermath-hours-podcast-video-game-history-foundation
Money quote: "Unless there’s imminently mineable gold in the hills of a remaster or re-release, the video game industry rarely displays interest in its own history. Last year, the Video Game History Foundation published a study showing that 87 percent of classic video games released in the US verge on inaccessible. That makes the archival work done by the VGHF all the more important, but the road to long-term preservation is full of potholes. On this week’s Aftermath Hours, we talk to VGHF founder and director Frank Cifaldi about what those look like and how you can help."
https://aftermath.site/aftermath-hours-podcast-video-game-history-foundation
aftermath.site
Preserving Video Game History Is An Uphill Battle - Aftermath
"I think we live in a world where if a library was a new idea, everyone would laugh it off"
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Uno degli aspetti più interessanti del dibattito sugli assetti industriali futuri nel settore dell'intelligenza artificiale, c'è quello che si interroga sulla natura di questo settore. È un mercato in cui chi vice prende tutto, come è più o meno accaduto negli ultimi anni con Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple? OpenAI o chi per lei dominerà tutto?
Money quote: "We believe this view is mistaken. There will be no single model that will rule the universe, neither next year nor next decade. Instead, the future of AI will be multi-model."
https://venturebeat.com/ai/despite-heated-ai-arms-race-were-in-for-a-multi-modal-future/
Money quote: "We believe this view is mistaken. There will be no single model that will rule the universe, neither next year nor next decade. Instead, the future of AI will be multi-model."
https://venturebeat.com/ai/despite-heated-ai-arms-race-were-in-for-a-multi-modal-future/
VentureBeat
Despite intense AI arms race, we’re in for a multi-model future
There will be no single model that will rule the universe, neither next year nor next decade. Instead, the future of AI will be multi-model.
Il film "Here" è davvero molto bello ma combatte una battaglia pazzesca e non cattura la grandezza del fumetto da cui è tratto - Fumettologica
https://fumettologica.it/2025/01/here-recensione-film-zemeckis/
https://fumettologica.it/2025/01/here-recensione-film-zemeckis/
👏5
Serve veramente un display in cucina? Sul forno a microonde? Da 27 pollici? Sul serio? E per cosa, per far vedere la pubblicità?
Money quote: "LG says the microwave’s display provides “an immersive entertainment experience” that’ll surely prevent the onset of buyer’s remorse at having overpaid for a potential advertising machine centrally located in your kitchen. And when paired with LG’s oven, it “conveniently shows the cooking progress of dishes in the range, eliminating the need to bend down and check the oven manually.”"
https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/30/24331994/lg-microwave-27-inch-display-speakers
Money quote: "LG says the microwave’s display provides “an immersive entertainment experience” that’ll surely prevent the onset of buyer’s remorse at having overpaid for a potential advertising machine centrally located in your kitchen. And when paired with LG’s oven, it “conveniently shows the cooking progress of dishes in the range, eliminating the need to bend down and check the oven manually.”"
https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/30/24331994/lg-microwave-27-inch-display-speakers
The Verge
LG’s microwave has a 27-inch display that’ll be perfect for ads
From the company that serves full-screen ads on its idle TVs.
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Una lettera d'amore a Windows su Snapdragon travestita da articolo
Money quote: "Of course, heading into this experience, I was more curious about how far the Windows on Arm platform has come. Before, even essentials like VPN apps refused to function at all on Arm-based Windows machines. That has, fortunately, changed with the arrival of the new Prism emulator. Most mainstream programs, including Google Chrome, Adobe Photoshop, Google Drive, and ExpressVPN, have added native support. Even the ones already compatible with Arm chips work better, thanks to Snapdragon X Elite. Web browsers, especially, would frequently stutter for me, and that’s no longer the case, barring a couple of incidents."
https://www.laptopmag.com/laptops/windows-laptops/ive-been-a-windows-on-arm-user-for-years-snapdragon-x-elite-has-changed-everything
Money quote: "Of course, heading into this experience, I was more curious about how far the Windows on Arm platform has come. Before, even essentials like VPN apps refused to function at all on Arm-based Windows machines. That has, fortunately, changed with the arrival of the new Prism emulator. Most mainstream programs, including Google Chrome, Adobe Photoshop, Google Drive, and ExpressVPN, have added native support. Even the ones already compatible with Arm chips work better, thanks to Snapdragon X Elite. Web browsers, especially, would frequently stutter for me, and that’s no longer the case, barring a couple of incidents."
https://www.laptopmag.com/laptops/windows-laptops/ive-been-a-windows-on-arm-user-for-years-snapdragon-x-elite-has-changed-everything
Laptop Mag
I've been a Windows on Arm user for years — Snapdragon X Elite has changed everything
Can Windows on Arm finally go toe-to-toe with Apple silicon?
❤1
Buona vecchia Mostly Weekly, che quasi ogni domenica porta tante cose da leggere. È la mia newsletter gratuita. Questa volta si parla un po’ di salute, invecchiamento dei paesi e di felicità, perché no.
https://antoniodini.com/weekly/306/
https://antoniodini.com/weekly/306/
Mostly Here
~306
Leggere, vivere, innovare; spunti per il nuovo anno
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