Sunday Creationists

Doonesbury Hilarity

Protecting the Children

The folks over at Techdirt frequently make fun of legislation meant to "Protect the children". This article explains why their ridicule is justified.

Women Discriminated by ... women?

An article on the Sunday Times points out an interesting flavor of sexism. I believe this is just a specific instance of a more general phenomena - the self discrimination among a minority population. Havent we seen instances of racism where an individual belonging to a particular race or nationality actually try to hold back the rise of others?

The Inverse of Praise

A new Po Bronson article. How children deal with different kinds of praise and how parents might be growing quitters by praising their childrens' intelligence rather than effort. This definitely touches a nerve -- as a child I was frequently cited as a smart kid, and I did withdraw from activities that I was not good at.

Lessig on the Copyright Decision Ruling

Link to Article

Lawrence Lessig comments on the mistakes that led to defeat on the Eldred vs Ashcroft case that would have put some checks in place for the limitlessly expanding copyright terms. Fascinating read (esp for someone like me with no exposure to how the SC works). Interesting contrast between the classroom and the court / the academic and the pragmatic.

Pandora - Musical Genome Project

Looks like the Musical Genome Project actually has been productized now. I remember hearing about them a couple years ago, and thinking that it sounded like a extremely labor intensive project with unclear goals. But Pandora which is derived from the MGP looks like a solid product. You create a station with your favorite artists, and it streams music from other artists/songs that contain the same musical characteristics. It is great because I like listening to music of a certain "mood", and there is no easy way on my ipod to do that. Would be a great acquisition for Yahoo! Media Group - imagine it integrated with the Yahoo! Jukebox.