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☆ In 1968, protests forced Columbia University to change graduation. Here’s what happened next.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Chelsea Bailey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Columbia University’s graduating class of 1968 was no stranger to protests. Graffiti on a blackboard at some point after protests began on April 23, 1968 at Columbia University in New York. Activist Mark Rudd, center, president of Students for a Democratic Society, addresses students at Columbia University on May 3, 1968. Students supporting the Columbia University sit-in and counter-demonstrators engage in a short-lived free-for-all outside Low Library at Columbia University on April 29, 1968. Although it took Columbia University years to recover and reestablish trust between the administration and the student body, several key changes emerged after the 1968 protests.

Persons: Dr, Martin Luther King Jr, Grayson Kirk, John the Divine, Neal Boenzi, Kirk, ”, Mark Rudd, King’s, – Kirk, Richard Hofstadter, Hofstadter, ” Hofstadter, Stephen Smale, University's Organizations: CNN, Columbia, Cathedral, St, Columbia University, New York Times, US Marine Corps, Columbia Spectator, Democratic Society, Hulton, Institute for Defense, Spectator, Bettmann, Morningside, Sun, Hamilton Hall, Police, AP, New York City Police Department, Low Library, University Senate, University Locations: Vietnam, Gaza, New York, Columbia, Harlem, Morningside, Bettmann, Berkeley

☆ Opinion | Will Translation Apps Make Learning Foreign Languages Obsolete?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( John Mcwhorter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

To polyglots, foreign languages are Mount Everests daring us to climb them — a metaphor used by Hofstadter in his article. After all, despite the sincere and admirable efforts of foreign language teachers nationwide, fewer than one in 100 American students become proficient in a language they learned in school. Immersion programs, if begun early, can actually imprint a foreign language into a child’s brain. I know: A foreign language is a window into a new way of processing the world. With an iPhone handy and an appropriate app downloaded, foreign languages will no longer present most people with the barrier or challenge they once did.

Persons: Hofstadter, John McWhorter, ”, “ Organizations: Columbia University Locations: Rome

☆ Why Douglas Hofstadter Is Changing His Mind on A.I. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( David Brooks | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

On our call I tried to briefly counter Hofstadter by arguing that the bots are not really thinking; they’re just piggybacking on human thought. is capable of synthesizing these linguistic expressions, which humans have put on the internet and, thus, into its training base. Maybe it’s more than just a mash-up of human expressions. Maybe it’s synthesizing human thought in ways that are genuinely creative, that are genuinely producing new categories and new thoughts. I find myself surrounded by radical uncertainty — uncertainty not only about where humanity is going but about what being human is.

Persons: Hofstadter, I’d, Jaron Lanier, Lanier Organizations: Yorker

☆ Analysis: How Michael Flynn went down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

When you have General Flynn and Sidney Powell suggesting somehow the military should indeed seize voting machines. As we say in the podcast, Trump called him publicly at a recent conference in May, where he vowed to bring back Mike Flynn again, implying that Flynn would be part of his national security team. WOLF: Do you have any insight into how this kind of conspiracy theory fever afflicts a person? Why does it happen to Michael Flynn and not retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who I learned from your podcast was a mentor to Flynn in Afghanistan? From intelligence work to conspiracy theoriesWOLF: You talk in the podcast about encountering Flynn in his previous line of work – somebody involved in the intelligence community.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn, Patrick Byrne, Giuliani, Powell, Flynn, Byrne, Jack Smith, Peter Bergen, ”, who’s, Smith, WOLF, “, ” He’s, President Trump, Mike Flynn, It’s, Covid, Stanley McChrystal, Richard, Hofstadter, ” There’s, that’s, You’ve, they’re, Vladimir, Putin, That’s, Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Locher, Osama bin Laden Organizations: CNN, … Prosecutors, Trump, Twitter, New, Apple, Spotify, White, Defense Intelligence Agency, World Economic, Army, State Department, Republican, New America, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Black Panthers, Puerto Locations: New America, Bergen, BERGEN, Washington ,, United States, America, Davos, Switzerland, Afghanistan, Russian, Ukraine, Bedford , New Hampshire, New York, Miami, Puerto Rican

☆ No, the Good Economic Data Isn’t Being Faked - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Paul Krugman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

What Richard Hofstadter called the paranoid style in American politics is no longer a fringe phenomenon: Bizarre conspiracy theories are now mainstream on the American right. And one manifestation of this paranoia is the persistent dismissal of positive economic data as fake when a Democrat occupies the White House. With inflation falling rapidly over the past year, we’ve seen some resurgence of inflation trutherism. Now, there are some sociological differences between the old inflation truthers and the new recession truthers. The former group tended to be old-school reactionaries still pining for a return to the gold standard.

Persons: Richard Hofstadter, ”, we’ve, Biden Organizations: Democrat, bros

☆ Google's return-to-office crackdown gets backlash from some employees: 'Check my work, not my badge'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Last week, Google updated its hybrid three-day-a-week office policy to include badge tracking and noted attendance will be included in performance reviews. Additionally, employees who already received approval for remote work may now have that status reevaluated. Prior to the pandemic, Google was known for its vibrant campus life, replete with massage parlors, yoga classes, video games and free gourmet meals. But life changed, as did priorities, during the pandemic, when offices were closed and employees were forced to work from home. Staffers moved to different cities and got used to more flexibility and family time while taking advantage of Google's flexible remote work options.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, There's, Fiona Cicconi, Ryan Lamont, hasn't, Leonard Hofstadter, You've Organizations: Google, Shoreline, CNBC, YouTube Locations: Mountain View , California

☆ Why do people buy crackpot conspiracy theories?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

When it comes to the spread of cockamamie conspiracy theories, Twitter was a maximum viable product long before Elon Musk paid $44 billion for the keys. The more you think you're right all the time, a new study suggests, the more likely you are to buy conspiracy theories, regardless of the evidence. It'd be better, or at least more reassuring, if conspiracy theories were fueled by dumb yahoos rather than self-centered monsters. Still, most scientists thought conspiracy theories weren't worth their time, the province of weirdos connecting JFK's death to lizard aliens. Pennycook's findings also suggest an explanation for why conspiracy theories have become so widely accepted.

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