Daily Picks

Saturday, 22 August 2026

10 new posts
Nautilus
Science & HealthNautilusKristen French

Are You in Danger of Becoming a Robot?

TL;DR

Frequent interaction with social robots can subtly reshape people's expression and identity to fit AI's capabilities, resulting in a diminished sense of personhood.

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Noahpinion
Economics & PolicyNoahpinionNoah Smith

Are we watching the U.S. go bankrupt?

TL;DR

The small rise in long-term U.S. Treasury yields is not a sign of a bond market collapse, but the huge national debt and unwise policies still warrant caution.

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acx
Society & IdeasacxScott Alexander

Your Book Review: A Residence Of 21 Years In The Sandwich Islands

TL;DR

Re-reading her ancestor Hiram Bingham's memoir, the author finds 19th-century missionaries and today's effective altruists think alike, and their wins and losses still carry lessons.

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nngroup
TechnngroupRachel Banawa

AI-Generated Images Can Perform as Well as Stock Photography

TL;DR

When users don't know an image's provenance, AI-generated photos are judged no less trustworthy than real stock photography; trust depends more on content than on how it was made.

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Quanta Magazine
Science & HealthQuanta MagazineMax G. Levy

‘Huge Breakthrough’ in the Math of Imbalance

TL;DR

Computer scientists have made the first major advance in 30 years on the Komlós conjecture, showing that even with huge numbers of objects and attributes, imbalance can be kept almost constant.

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Pluralistic
TechPluralisticCory Doctorow

Pluralistic: Born on technology's third base (21 Aug 2026)

TL;DR

The success of the AI industry relies not just on talent but on historical luck—the coincidence of massive parallel computing and internet data—much like being born on third base.

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ACOUP
Society & IdeasACOUPBret Devereaux

Collections: Pre-Modern Armies for Worldbuilders, Part Vb: Pixel Armies for Pixel Societies

TL;DR

Armies in video games often feel off because they ignore the society behind them; good military design must mirror the political and economic structures of its world.

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Net Interest
Economics & PolicyNet InterestMarc Rubinstein

Great Scott

TL;DR

US Treasury Secretary Bessent calls himself the nation's top bond salesman, but recent auction yields have surged to multi-year highs, suggesting his sales performance is slipping.

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Conversable Economist
Economics & PolicyConversable Economistconversableeconomist

Even Sand Isn’t Infinite

TL;DR

Sand is not infinite; surging global demand has turned it into a pressing crisis.

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硅谷居士
Life & Work硅谷居士

《财富捷径》出版一周年了

TL;DR

A year after publishing his personal finance book, the author thanks readers for the high ratings and encourages more reviews to boost visibility.

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