Brighter Evening

We usually take base 10 as being the natural way to look at numbers but is it? How are other types of numbers used in measurement units?

We discuss the simulation hypothesis - the idea that our percieved universe may be the simulation of a more advanced version of ourselves. We look at some of the evidence for and against it.

I tried the famous Popeye's chicken sandwich and share my thoughts and reaction.

We reflect on the tremendous growth in capability in two key categories of technology. We try to put this growth into perspective by looking at how we have reduced costs while improving the capabilities.

In having discussions about difficult topics, people often shut down conversation though the use of a logical fallacy. We discus a few of the ones that I often see.

If you could travel back in time without worrying what your changes would cause, how could you improve the world?

We've lost a future that promised greater capability as computers became ubiquitous. While computers are better, faster, easier and cheaper than ever, something has gone wrong. Look at the present and see how e fall short of the future that might have been.

We've lost a future that promised greater capability as computers became ubiquitous. While computers are better, faster, easier and cheaper than ever, something has gone wrong. We start exploring the past to understand future we could have had.

At the end of the 90's, the DMCA was passed and a program called DeCSS was released. DeCSS decrypted region-encoded DVD's to allow copying and as well as playback in region other than the one the DVD was sold in. We will talk about this case, what happened and discuss how we can legally analyze computer source code to decide if it qualifies as speech.

We explore the history of some common appetizers/snacks.

We explore the idea of permanence vs the human timescale. We talk about what it takes to have a permanent, or at least long-lived, effect on the world.

I share my experiences with various regional sodas.

We discuss the Gold Standard, why it is used and what its drawbacks are. We also discuss the creation of the Federal Reserve System and how we slowly moved to fiat currency.

COVID-19 is an on-going pandemic. We talk about how to understand models of the progression and what changes are likely to happen as a result of this experience.

We explore the purpose of money, how it is valued and how it came to be.

We explore what it would take to make a Mars colony, what challenges it would face and what it might be like

Continuing our discussion from part 1, healthcare reform is a perennial topic because it touches everyone. We talk about the various ways that healthcare is delivered and paid for. We also look at the cost drivers.

Healthcare reform is a perennial topic because it touches everyone. We talk about the various ways that healthcare is delivered and paid for. We also look at the cost drivers.

COVID-19 is an on-going pandemic. We talk about how and why to stay safe while this is an on-going problem.

In the show Last Man On Earth, almost everyone died from a virus. We discuss what one could do to help ensure that the world gets rebuilt and that we regain civilization as quickly as possible.