Stephen Malina

This page tracks things about which I’ve changed my mind over time and things about which I’m still confused.

Seibel, James Hague and others have all tried to justify why code reading is so uncommon, and they make good points.

Links # Physics # What is Spacetime, Really?

This week, I’m going to try something a little different with the newsletter.

Education # A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses Phenomenal piece that profiles an unconventional teacher in a poor Mexican border town.

Brain Computer Interfaces # Meet the Neuroscientist Who Installed an Implant in His Own Brain Profiles the risk-taking neuroscientist Phil Kennedy.

Key Concepts # Environments, Syntax, Programming Languages v.

I’ve been reading more technical neuroscience / psychology papers recently, so the newsletter reflects that.

Journalism # The Future of News is not an Article A NY Times Labs writer argues that the future of news lies in smaller, contextually-aware primitives called particles.

The Blockchain # Blockchains in Context An easy to understand article about blockchains by a core contributor to Ethereum.

Design # UX and the Civilizing Process Another piece from the author of last week’s 4-part series that took us through the theories of Julian Jaynes.

Mind and Brain # Below is a series of 4 articles that explore Julian Jaynes’ theory of consciousness and its relationship to unusual minds.

Biology and Computation # Better Living Through Quantum Mechanics Seth Lloyd, the first and only self-proclaimed quantum mechanical engineer from MIT, discusses new discoveries of quantum mechanical phenomena in plants and animals.

Neuroscience and Neurotech # Hypnosis reaches the parts brain scans and neurosurgery cannot A good, succint article about the use of hypnosis in real neuroscience.

Cryonics # A Dying Young Woman’s Hope in Cryonics and a Future Cancer claimed Kim Suozzi at age 23, but she chose to have her brain preserved with the dream that neuroscience might one day revive her mind.

Ethics # The Philosopher Who Says We Should Play God The following quote sums up the article well: So the idea that we could play god and tamper with the laws of nature, creating things that wouldn’t otherwise exist, is a red herring?

Nutrition and Health # Starving Your Way to Vigor (see attached) A writer discusses his experience fasting for over a week.

Ambition and Achievement # Sources of Power Argues that college applicants should seek out “sources of power” which improve their chances of acceptance by orders of magnitude.

Future of Food # The $200 Hydroponic Greenhouse You Control With a Smartphone Reports on a new product that promises to automate the process of hydroponic gardening such that individuals will be able to grow vegetables in their home with minimal effort and

Plant Genetics # How Driscoll’s Is Hacking the Strawberry of the Future Profiles Phil Stewart, Driscoll’s chief strawberry geneticist.

Linguistics # How to Say (Almost) Everything in a Hundred-Word Language Explores Toki Pona, the world’s smallest language.

Human Potential # The Science of Mental Fitness Aggregates recent research findings regarding the effect of visualization on skill learning and physical development.

Evolutionary Biology and Health # To Stop Mosquito Bites, Silence Your Skin’s Bacteria Discusses a technique which could prevent mosquitoes bites by silencing the communication between bacteria on human skin.

The past few weeks have seen major shifts in two important areas of American society: race and sexual orientation.

I apologize for the short newsletter this week.

Neuroscience # Researchers Find Missing Link Between Brain and Immune System Discusses a recently discovered vessel that connects the brain and the lymphatic system.

Learning and Education # How I Rewired My Brain to Become Fluent in Math An engineering professor recounts how she went from being a language person without a college degree to an engineer with a doctorate.

Psychology and Brain Science # Is LSD about to return to polite society?

Public Health # Why an iron fish can make you stronger Presents a simple but ingenious way to combat anaemia in Cambodia by giving villagers iron fish to put in their cooking pots.

Police Brutality # Why Cops Like Me Are Quiet A former NYPD officer discusses police brutality from an officer’s perspective.

Warning: These next few paragraphs are about the origins and goals of the newsletter.

Note: Next week will be the arbitrarily but mostly correctly determined 6th month anniversary of my newsletter.

Politics # Clinton Begins the 2016 Campaign, And It’s a Toss-Up Nate Silver, renowned election results predictor and sports statistician, speculates on the likelihood of a Hilary Clinton victory in 2016, taking into account different scenarios and opposing

Mystery # The Mystery of the Millionaire Metaphysician A republishing of an old story, this piece recounts a writer’s search for the author of a mysterious metaphysics manuscript.

Mind and Brain # Electrified Investigates the promises and perils of tDCS, the electrical stimulation of the brain proponents claim will help treat depression and other neurological disorders.

Books # Rapt Reviews H is for Hawk, a non-fiction book about grief, hawking, and T.H.

Evolution # Possible Creatures A professor of Evolutionary Biology discusses his work mapping “nature’s library” of proteins.

Genocide # Interview with a Torturer An author and survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia attempts to come to terms with his experience.

Mental Health # The voices in my head: Eleanor Longden’s ‘psychic civil war’ The Guardian interviews Elanor Longden, a woman who started hearing voices while in college.

Science and Technology # Futures of Text A survey of all the current innovation in text as a medium.

Technology # How I Taught my Computer to Write its Own Music Discusses a successful endeavor to create a computer-based entity that writes music.

Philosophy # Do Easy The film and source essay (linked to at the bottom of the page) both convey a philosophy rooted in Taoism, but understandable for the modern American.

Mind and Brain # The Trip Treatment Reviews new research on psychedelics and their gradual integration into mainstream psychiatry.

Corporations # Are We Ready For Companies That Run Themselves?

Human Potential # Natural Born Heroes Sometimes, when I read an article, I think it would be great for the newsletter because it calls into question a widely-held belief or delves deep into an esoteric topic in a profound way.

Education # The Unappreciated Success of Charter Schools Convincingly argues for charter schools’ effectiveness at educating underpriviliged students.

Foreign Policy # Paris attacks: Millions rally for unity in France Covers massive French rallies meant to demonstrate unity after the attacks on Charlie Hebdo.

Power of the Mind # Secrets of a Mind Gamer Narrates how a journalist won the U.S.

Stoicism # Stoicism has been at the forefront of my thoughts this break.

Psychology and Neuroscience # A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying Introduces wu wei, the art of effortless grace.