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Huvitavaid artikleid vihmasesse nädala algusesse

I don’t know, so I’m an atheist libertarian – Penn Jillette (mustkunstnike duost Penn & Teller) kirjutab alandlikult ja siiralt sellest, kui vähe me tegelikult teame ja selle asemel, et üleolevalt nõuda tsentraliseeritud ja peale surutud lahendusi, oleks palju rohkem kasu sellest, kui inimesed lepiksid sellega, et nad teavad palju vähem kui arvavad ning enda isiklike eelistuste põhjalt nõuda kõigilt samas tegelike tagajärgi mõistmata on kohatu:

It’s amazing to me how many people think that voting to have the government give poor people money is compassion. Helping poor and suffering people is compassion. Voting for our government to use guns to give money to help poor and suffering people is immoral self-righteous bullying laziness.

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Need a Light Bulb? Uncle Sam Gets to Choose – Virginia Postrel kirjutab hõõglampide kadumisest Kalifornias ja sellest, kuidas praeguse olukorrani jõuti. Paralleelide nägemiseks USA ja Euroopa vahel pole just üleliia fantaasiat vaja. Vastupidiselt Postimehes ilmunud üpris ühekülgsele elektrikaupade müügijuhi Andres Uustalu jutule, mis mõistagi ei ole mõjutatud hõõglampidest kordades kallimate toodete suurematest marginaalidest, peatub Postrel ka kogu algatuse puudulikul loogikal:

What matters, from a public policy perspective, isn’t any given choice but the total amount of electricity I use (which is itself only a proxy for the total emissions caused by generating that electricity). If they’re really interested in environmental quality, policy makers shouldn’t care how households get to that total. They should just raise the price of electricity, through taxes or higher rates, to discourage using it.

Instead, the law raises the price of light bulbs, but not the price of using them. In fact, its supporters loudly proclaim that the new bulbs will cost less to use. If true, the savings could encourage people to keep the lights on longer.

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Does Marijuana Make You Stupid? – Jonah Lehrer kirjutab viimastest kanepiuuringutest ja on taas kord sunnitud tõdema, et silmakirjalikus on uimastipoliitika möödapääsmatu osa. Vastus pealkirjas esitatud küsimusel on mõistagi eitav ja artikkel peatub põhjalikumalt sellel, millest taolised stereotüübid on üldse tingitud. Muu hulgas tuleb juttu ka kanepi kalduvusest võimendada osasid kognitiivseid võimeid:

Interestingly, the scientists found that marijuana seems to induce a state of hyper-priming, in which the reach of semantic priming extends to distantly related concepts. As a result, we hear “dog” and think of nouns that, in more sober circumstances, would seem rather disconnected, such as “leash” or “hair.” This state of hyper-priming helps explain why cannabis has been so often used as a creative fuel, as it seems to make the brain better at detecting those remote associations that lead to radically new ideas.

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EU Remains Silent as Hungary Veers Off Course – Walter Mayr tunneb muret Ungari tuleviku pärast ja toob välja hulgaliselt näiteid ja tendentse, mis väärivad suuremat tähelepanu vaatamata sellele, et neid serveeritakse natuke liiga dramaatiliselt. Kui autoritaarne on Ungari praeguse peaministri Viktor Orbani lähenemine on küsimus, millele ühe artikli raames ammendavat vastust anda on keeruline, kuid mõtteainet leidub artiklis küllaga:

It isn’t necessary to smell fascism behind every bush, says Heller. “The worst thing is that the checks and balances are being eliminated in this country, and that the rule of the yes-men has begun.” In fact, she adds, now dissidents are even being treated as criminals.

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Why Software Is Eating The World – Marc Andreessen leiab, et majanduskriisi varjus on tehnoloogiafirmad ja nende aktsiad paljuski alahinnatud –  eriti nende omad, kes tegelevad tarkvaraarendusega, sest just tarkvaraarenduses on teenusmajanduse tulevik. Täna loodavad ettevõtted kasvavad äärmiselt keerulistest tingimustes ja need, kes ellu jäävad hakkavad paremate aegade saabudes mühinal kasvama. Lisaks on nii Hiina kui India näol olemas tohutu inimpotentsiaal, mille rakendamine tarkvaraarendusse tõotab Andreesseni hinnangul kujuneda revolutsiooniliseks:

More and more major businesses and industries are being run on software and delivered as online services—from movies to agriculture to national defense. Many of the winners are Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurial technology companies that are invading and overturning established industry structures. Over the next 10 years, I expect many more industries to be disrupted by software, with new world-beating Silicon Valley companies doing the disruption in more cases than not.

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