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New articles:

The Millennium Myth

For many, the year 2000 marked something momentous. Prophecies and reveries abounded. Similar significance has been attributed to many auspicious dates, like the popular theory of the five-hundred year cycle. What if these cycles are actually special? Not for any special reason, but simply because we're human?

Full article at bottom of email

From Zero.

Control the water, control the people. This key idea, that some resources act as a kind of control mechanism for certain entities is an attractive one. But it seems as though technology is characterised by this dynamic. New technology is created and monopolised. And when the monopoly is broken, we are content to hand over control to various political and corporate entities. This state of dependence seems not only unnecessary, but untenable. And so, we explore how to recreate them from zero.

New articles in the Digital Architecture series:

Server 101: Digital Foundations

Server 102: Access Everywhere

These are probably only going to appeal to those who are motivated by the premise I set out in Digital Architecture. More, they're just drafts—it's difficult to remember what concepts I found difficult when I started these projects myself, and at points do a bad job explaining them. Thank you to everyone who has already provided feedback, and I welcome any feedback in future.

Highlights from the scholia:

The 'marshmallow test' has consistently failed the replication challenge. Even the author wasn't sold on it.

Link

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I feel like I both know more than I ever knew, and less confident than ever, about surge protection.

Link

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experienced well-being rises linearly with log income, with an equally steep slope above $80,000 as below it

A rebuttal to the conventional wisdom that income over $75,000 does not increase happiness. Possibly due to continuous experience sampling vs a dichotomous (yes/no) methodology. One wonders if that means people feel differently from moment to moment about happiness than when asked to evaluate happiness overall.

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Was Caligula depraved as Suetonius would have him? Or was he an example of what Hermann and Chompsky would call an anti-ideology. New archaeological evidence points us a little more to the latter than the former.

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Notes:

Consider donating to the site's upkeep: Bitcoin | Paypal.

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You can find links to all my previous emails to you here.

That's all from me! Enjoy.

Warm regards,

Dorian | The Armchair Collective

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This week's article selection: ##

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