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Comment Cult of Ignorance (Score 5, Insightful) 145

Foundation is an all-time classic.
My favorite quote of his came from a column in Newsweek, (21 January 1980).

There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."

Forty years later, it's truer than ever.

Comment Re:Couldn't hide? (Score 1) 143

As did Asimov in 1980:

There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that âoemy ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.â

https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.aphelis.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2FASIMOV_1980_Cult_of_Ignorance.pdf (PDF of his article from Newsweek)

Comment Re:What is of real value? (Score 1) 82

I am trying to figure what is so valuable of 10 years of school district data?

If the student data has birth dates and SSNs, it could be used to open fraudulent credit card accounts. Medical identity theft is a possibility too. Ten years of data? Some of these "kids" are adults now, and looking to finance cars and houses. They may have some serious hassles ahead.

Comment Did you write that article? Um... sure! (Score 1) 257

Waaay back in 90s, I received an email at a Big Northern.edu for another Dr Joe (same last name) at a Big Southern.edu. My doppelganger had written an article in Scientific American, and the email asked more information.

It was easy enough to track down the address of the other Dr Joe, so I forwarded it. But I considered adding that article in my CV.... the other doc could claim my publications in return. Win-win!

Comment The solution to deepfakes is... more deepfakes! (Score 1) 70

Picture this: A few days before the election, a new video has "Candidate A" speaking at a satanist convention, disparaging the flag, mom, and apple pie. Totally fake, but how can Candidate A fight back?

Simply put out a new ad, with fake footage of Candidate B saying _exactly_ the same speech... then JFK, then Nixon, then ($pop_idol_of_the_week). Tagline is "I'm Candidate A, and I can make stuff up too."

A sad state of affairs, but if I ran a political party, I'd crank up a rendering farm for this type of emergency.

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