You may know of LSD as the powerful drug taken by hippies in the 60s (or maybe Adrian Grenier in the movie Harvard Man). There’s a growing trend to take tiny doses that don’t make you trip, but instead may aid producitivy and treatment-resistant depression. | learn more
Believe that you’re lucky, and you get luckier. “A belief in luck can lead to a virtuous cycle of thought and action. Belief in good luck goes hand in hand with feelings of control, optimism, and low anxiety.” | learn more
Last week we saw Larry Page’s latest flying car. This week, we learn about his Google cofounder Sergey Brin’s new toy - an enormous airship. | learn more
Billionaires like wifi too, so their superyachts are equipped with extra-strength signals. Unfortunately, that doesn’t usually come with extra-strength security. Criminals are going after these high-value targets. | learn more
Lyrebird is an AI company creating synthetic voices that sound like real people. Their most recent product is not perfect, but does a really good job starting with only a minute of sample audio. Check out the link to hear Obama, Clinton and Trump talk about the startup. | learn more
General artificial intelligence doesn’t exist, but many smart people worry that it will someday, putting humans out of the “being in charge” business. This post shares the opposite view, and is worth reading for anyone interested in the topic. | learn more
Through a process called RNA editing, cephalopods are able to edit their genomes in 11,000 different places. | lean more
There’s a service where you can rent an Ossan (slang term for middle-aged man) to hang out with you by the hour. | learn more
Daniel Suarez comes back with more after his excellent sci-fi books Daemon and Freedom. Change Agent is the story of a future where CRISPR (the REAL new tool that enables DNA edits) has developed to the point where scientists can sculpt DNA to their liking, and Interpol maintains a genetic crimes division. As usual, he’s able to use tech that’s plausibly foreseeable from today’s reality to scare the shit out…
Kim Scott worked for Sheryl Sandberg at Google. After a presentation to triumvirate Larry, Sergey, and Eric, Sandberg wanted to help Scott by offering real-time feedback. Scott was having a hard time hearing it until Sandberg said “You know, Kim, I can tell I’m not really getting through to you. I’m going to have to be clearer here. When you say um every third word, it makes you sound stupid.”…