Links for 2022-12-27
“2022: A Year in Review (ML Papers Edition) In this thread, let's take a look at some of the top trending ML papers of 2022 ↓” https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1607080018546417665.html
Riffusion text to music 🎶https://huggingface.co/spaces/anzorq/riffusion-demo
“Someone has been working out whether gravitational wave detectors could be used to detect evidence of some types of interstellar spacecraft. While the paper (https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.02065) concerns conjectural accelerating planetary-mass ships, certainly exotic propulsion ideas (warp drives, wormholes) would also have gravitational radiation signatures.” https://phys.org/news/2022-12-team-physicists-ligo-giant-alien.html
Positive selection in the genomes of two Papua New Guinean populations at distinct altitude levels https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.15.520226.full
New Industries Come From Crazy People https://www.palladiummag.com/2021/02/02/new-industries-come-from-crazy-people/
Direct neural perturbations reveal a dynamical mechanism for robust computation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.16.520768v1
"Intelligence contributes 48–90 times more than grit [perseverance of effort] to educational success and 13 times more to job-market success." https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1948550620920531
New 'Cellular Glue' Concept Could Heal Wounds, Regrow Nerves https://www.cnet.com/science/biology/new-cellular-glue-concept-could-heal-wounds-regrow-nerves/
Not Getting Hacked https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ESp3SsuqWrht7SApu/not-getting-hacked
Google's management has reportedly issued a 'code red' amid the rising popularity of ChatGPT https://www.businessinsider.com/google-management-issues-code-red-over-chatgpt-report-2022-12
“I received bizarre microchips from the downed Russian SU-24M near Bakhmut. Research revealed that at least one microchip is part of the SVP-24 automatic targeting system. As you can guess, it is full of Western parts” https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1606650142379196416.html
Uncancelled History | EP. 05 Winston Churchill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-W6lqwIG2Y
“Sir Winston Churchill neither caused nor contributed to the Bengal Famine of 1943. As someone who has spent countless hours reading through hundreds of pages of primary sources, what was actually said and done, here's what really happened.” https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1606729780493258753.html
You have heard of climate tipping points, but did you know that there are social tipping points?
Possibly between 40-60% of the population simply follow what they sense to be the current status quo. Even if they secretly believe otherwise, they will falsify their preferences to fit in. This means that a minority who is successful at presenting their ideas as a social consensus, or which is powerful or radical enough to silence opposing voices, could bring about a sudden and unexpected landslide victory of their ideas.
References:
1. “[C]itizens' policy opinions changed immediately and substantially when their party switched its policy position – even when the new position went against citizens' previously held views.” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ajps.12550
2. On Abrupt and Unpredictable Social Change https://conversableeconomist.blogspot.com/2019/11/interview-with-cass-sunstein-on-abrupt.html
3. The 3.5% rule: How a small minority can change the world https://bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world
4. The Most Intolerant Wins: The Dictatorship of the Small Minority https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dictatorship-of-the-small-minority-3f1f83ce4e15
Putin on the supply of Patriots to Ukraine: “Of course, we’ll crack them like nuts, 100%”
From an American perspective, and the perspective of countries using this system, whatever happens, is a desirable outcome. If the Patriot system works, this sends a signal of deterrence to China. If Russia can crack it, this is very valuable information. In a conflict with China, you definitely don't want to rely on a system that even Russia is able to take out.
That said, Russia hasn't even been able to defeat old German 1960s technology like the Gepard. The new and commercial IRIS-T SLM is also 100% effective against Russian cruise missiles. So I have strong doubts that they can do anything against US Army's Patriot.
After 10 months of war and weeks after a previous attack, which gave Russia time to prepare, Ukraine again managed to fly 650 km through Russia proper to attack the Engels strategic bomber airbase.
The image of Russia as a superpower is completely shattered.
Russia cannot protect its flagships, its ports, its airbases, and its infrastructure against a much smaller enemy. It wouldn't surprise me anymore if the United States would be able to preemptively destroy the majority of Russia's nuclear weapons if it came to a direct confrontation.
Also, remember that the United States spends approximately y$40 billion just on its nuclear weapons. That's half as much as Russia's entire military budget. In other words, the majority of Russia's nuclear weapons probably don't work anyway, just like the rest of their pathetic equipment.
A nuclear war against Russia can probably be won at a survivable cost of a few major cities.
P.S. The Soviet Union received $180 billion from the United States in support of its fight against Nazi Germany.
Over 400,000 jeeps and trucks; 12,000 armored vehicles (including 7,000 tanks, about 1,386 of which were M3 Lees and 4,102 M4 Shermans); 11,400 aircraft (of which 4,719 were Bell P-39 Airacobras, 3,414 were Douglas A-20 Havocs and 2,397 were Bell P-63 Kingcobras) and 1.75 million tons of food.
Roughly 17.5 million tons of military equipment, vehicles, industrial supplies, and food were shipped from the Western Hemisphere to the USSR, 94% coming from the US.