Reconcilable Differences

This week’s first topic is self-driving cars and how soon they’re likely to be ready, as they say, for prime time. Later, you'll find The Spoiler Slot filled with a discussion of the 2016 movie, Arrival.

Merlin admits to almost watching something on TV and encourages John to talk him out of buying a new laptop. John has concerns about dander diamonds, and Merlin briefs John on the mechanics of modern version control.

John cannily revisits his Parameters of the World and, no, he doesn’t need your damned telemetry.

Later, you'll find The Spoiler Slot filled with a spoiler-heavy discussion of the 2016 movie, Arrival. If you haven’t seen the film yet, be sure to bail out before the spoiler horn is deployed at (1:13:13). [Watch it. It’s good.]

Merlin pulls a pretty dramatic turnaround but still has some beefs, while John has very strong opinions about whether one character might be a monster. Merlin has no difficulty choosing the saddest line in the movie.

(Recorded on Tuesday, February 28, 2017)

The DARPA Grand Challenge is a prize competition for American autonomous vehicles, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the most prominent research organization of the United States Department of Defense.

We deconstruct and reconstruct the recent release “Arrival,” staring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker, and based on a story by Ted Chiang that we discussed nearly 300 episodes ago. There’s praise for the story’s restraint, quiet tone, beautiful scenes of solitary obelisks in remote cow pastures, and realistic portrayal of its main characters. We also enter a spirited debate about the film’s sci-fi plot mechanism, the way its aliens (and alien language) are portrayed, and the morality of a choice that one character may—or may not—have made.

The principle of linguistic relativity holds that the structure of a language affects its speakers' world view or cognition. Popularly known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, or Whorfianism, the principle is often defined to include two versions. The strong version says that language determines thought, and that linguistic categories limit and determine cognitive categories, whereas the weak version says that linguistic categories and usage only influence thought and decisions.

The song's lyrics tell a story set in a future in which many classes of vehicles have been prohibited by "the Motor Law". The narrator's uncle has kept one of these now-illegal vehicles (the titular red barchetta sports car) in pristine condition for some "fifty-odd years" and keeps it hidden at his secret country home (previously a farm before the enactment of the aforementioned Motor Law).

When twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world, linguistics professor Louise Banks is tasked with interpreting the language of the apparent alien visitors.

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Arrival ahead

Main topic this week is Valentine’s Day. Why Merlin hates it, and why John thinks it has its purposes. Why is tonight’s Holy Day of Obligation different from all others, and why exactly did John have a mat?

This week, things open with a shockingly thorough discussion of chickens that somehow pivots to Costco caskets, TV buying decisions, Merlin's increasingly strange pronunciations, and John’s reluctant agreement to become a cron job.

Follow-up covers John finding those charts about global living conditions and Merlin finally figuring out how to remember the name of that one song.

There's a fair amount of memory talk, including more explorations of John's perpetual memory doubts and mistrust, plus, Merlin introduces another one of his “runx” files.

(Recorded on Tuesday, February 14, 2017)

A recent survey asked “All things considered, do you think the world is getting better or worse, or neither getting better nor worse?”. In Sweden 10% thought things are getting better, in the US they were only 6%, and in Germany only 4%. Very few people think that the world is getting better.

What is the evidence that we need to consider when answering this question? The question is about how the world has changed and so we must take a historical perspective. And the question is about the world as a whole and the answer must therefore consider everybody. The answer must consider the history of global living conditions – a history of everyone.

Merlin remembered the song!

"Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings"

ED-209: You now have 15 seconds to comply. You are in direct violation of Penal Code 1.13, Section 9.

Seven years after vanishing from her home, a young woman returns with mysterious new abilities and recruits five strangers for a secret mission.

"I'm the sole survivor!"

"…because my little Danielle used the right zip!"

"Nested lip gloss ice creams"

In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation (also called holydays, holidays, or days of obligation) are days on which the faithful are obliged to attend Mass.

Main topic this week is John's Cautious Tech Optimism. How does John see technology's role in potentially bringing out our better angels? Why is dystopian sci-fi so depressingly myopic? How much does technology ever really change human nature?

This week starts off ignominiously, with John and Merlin both not remembering several things. Merlin proposes The File Card Effect, and John knows not to be too smart when searching Google. John celebrates the proper use of Title Case, while Merlin frets over wearing his memories down to a nub.

Mini-topic this week is Merlin’s latest fraught and stressful experience on jury duty (yes, again). John voir dires Merlin about his eligibility and poor continence, and Merlin introduces John to how one anxiously, tentatively chooses to play The C.G.P. Grey Card.

And what hinders a culture from doing a more ambitious job of yoking technology to the problems it might be great at addressing?

