📺 “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” The Wolf | Amazon Prime

Watched "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan" The Wolf from Amazon Prime
Directed by Daniel Sackheim. With John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Abbie Cornish, Ali Suliman. As Jack and Cathy grow closer, Jack's double-life is put to the test. A show of force from Suleiman adds to his ranks and brings him one step closer to his next attack.

📺 “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” End of Honor | Amazon Prime

Watched "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan" End of Honor from Amazon Prime
Directed by Patricia Riggen. With John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Abbie Cornish, Ali Suliman. After the horrific Paris church attack, Jack and Greer discover a deeper strategy behind Suleiman's actions, forcing Jack to suggest an unusual trap for him. Hanin faces new challenges in her quest for freedom.

👓 Frauchiger-Renner Paradox Clarifies Where Our Views of Reality Go Wrong | Quanta Magazine

Read Frauchiger-Renner Paradox Clarifies Where Our Views of Reality Go Wrong by Anil AnanthaswamyAnil Ananthaswamy (Quanta Magazine)
A thought experiment has shaken up the world of quantum foundations, forcing physicists to clarify how various quantum interpretations (such as many-worlds and the Copenhagen interpretation) abandon seemingly sensible assumptions about reality.

[1604.07422v1] Single-world interpretations of quantum theory cannot be self-consistent

Bookmarked Single-world interpretations of quantum theory cannot be self-consistent by Daniela Frauchiger & Renato Renner (arXiv.org)
According to quantum theory, a measurement may have multiple possible outcomes. Single-world interpretations assert that, nevertheless, only one of them "really" occurs. Here we propose a gedankenexperiment where quantum theory is applied to model an experimenter who herself uses quantum theory. We find that, in such a scenario, no single-world interpretation can be logically consistent. This conclusion extends to deterministic hidden-variable theories, such as Bohmian mechanics, for they impose a single-world interpretation.
Hat tip: https://boffosocko.com/2019/01/01/frauchiger-renner-paradox-clarifies-where-our-views-of-reality-go-wrong-quanta-magazine/

Quantum theory cannot consistently describe the use of itself | Nature Communications

Bookmarked Quantum theory cannot consistently describe the use of itself by Daniela Frauchiger & Renato Renner (Nature Communications)
Quantum theory provides an extremely accurate description of fundamental processes in physics. It thus seems likely that the theory is applicable beyond the, mostly microscopic, domain in which it has been tested experimentally. Here, we propose a Gedankenexperiment to investigate the question whether quantum theory can, in principle, have universal validity. The idea is that, if the answer was yes, it must be possible to employ quantum theory to model complex systems that include agents who are themselves using quantum theory. Analysing the experiment under this presumption, we find that one agent, upon observing a particular measurement outcome, must conclude that another agent has predicted the opposite outcome with certainty. The agents’ conclusions, although all derived within quantum theory, are thus inconsistent. This indicates that quantum theory cannot be extrapolated to complex systems, at least not in a straightforward manner.
Published version of arXiv paper at https://arxiv.org/abs/1604.07422v1

hat tip: https://boffosocko.com/2019/01/01/frauchiger-renner-paradox-clarifies-where-our-views-of-reality-go-wrong-quanta-magazine/

🔖 Shephelah | Wikipedia

Bookmarked Shephelah (Wikipedia)

The Shfela, or Shephelah, lit. "lowlands"[1] (Hebrewהַשְּפֵלָה‬, also שְׁפֵלַת יְהוּדָה‬, Shfelat Yehuda, the "Judaean foothills"), is a transitional region of soft-sloping hills in south-central Israel stretching over 10–15 km between the Judaean Mountains and the Coastal Plain. The different use of the term "Judean Plain", as either defining just the Coastal Plain segment stretching along the Judaean Mountains, or also including, or only referring to, the Shfela, often creates grave confusion.

Today the Shfela is largely rural with many farms.

The Bible assigned land in the Shfela to the tribes of Judah and Dan.

👓 New Life for Old Classics, as Their Copyrights Run Out | The New York Times

Read New Life for Old Classics, as Their Copyrights Run Out (New York Times)
Works by Marcel Proust, Willa Cather, D.H. Lawrence, Agatha Christie and Robert Frost are entering the public domain on Jan. 1. And that’s just the first wave.

👓 What Happens When You Say No to MS-13 | ProPublica

Read What Happens When You Say No to MS-13 by Kavitha Surana (ProPublica)
The friends had liked Gerson Saravia from the start. With his halting English and scrawny arms that stuck out like sticks from the tank tops he wore, he reminded them of themselves when they first came to the U.S., excited but also bewildered and self-conscious.
An interesting, but simple story. Supplemented by lots of photos and an interesting lay out, though at times the text on photos (on mobile at least) doesn’t make it easy to read.

👓 Opinion | In Search of Lost Screen Time | New York Times

Read Opinion | In Search of Lost Screen Time (New York Times)
Imagine what we could do with our money, and hours, if we set our phones aside for a year.
A good reminder of all the good we could be accomplishing…

👓 James Watson Won’t Stop Talking About Race | New York Times

Read James Watson Won’t Stop Talking About Race (nytimes.com)
The Nobel-winning biologist has drawn global criticism with unfounded pronouncements on genetics, race and intelligence. He still thinks he’s right, a new documentary finds.

👓 #MeToo law restricts use of nondisclosure agreements in sexual misconduct cases | LA Times

Read #MeToo law restricts use of nondisclosure agreements in sexual misconduct cases (latimes.com)
Among victims and advocates, an important step in dismantling the pervasive problem of harassment and the system that has kept it under wraps for so long is to void or curb the use of NDAs to settle sexual abuse cases.
The tough part is recreating a better system and predicting the potential future abuses that may continue in such a system. How do we enforce fairness fairly? What unintended consequences might there be?

👓 A Landslide of Classic Art Is About to Enter the Public Domain | The Atlantic

Read A Landslide of Classic Art Is About to Enter the Public Domain (The Atlantic)
For the first time in two decades, a huge number of books, films, and other works will escape U.S. copyright law.

👓 These 1923 Copyrighted Works Enter the Public Domain in 2019 | LifeHacker

Read These 1923 Copyrighted Works Enter the Public Domain in 2019 (Lifehacker)
For the first time in twenty years, as the Atlantic points out, a whole year’s worth of copyrighted works will enter the public domain in the U.S. on January 1, 2019. Under the terms of the Sonny Bono Copyright Act, works first published in 1923 will enter the public domain, meaning anyone can re-publish them, or chop them up and use them in other projects, without asking permission or paying the old rights holders. You can record new versions of the musical compositions; you can show the movies for a profit; you can even remake them. Amazon can sell you the ebook and keep all the money, and Project Gutenberg can give you the ebook for free. The Atlantic has a short list; we have a longer one below.