The problem with utopia Specifically with respect to status.

I really try to not care about status, but to not care is not not be human, it seems.

Technology advances forced the Census Bureau to use sweeping measures to ensure privacy for respondents. The ensuing debate goes to the heart of what a census is.

This is a great article on a big-name application of differential privacy: it even features an interview with Dworkin! This, to me, seems like a pretty necessary change to preserve the privacy of folks.

via: https://mit.edu/6.1800/www/tutorials/01-intro.shtml

But wanting to be a good person might be your most dangerous motivation.

If our movement is successful, it will be because of tens of thousands of people who all tried different things.”

I am not part of animal advocacy, but these are good rules to live by, nonetheless.

It was impossible for most folks to sit on their couch and watch TV while a guy who was riding his bicycle across America was camped in their backyard. What if he was famous? So I was usually invited into their home for desert and an interview. My job in this moment was evident: I was to relate my adventure. I was to help them enjoy a thrill they secretly desired, but would never accomplish. My account in their kitchen would make this legendary ride part of their lives. Through me and my retelling of my journey, they would get to vicariously ride a bicycle across America. In exchange I would get a place to camp and a dish of ice cream. It was a sweet deal that benefited both of us.

I think the author could do more here to unpack his privilege, but it’s a nice parable nonetheless.

This is a good introduction to hate speech as a legal phenomenon, with emphasis on social media and college campuses. Exposed me to a lot of useful viewpoints.

And just like their parents before them, Brooding columnist Kathryn Jezer-Morton writes, their vigilance is suffused with anxiety.

In every team and organization important decisions need to be made related to goals, strategy, and allocation of resources. When decisions are announced people make evaluations of the fairness of the decision based on two aspects. First, the outcome of the decision (distributive justice) and second, the process by which the decision was made (procedural justice).

The framework of distributive and procedural justice, apparently due to Tom R. Tyler, seems to be quite useful: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_R._Tyler

PDF version: https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.mit.edu/dist/3/652/files/2020/06/Sharing-Difficult-Decisions-.pdf

Why does nobody care about anything? The world is full of stuff that could be excellent with just 1% more effort. But people don’t care.

Why does nobody care about anything? The world is full of stuff that could be excellent with just 1% more effort. But people don’t care.