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Cats & Dogs

A dog gets fed and thinks his person is an omniscient, benevolent being. A cat gets fed and thinks it is. How we see ourselves in this analogy is actually up to each of us, every day. It also tells us a bit about how we think about customers, vendors, and partners.

The Tarot Card Deck Created by Salvador Dalí

The Tarot has long been a tool of charlatans. But it has also long been embraced by brilliant, unconventional thinkers, many of whom themselves have a touch of the charlatan about them (and who would just as likely admit it with a smile). William Butler Yeats was a fan, as is

What Childhood Folklore Did You Learn As a Kid?

I loved this post by Kelsey Miller for Cup of Jo about “childlore” . “Remember typing ‘BOOBS’ on a calculator?!” someone will blurt. “Or — or that thing when you’re driving by a cemetery and you have to hold your breath?” I love hearing the tiny differences in details (some

What Would J.R.R. Tolkien Think of Palantir?

Palantir, the data analysis defense contractor co-founded by Peter Thiel, was named after the magical seeing stones from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books. This video compares the ethos of the company with that of Tolkien. The palantiri of The Lord of the Rings are sort

IDF Soldiers Hide From Our Gaze

Official portraits show Israeli soldiers turning their backs on the camera, ostensibly to protect them from prosecution for war crimes. The gesture is a tacit admission of guilt.

Stop-Motion Lego Dr. Strangelove

Two sequences from Dr. Strangelove done in Lego: Muffley’s call to Kissoff on the hotline in the war room and Dr. Strangelove’s increasingly erratic presentation of his plan to preserve humanity in a mine shaft. This is really well done. (via bb ) [This is a vintage post

Reality Check

"AI-generated images have left us questioning what is real. But the godfather of digital forensics, Hany Farid, is not giving up."