History of resistance to new technologies and ideas. Curated by @louisanslow Newsletter: https://xitter.cf/t.co/ICDLE3Wrbm
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🧵 How mathematicians reacted to the first major computer aided mathematical proof in 1976
“the present proof relies in effect on an Oracle, and I say down with Oracles! They are not mathematics” … - Paul Halmos, UC Santa Barbara
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One of the rationales behind releasing open source exploit finding app SATAN in 1995 was that network security admins were complacent. Dan Farmer argued they needed a kick in the ass and some increased risk in short-term for security to improve in longterm newsletter.pessimistsarchive…
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I know it’s been said so many times, but I just love @Waymo! I have to admit when Larry and Sergey would obsess over self-driving cars, I was skeptical, but it’s just so great.
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The death of internet anonymity is looming, bringing with it severe implications for our free speech rights. And no one seems to want to stop it.
Laws aimed at protecting children online could have serious unintended consequences.
📰 @BostonGlobe
🖊️ @sarahemclaugh
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Oh no, if only we had the stable power needed for projects like this.
I bet he's really annoyed at the minister in this video.
Anyone else really conflicted over this?
We need more data centres to compete at all in the AI arms race, but at the same time a national campaign to ensure Nick Clegg does not receive another £30 million seems like one of the few things that would unify the country.
H/t to @ArianCymreig
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“Actually, in America, the reading of books is up. Sales of print books have increased nearly twenty-five per cent from a decade ago. The number of independent bookstores in the United States has climbed steeply since 2009, with a seventy-per-cent increase since 2020.”
These nuggets & more in this delightful @NewYorker profile of James Daunt, founder of Daunt Books, CEO of Barnes & Noble, and Managing Director of Waterstones: newyorker.com/magazine/2026/…
All these examples of technology disrupting and redefining knowledge work. Very relevant to today.
1930s: free legal advice over radio freaks out lawyers newsletter.pessimistsarchive…
1970s: computer aided proofs freak out mathematicians newsletter.pessimistsarchive…
1990s: automated software security exploit finder freaks out computer security experts newsletter.pessimistsarchive…
1930s: free legal advice over radio freaks out lawyers newsletter.pessimistsarchive…
1970s: computer aided proofs freak out mathematicians newsletter.pessimistsarchive…
1990s: automated software security exploit finder freaks out computer security experts newsletter.pessimistsarchive…
Pessimists Archive retweeted
A shame for you that the First Amendment exists, and applies just as much to Meta and YouTube as it does to you or anyone else.
You could say the same thing about the "whims" of newspaper publishers.
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"Actually, in America, the reading of books is up." newyorker.com/magazine/2026/…
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You either die a disruptor or live long enough to see yourself become a protectionist.
Surprise: An anti-Waymo astroturf group sounds like it is quite obviously a front for Uber, with whom it shares "public affairs" consultants in New York and Pennsylvania. washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/…
You either die a disruptor or live long enough to see yourself become a protectionist.
Surprise: An anti-Waymo astroturf group sounds like it is quite obviously a front for Uber, with whom it shares "public affairs" consultants in New York and Pennsylvania. washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/…
Ralph Nader, 1997: “When we came out against nuclear power in the early '70s, the government had predicted that there would be 1,000 nuclear plants by the year 2000 in the United States, and there's 109 and shrinking, as more and more get shut down.” pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline…
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Coca-Cola did not have as big an impact on Santa as is often claimed, they did not create him or even design his look.
More here;
fakehistoryhunter.net/2021/1…
