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The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World—And Us

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Richard O. Prum

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“Will those insights be tested,or simply used to justify the status quo and reinforce prejudices? When I consider the sloppy and self-serving ways that companies use data, I'm often reminded of phrenology, a pseudoscience that was briefly the rage in the nineteenth century. Phrenologists would run their fingers over the patient's skull, probing for bumps and indentations. Each one, they thought, was linked to personality traits that existed in twenty-seven regions of the brain. Usually the conclusion of the phrenologist jibed with the observations he made. If the patient was morbidly anxious or suffering from alcoholism, the skull probe would usually find bumps and dips that correlated with that observation - which, in turn, bolstered faith in the science of phrenology. Phrenology was a model that relied on pseudoscientific nonsense to make authoritative pronouncements, and for decades it went untested. Big Data can fall into the same trap. Models like the ones that red-lighted Kyle Behm and black-balled foreign medical students and St. George's can lock people out, even when the "science" inside them is little more than a bundle of untested assumptions.”

ScienceFairnessPseudosciencePhrenologyBig DataFeedback Loop
Book:Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
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“Because we bump into reinforcing loops so often, it is handy to know this shortcut: The time it takes for an exponentially growing stock to double in size, the “doubling time,” equals approximately 70 divided by the growth rate (expressed as a percentage). Example: If you put $100 in the bank at 7% interest per year, you will double your money in 10 years (70 ÷ 7 = 10). If you get only 5% interest, your money will take 14 years to double.”

EconomicsFeedback LoopRule Of 72
Book:Thinking in Systems: A Primer
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“There is indeed a distinction and nobility full of feeling in this higher form of tenderness that is very different from the conventional distinction and nobility which are distant and formal. This tenderness does not avoid contact with the most humble of men, and is unperturbed by situations in which others would be afraid of failing. The model of this tenderness is the kenosis, the condescension, of Christ. He did not wish to hold himself aloof from sinners, nor from the kind of women who are avoided by men concerned for their own reputation. The kenosis, the self-emptying of Christ is, in itself, the supreme form of tenderness. In it is shown the desire not to be a burden to the humble, nor to embarrass them. By his kenosis he desired to open up a way into their hearts. By kindness he intended to make them give up their cruel ways, instead of persisting in a hardness in which the ‘inferior’ returns the contempt of the ‘superior’.”

ChristTendernessKenosis
Book:Prayer and Holiness: The Icon of Man Renewed in God
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“In the early grey of the morning they reached the headquarter of General Genarius and found him working in a mountain of paperwork. Joey and Maya informed the general in detail about Libertine’s report. General Genarius closed his eyes and thought for a long moment until he said, “Wait a minute! Are you telling me that you want to enter the belly of darkness and liberate the mermaids and the unicorns?” “Yes Sir, we are determined to attack the center of demonic powers and believe in the great opportunity to liberate the mermaids and the unicorns from the cruel grip of the Empire!” Maya said. “Dangerous, dangerous…but the more I think about it, the more I can see that it could really work. However…this mission has to be well organized and of course…you must find the secret door to the Underworld… in time or you will be in big trouble. It is very risky but I will support this venture! Let me share with you some of my ideas and how this attempt could work. Take your six unicorns, all the equipment you need and leave the city of Selinka as soon as possible with Captain Goran and my assistant Captain Armstrong. You must cross the Thordis River behind the city, stay close to the Lagoon and move directly east from there. Let me take my map and show you exactly the way and… let me talk to Captain Armstrong. He is indeed a man with a strong arm, a clear mind in battle and he knows the way to Duanes Gate very well because his family lives somewhere in that area.”

UnrealisticGrammar FailFantasy FailShoddy CraftsmanshipUgly One Horned Mules
Author:Gloria Tesch
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