(Recorded on Monday, January 31, 2017)

On September 17, 1925, Kahlo and Gómez Arias were on their way home from school when the wooden bus they were riding collided with a streetcar. Several people were killed, and Kahlo suffered nearly fatal injuries—an iron handrail impaled her through her pelvis, fracturing the bone. She also fractured several ribs, her legs, and a collarbone

Grey and Brady discuss: Hello Internet listening party surprise, plane crash corner, elf on the shelf revisited, Rogue One and The Force Awakens revisited, mailing habits of Americans, Mastermind, some sports stuff or whatever, Sum, and Brady runs a brain-bending Limerick contest.

In the second episode, I am excited to be joined by my fellow Guardian John Siracusa to discuss the video game Destiny. Proudest moments, total time wasted, and the reality of the Hunter handicap – it’s all there. Destiny overview…delete

Jury nullification is a finding by a trial jury in contradiction to the jury's belief about the facts of the case.

CGP Grey's excellent video on jury nullification. Must-watch.

The Activation Lock scheme that steals valid serial numbers from existing iOS users potentially explains a mysterious Apple ID bug that's been plaguing iPhone owners for months.

Charlie Brooker’s anthology TV series “Black Mirror” has been compared to “The Twilight Zone”, with its dark, twist-laden tales about the advance of technology and how it affects society. Does it live up to the hype? Our panel watched all 13 episodes—all currently available on Netflix—and is here to report back on the strengths and weaknesses of the series. We also discuss our five favorite episodes in detail, so you can skip to the highlights if you don’t want to utterly darken your soul.

You’ve heard us talk about the best of “Black Mirror”, now hear us talk about… the rest of “Black Mirror.” Cut from the main episode for time, here’s our (unedited) discussion of “Fifteen Million Merits”, “The Entire History of You”, “The Waldo Moment”, “Playtest”, “Men Against Fire”, “The National Anthem”, “White Bear”, and “Shut Up and Dance.”

"What’s up With That Weird Username You Use Sometimes? Does 'hotdogsladies' Mean Something Dirty?"

For the main topic, your hosts address Money on the Internet. How have technological and cultural changes altered our idea about what's valuable and how much people are willing to pay for it?

This week, it doesn't take long to get deep in the stack on texting people in the same room, John's take on pound-sign hashtags, and the location of Merlin's missing meat.

The mini-topic this week is tattoos. Specifically, why Merlin has developed such strong feelings about tattoos, plus John's vision of a world free of theoretical tattoo discrimination.

What happens when VCs are mostly investing in other VCs? How come Lucky Smells Lumbermill pays its employees in coupons? And, is there a company out there that could provide us one-millionth of the web ads while getting paid to protect our data?

John takes pity on The Algorithm.

(Recorded on Monday, January 16, 2017)

Brady & Grey chat about: the world chess championship, Norwegian Bank notes, Brady does antiquing through twitter, behavior control and Santa, Brady’s level of fame, a bird comes back to grey, the new elements, ugly YouTube ads, and consumable synthetic muscle tissue.

“I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things.”

Two days after her discharge from the hospital, she was in a car accident in Malibu, California, which left her with a fractured right hip and a shattered right upper arm. The injury to her arm required surgery, which left her with a 7-inch scar between her elbow and shoulder.

The main topic this week is Dad Stuff. Dad Jokes, Dad Hats, and Dad…everything. In particular, when did Dad Jokes become a thing, and exactly what part of that label is supposed to be so bad and insulting?

This week, John won’t talk about his job, Merlin has jury duty (yes, again), and your hosts do some follow-up on documentaries. The disappearing of classic episodes of older PBS shows is lamented.

John finds a lot to like about true Dad humor, while Merlin finds himself overwhelmed by a rapidly-widening aperture.

Following a bracing blast by an increasingly contextual spoiler horn (1:25:58), John and Merlin float into the epic, three-to-five-dimensional world of Christopher Nolan's 2014 science fiction epic, Interstellar.

(Recorded on Tuesday, January 3, 2017)

Seven years after vanishing from her home, a young woman returns with mysterious new abilities and recruits five strangers for a secret mission.JOIN FREE FOR A MONTH

Many dad jokes may be considered anti-jokes, deriving humour from an intentionally unfunny punchline.

Rockschool was a television series aired by the BBC and PBS in 1985. The series explored the history of rock music and gave instruction in popular performance techniques.

"In 1928, the writer Father Ronald Knox created a "Ten Commandments" of plot devices (Knox's Decalogue) that more or less codified the rules of the Fair-play whodunnit:"

Four friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.

The main topic this week is Merlin’s documentary obsession. Turns out: there are a lot of turns-outs. John and Merlin explore what’s so tantalizing (or off-putting) about some documentary films—as well as the whole genre as a thing.

