prior probability

For our part, we say, Good Riddance! Here are some reasons why:

1. Karissa Bell, “Why Facebook and Instagram [and Twitter] should kill the like button,” via Mashable.
2. Liraz Margalit, “Our obsession with ‘like’ (part 1),” via Psychology Today.
3. James Somers, “The like button ruined the Internet,” via The Atlantic.

But if Twitter were to decide to remove its heart-shaped like button, how would its algorithms work?

Happy Halloween!

Check out this report by Jonathan Marciano describing a fascinating experiment in which a group of corporate lawyers with decades of experience in business law competed against an artificial intelligence (AI) program called LawGeex. Their task was to spot issues in five Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), a type of contract that is commonly used in many business deals. Here is a summary of the outcome of the experiment (emphasis added by us): “LawGeex AI achieve[d] an average 94% accuracy rate, higher than the lawyers who achieved an average rate of 85%. It took the lawyers an average of 92 minutes to complete the NDA issue spotting, compared to 26 seconds for the LawGeex AI. The longest time taken by a lawyer to complete the test was 156 minutes, and the shortest time was 51 minutes.” (See infographic below the fold. Full disclosure: It appears that the creators of “LawGeex AI” were the same ones who ran the experiment.)  Continue reading →

That is the title of a new book published by our friend Drew Y. Jackson, a Renaissance man extraordinaire. His beautiful book contains a collection of photographs of several motels in the Tampa region and of some of the souls who live in those motels. In addition to his haunting photos, the book contains an excellent essay explaining the history and economics of the motel industry. If you wish to obtain a copy of the book, let us know in the comments section and we will forward your request to Mr Jackson.

Check out this report by India Block titled “Sagrada Familia agrees [to] €36 million payment after building 136 years with no permit.” In summary, the famous Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona, which has been under construction since 1882 (!), never received a building permit from the city. The historic cathedral (pictured below), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was designed by the renowned architect Antoni Gaudí and is still under construction. According to Ms Block’s report, the trustees of the Sagrada Familia have now agreed to pay €36 million (£31 million) in installments to the city. “In return for the money, the [city] will officially regularise the work and the basilica will be able to formalise its permit to complete the design …”

So, what would have happened if the trustees had refused to pay for the building permit? Would the city have halted construction on the 136-year project? (The cathedral is still under construction and is not scheduled to be completed until the year 2026.) Next time, maybe the trustees should request a variance!