Fmr. Sec. of State John Kerry, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Fmr. Vice President Al Gore, Stephanie Cutter, Michael Gerson, Heather McGhee, Hugh Hewitt
Pinker talking about his then new book, The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature, and doing what he does best: combining psychology and neuroscience with linguistics. The result is as entertaining as it is insightful.
Dr. Walker introduces the concept of information, then proposes that information may be a necessity for biological complexity in this thought-provoking talk on the origins of life.
Sara is a theoretical physicist and astrobiologist, researching the origins and nature of life. She is particularly interested in addressing the question of whether or not “other laws of physics” might govern life, as first posed by Erwin Schrodinger in his famous book What is life?. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University. She is also Fellow of the ASU -Santa Fe Institute Center for Biosocial Complex Systems, Founder of the astrobiology-themed social website SAGANet.org, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Blue Marble Space. She is active in public engagement in science, with recent appearances on “Through the Wormhole” and NPR’s Science Friday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXnt79JhrbY
Admittedly, she only had a few short minutes, but it would have been nice if she’d started out with a precise definition of information. I suspect the majority of her audience didn’t know the definition with which she’s working and it would have helped focus the talk.
Her description of Speigelman’s Monster was relatively interesting and not very often seen in much of the literature that covers these areas.
I wouldn’t rate this very highly as a TED Talk as it wasn’t as condensed and simplistic as most, nor was it as hyper-focused, but then again condensing this area into 11 minutes is far from simple task. I do love that she’s excited enough about the topic that she almost sounds a little out of breath towards the end.
There’s an excellent Eddington quote I’ve mentioned before that would have been apropos to have opened up her presentation that might have brought things into higher relief given her talk title:
Suppose that we were asked to arrange the following in two categories–
distance, mass, electric force, entropy, beauty, melody.
I think there are the strongest grounds for placing entropy alongside beauty and melody and not with the first three.
It’s been so long that I’m almost struggling to remember portions of the prior season’s plot, but this season definitely seems to be stronger than the last. In the past I’ve always rewatched either the entire series or at least the prior season before starting back into the new season. I was relatively disappointed in season 4, so I didn’t bother this time around.
This season is at least off to a good start, so I’m burning through them so quickly that I’ll wish I’d watched them more slowly and methodically.
I do wish there was more of Hammerschmidt and his protege. Boris McGiver’s performance really made season one and honestly we can’t get enough of him. Conway is an interesting foil for Frank and he’s becoming a more interesting character, but I’m wishing he was stronger still. The Yates character arc so far isn’t nearly as interesting as it had been in the prior season. Durant is apparently sidelined but at least still has a role while characters like Remy Danton and Jackie Sharp have only been tangentially mentioned, but have been unseen (so far.)
Seth Grayson is doing his typical low-boil as always but isn’t as present here as in prior seasons. Neve Campbell is excellent, but her character Leann Harvey needs more to do so far.
Doug Stamper is still one of the most intriguing characters in this installment, much like he has been for the entire series. I’d keep watching just for his storyline and Michael Kelly’s stunning performance.
Frank and even Claire to some extent had really driven prior seasons, but somehow things have flattened out a lot to make a far more ensemble piece. I think the series does better when we’re more focused on one or the other. I feel like we’re not getting as much of the evil Frank Underwood fourth wall commentary as in the past, or in the awesome original British and it’s not giving the series the sharpness that it previously had. I’m hoping the second half of season 5 comes to a full boil quickly before things close out. I really hate waiting a year and a half for ensuing installments.
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly; Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.); New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu; roundtable discussion with Joy Reid, Kimberley Strassel, Charlie Sykes and Amy Walter.
Corker didn’t do or say anything to make me think that he has a clue of what is going on, has any influence of any sort, or any desire to do or act on any of the topics which came up. He didn’t seem to have any useful opinions of any sort. I learned nothing other than that he seemed to be filling time. It was a waste of 5 minutes of interview.
I keep hearing the word “backchanneling”, but it seems like the two sides have wildly different versions of what it means.
Great little roundtable this week. This was certainly the most interesting portion of the show, but ultimately I don’t think it moves the needle in America much. Joy-Ann Reid was solid, poised and made some strong points–I’d like to see more of her on shows like this.
Monday on the NewsHour, the White House downplays reports that senior advisor Jared Kushner wanted to create a secret backchannel to talk with the Russians. Also: The president's first foreign trip and more on Politics Monday, Norway spearheads an electric car revolution, questions about organ transplants in China and new books you won't want to put down.
Friday on the NewsHour, gunmen in Egypt attack a Christian group, killing at least 28. Also: An exclusive interview with Aya Hijazi, what President Trump accomplished on a trip abroad, Shields and Brooks analyze the week's news, a humorous take on getting out of your bubble, being a veteran of a war that never ends and more.
I liked the W. Kamau Bell interview. They’re doing some great marketing for him, his show, and his new book. I’m putting his show (and back episodes from season 1) into my queue.
The snippet on Mr. Rogers at the end was very moving and useful. I kind of wish there were rerun episodes of his show still on television.
Thursday on the NewsHour, President Trump reprimands fellow NATO leaders over defense spending, but keeps silent on NATO's joint defense pact. Also: Leaks from the Manchester investigation pause intelligence sharing, Sweden invests in its military over Russia fears, what an assault by a political candidate says about attitudes toward the media, how gender affects risks at work and more.
A real 100% fully functional 11x11 barrel that also happens to be the largest barrel in the world! Bringing this out a little early to avoid it coming out on April fools day. I bet some people would think it was a hoax like Tony Fishers 9x9
My simple method for solving the 1x1x1 that I've developed and refined over the years. I hope this method makes solving this puzzle somewhat easier for you guys :)
It’s been so long that I’m almost struggling to remember portions of the prior season’s plot, but this season definitely seems to be stronger than the last. In the past I’ve always rewatched either the entire series or at least the prior season before starting back into the new season. I was relatively disappointed in season 4, so I didn’t bother this time around.