This week, Merlin introduces John to a thriving culture of internet busybodies. What happens when we’re only ever exposed to people who look or think like we do? What would we do with free access to an all-you-can-eat Fun Dip buffet?

In follow-up, John learns about “Bay Lake,” but badly confuses his celebrity folk heroes. Around a YouTube series Merlin a perimeter creates. Your hosts debate which movies really are mostly terrible. (Murrrrrph!) Also, Merlin’s Netflix account gets borrowed for a morning.

Merlin suggests watching A Meditation on the Possibility of Romantic Love In the South During an Era of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation, and John is very reluctant to recommend 18 hours of New York history.

Merlin learns how Jesus died.

(Recorded on Tuesday, December 20, 2016)

"Movie Charcuterie. A film show focused on celebrating movies and hopefully making you laugh along the way. Best with Cornichons and a smoky, velvety Gruyère."

"For some people, treating depression is a matter of going to a doctor or therapist, maybe getting some meds, and then feeling better. For comedian and actress Maria Bamford, the path to doing better was way longer and more complicated. She shares her experiences with depression, OCD, hypomania, and persistent, unwanted disturbing thoughts, as well as bad therapy, ineffective in-patient treatment, and breakdowns. A diagnosis of Bipolar II, which covered a lot of what was wrong with her, and some Googling helped put her on track to become the healthier person she is today."

Nextdoor The private social network for your neighborhood.

The businesses referenced on the window are all skeleton companies once used by Walt to buy the land in Florida that would eventually become Walt Disney World.

McElwee initially planned to make a film about the effects of General William Tecumseh Sherman's march through Georgia and the Carolinas (the Georgia portion of which is commonly called the "March to the Sea") during the American Civil War. A traumatic breakup McElwee experienced prior to filming made it difficult for him to separate personal from professional concerns, shifting the focus of the film to create a more personal story about the women in his life, love, romance, and religion.

New York: A Documentary Film is an eight-part, 17½ hour, American documentary film on the history of New York City. It was directed by Ric Burns and originally aired in the U.S. on PBS.

"...out here I had been putting what little money I had in Ocean Frontage, for the sole reason that there was only so much of it and no more, and that they wasent making any more..."

“Around the survivors a perimeter create.”

Lots of follow-up on Free Will, including thoughts on Heisenberg, tail-chasing, and provocative recent scholarship on whether what we see is “reality.” Around 01:45:00, we fire off the spoiler horn for a discussion of season 1 of HBO’s Westworld.

This week kicks off with some contentious claims that Merlin is a crammer and John is a monster. Merlin reminds John that he is out of his depth, and John remembers things. Also, some brief talk on Apple router alternatives and learning to tolerate morning notifications.

A mini-topic spins out of listener feedback: what’s the distinction between being clever versus being smart? This leads to an exploration of humor, creativity, and the attraction of trying to make the right joke at the right time.

(Recorded on Tuesday, December 6, 2016)

"See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me…"

Cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman is trying to answer a big question: Do we experience the world as it really is ... or as we need it to be? In this ever so slightly mind-blowing talk, he ponders how our minds construct reality for us.

Hoffman has developed a new theory of consciousness that, should it prove true, may rearrange our understanding of reality itself. Listen as Hoffman talks about the bicameral mind, the umwelt, and the hard problem of consciousness in this mindbending episode about how we make sense of our world, our existence, and ourselves.

A professor of cognitive science argues that the world is nothing like the one we experience through our senses.

Humans may have one thing that advanced aliens don’t: consciousness.

Koestler's fundamental idea is that any creative act is a bisociation (not mere association) of two (or more) apparently incompatible frames of thought.

In 1930, during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, a number of famous British writers (Christie, Sayers, Chesterton, and Orczy to name a few) formed the Detection Club. During one of their dinners they wrote the rules of fair play. These rules were meant to allow the reader a fair chance of figuring out who committed the crime before the end of the story. While the rules have relaxed a bit over the years they are still relevant in mystery writing today.

Get your cowboy hat and your favorite Radiohead playlist, because it’s time to venture into the park for our first-season review of HBO’s “Westworld.” Is Anthony Hopkins running Westworld the park or “Westworld” the show we’re watching? Why can’t the Man in Black take a hint? Who is good and who is evil? Are the hosts sympathetic characters or empty, scripted shells? (And can’t you ask that question that about any fictional character?) We provide some quick analysis and also ponder where the show might take us in season two.

Was it John Cecil, in the loft, with the microphone? Actually, yes — and that’s more straightforward than anything in the puzzling murder-mystery-comedy-movie-of-the-board-game “Clue”, which John’s here to defend. Would anyone care for fruit, or dessert?

