From J.L.: Language Log has only one entry on slop (Dec. 21,2025), and I couldn't figure out how to comment there. I was wondering about its origins. Could it be a non-ethnic version of schlock? The sound is similar, and the meaning is identical. If so, the change might be part of a more general […]
Today's SMBC presents a new take on Moravec's Paradox:
The latest Questionable Content follows Yann LeCun:
Like others, I've often noted analogies between prosody (as modulations of pitch, voice quality, timing, and so on) and text rendering, whether in calligraphy or typography — e.g. "Intonational focus", 4/29/2011; "Prosodic lettering", 5/8/2011; and many other posts about the communicative use of color, font choice, spatial placement, punctuation, and so on. Some aspects of […]
Here's an odd error from a recent Washington Post article ("Pope Leo visits a polarized Spain where conservatives are turning on the church", 6/6/2026): On Thursday, Leo will visit Spain’s Canary Islands, a hub for Latin American migrants and major landing point for those arriving by sea from the African coast. The waters around the […]
When I joined the Peace Corps in 1965-67 (Group Nepal VI), headquarters in Washington DC gave me two precious collections: 1. a box ("locker") of 250 books to read when I wasn't out trekking across the length and breadth of Bhojpur, the district in northeast Nepal where I was stationed by myself, 2. a medicine […]
Marc Andreessen's recent appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast presented a striking example of AI promotion (or AI hype, as you please). We can discuss his extraordinary claims and predictions another time. My topic this morning is something Andreessen does that AI still can't do, namely talk like a human being. I'm referring to the way […]
Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroomDevelopmental Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway F. R. (Ruud) Van der Weel and Audrey L. H. Van der MeerDevelopmental Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, […]
There must be a strong physiological bond / affinity between these two aspects of the senses, such that it seems as though you can't have one without the other. Because of my two months of illness, I no longer have any appetite, not even for the things I used to love to eat — for […]
Never mind that the Manchus ruled China for 268 years (1644-1912), the last dynasty in the whole of Chinese history. Now another ethnic group, the Han, are complaining that the Manchus were not Chinese after all. What’s Driving Anti-Qing Sentiment in Contemporary China? A patriotic film backfired because a growing number of Han Chinese don’t […]