Arguably essential; publishing shrivels; AI-powered fraud: Newsletter 2 October 2024
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Arguably essential; publishing shrivels; AI-powered fraud: Newsletter 2 October 2024

Newsletter 64. Why progress requires embracing people’s right to be wrong. Plus the decline in publishing workers, Gucci vs. Lord & Taylor, three people to follow and three books to read. The freedom to be wrong We’ve gotten to a point where we rip people apart for being wrong, when we should be celebrating them….

The tower of polls, biases, weights, and corrections
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The tower of polls, biases, weights, and corrections

No matter what poll-based content you read, you are not just reviewing what the data show. You are reading data, corrected for bias, weighted for lack of representation, scored for bias, aggregated, and then manipulated by a model. Each of these “corrections” is a human decision. These models are valuable, but they do not represent…

The impact of the “What the f—?” moments in the Trump/Harris debate

The impact of the “What the f—?” moments in the Trump/Harris debate

All of us who watched the ABC News presidential debate this week shared an experience: a whole bunch of “What the fuck?” moments. These were statements made by the candidates that seemed, not just odd, but completely incendiary, implausible, and out of left field. So let’s evaluate what they said and just as important, was…

Beyond workplace heroics; Negative AI branding; conservative manifesto postponement: Newsletter 14 August 2024
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Beyond workplace heroics; Negative AI branding; conservative manifesto postponement: Newsletter 14 August 2024

Newsletter 57: Is rewarding heroics making your workplace better? Plus, Project 2025 book delayed, AI’s marketing value is less than zero, Scottish WorldCon triumph, three people to follow and three books to read. Every heroic workplace act is a sign of failure I worked in companies for 33 years. I was often the hero, and…

On JD Vance and Tim Walz: how likely are VP nominees to become president?

On JD Vance and Tim Walz: how likely are VP nominees to become president?

We learned this morning that vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her vice-presidential candidate. Trump has selected Ohio senator JD Vance as his running mate. Of course, former FDR vice president John Nance “Cactus Jack” Garner once described the vice-presidency as “not worth a bucket of…

Hourly perversion; Hillbilly redux; Ingram hypocrisy: Newsletter 31 July 2024
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Hourly perversion; Hillbilly redux; Ingram hypocrisy: Newsletter 31 July 2024

Newsletter 55: Why paying people by the hour is the most pervasive and perverse trend in business. Plus the Hugos reject automated entries, JD Vance gets rich off his VP nod, Ingram bans a book about AI in publishing, three people to follow and three books to read. Nobody smart or skilled should work by…

On truth, politics, JD Vance, and Kamala Harris
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On truth, politics, JD Vance, and Kamala Harris

Honestly, you’re going to have vote for president in about 100 days. So stop credulously sharing crap that doesn’t matter. There’s an account circulating about the masturbatory practices of Trump’s vice presidential candidate JD Vance, supposedly documented in his book Hillbilly Elegy. There are two problems with that. It’s false. It’s not in the book….