The main topic this week is Free Will. While Merlin has concerns about bong talk and living in a fingernail, John quickly gets things refocused on people's garden-variety defenses of free will and where they probably come from.

This week, John has follow-up from Jason the Ranger regarding the weird smell in his house.

Next up, your hosts have a few quick thoughts on the recent presidential election and the extent to which convincing voters that citrus fruits are bipeds might have changed the outcome.

Marbles and stars seem to follow mechanistic rules of the universe, but humans sure don't like things being the boss of them. John roughly specs the hardware needed to know everything that's going to happen, and Merlin wonders whether we're maybe a fact and a half from living in a medieval village.

Why don't we all just kill each other, and what if no one cared what we wanted in a new Mac? Does it matter whether people believe in free will? John's answer may surprise you (but probably won't).

(Recorded on Monday, November 21, 2016)

Treat yourself to Merlin's favorite "Internet Ramen."

Jacob Weisberg talks to historian Timothy Snyder about his most recent Slate piece, “Him,” and whether Hitler’s rise to power can tell us anything about today.

In this state every person has a natural right or liberty to do anything one thinks necessary for preserving one's own life; and life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short"

Haufniensis uses the example of a man standing on the edge of a tall building or cliff. From this height he can see all the possibilities of life. He's reflecting on what he could become if he only threw himself into the power of his own choice. As long as he stands there he stands at the crossroads of life, unable to make a decision and live within its boundaries. The mere fact that one has the possibility and freedom to do something, even the most terrifying of possibilities, triggers immense feelings of dread.

Every few years, they claim the world is going to end. When the end of the world is near, they hold an all-night vigil in the park. They have said the world is going to end 15 times. Their ceremonies require the playing of flutes, much to the delight of Ron Swanson, who sells them handcrafted instruments. The Zorpies, believing in the impending apocalypse, are happy to pay high prices.

In the character's first appearance in The Fantastic Four, Galactus was depicted as a god-like figure who feeds by draining living planets of their energy, and operates without regard to the morality and judgements of mortal beings.

Many beings of the Mythos were too powerful to be defeated by human opponents, and so horrific that direct knowledge of them meant insanity for the victim.

This week’s main topic covers teaching kids about technology_ When, how, and what should young students learn about computers at school? How far have things come since Merlin’s Business Administration class and the lectures John suffered on RAM vs. ROM?

As your hosts brace for the quadrennial U.S. Presidential election (yes, this was recorded the night before), Merlin illuminates the seedy underbelly of YouTube upload workarounds, John says Merlin’s head is definitely getting bigger, and Merlin considers John’s new theory regarding helium and weight loss. Merlin pronounces more things wrong and misses more of John’s references.

John shares the mysterious tale of the weird new smell in his house, and Merlin outs himself as a relative humidity nerd and baking soda life hacker.

Can a deeper interest in the wild and unexplored possibilities of technology be encouraged amidst the more practical and vocational approach to using today’s computers? Should poets and playwrights encourage their kids’ enthusiasm for coal mining?

(Recorded on Monday, November 7, 2016)

The main topic this week has Merlin probing John’s thoughts on the idea of a thing being “wrong within normal parameters.” John calls someone a “super doof,” and both hosts share their strategy for not ending up on a desert island.

This week, John has been encouraged to pierce Merlin more, and Merlin still hasn’t watched Millennium Actress (although they offer a helpful listener suggestion on how you can).

Your hosts compare how they use Twitter these days and talk about the different ways they deploy the heart icon. They wonder aloud about who actually sees what on Twitter.

For the conclusion of the episode, (after about 1:14:19), the spoiler horn is fired off for a discussion of the controversial Season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead.

(Recorded on Tuesday, October 25, 2016)

Next, the dolorous spoiler horn fires off for a detailed examination of The Walking Dead (TV series). Lots of talk about how and when the series works in general, followed by passionate complaints on the controversial Season 6 finale. Are we finally too far gone?

The show was set in Passaic, New Jersey, and was about the daily life of Billy Manucci, a young man who frequented the local disco club, Inferno, at night while working at an ice cream parlor called Tasty Treats during the day. Manucci was highly influenced by the disco craze and the movie Saturday Night Fever specifically.

Naturally, despite their obvious skill and inventiveness, the castaways never quite manage to put together a functional raft out of bamboo (or repair the hole in their original ship as the ship itself fell to pieces when they tried that in one episode), although in the television movie Rescue from Gilligan's Island, they do end up tying their huts together and using that as a raft for escape.

"I am endorsing Hillary, and all her lies and all her empty promises," O'Rourke continued. "It's the second-worst thing that can happen to this country, but she's way behind in second place. She's wrong about absolutely everything, but she's wrong within normal parameters."

The backfire effect occurs when, in the face of contradictory evidence, established beliefs do not change but actually get stronger.