Peter Backus
Peter Backus
@duvetdays.bsky.social
Reposted by Peter Backus
Ah yes, I see it's the time of year when the Philanthropy Industrial Complex (Big P for short) seeds negative stories about Mackenzie Scott because everything about the way she gives money undercuts their entire model...
fortune.com/article/mack...
MacKenzie Scott's game-changing philanthropy still mystifies nonprofits: 'Her gifts are super generous, but unfortunately, they don’t provide long term sustainability'
"What they are saying with trust-based philanthropy is to offer support beyond a check," Indiana University's Pamela Wiepking says, "and that’s typically not what she is doing.”
fortune.com
December 30, 2024 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by Peter Backus
Everyone has utterly lost the plot about the actual material state of the economy. It's as if the last 4 years did not happen. Denial of the shape of the earth. There's really no other conclusion other than that nothing actually matters anymore. We're through the looking glass into pure vibes.
November 7, 2024 at 2:55 AM
Reposted by Peter Backus
Really interesting & well-argued. Interesting to think of intelligence as a factor of production & ask where it can make large marginal contributions. I agree about limits due to data and social complexity. Also due to its energy use. darioamodei.com/machines-of-...
Dario Amodei — Machines of Loving Grace
How AI Could Transform the World for the Better
darioamodei.com
October 12, 2024 at 6:32 AM
"Don't expect unannounced social calls to mobiles to be answered, unless you are calling someone from an older generation who still possesses vestiges of the old obedience to the phone's clarion call."

debretts.com/the-new-rule....
The New Rules of Mobile Eitquette
Mobile etiquette has come a long way and it's time to take a look at the new rules.
debretts.com
November 20, 2023 at 5:22 PM
Reposted by Peter Backus
“I built a trading bot that buys stocks that are being bought by politicians. It is up 20% since it launched in May 2022. The market has been flat during the same time period.” More here. [threads.net]
November 10, 2023 at 9:56 PM
Reposted by Peter Backus
My entry in the genre
October 31, 2023 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Peter Backus
I've seen two new accusations today that people in Israel-Palestine were crisis actors, and it hit me what the psychological impulse behind such conspiracy theories is:

To give yourself permission not to feel others' grief.
October 28, 2023 at 9:18 PM