Lumina controversy, literary scandals, Google tackles AI-pollution, cultural drift, and how to meet me in person

Desiderata #24: links and commentary

The Desiderata series is a regular roundup of links and thoughts, as well as an open thread and ongoing Ask Me Anything in the comments.

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1/8. Since the last Desiderata, The Intrinsic Perspective published:

• (🔒) The Gen Z gender divide: The Intrinsic Podcast #4.

  Guest Ruxandra Teslo assesses the political and social split.

• IQ discourse is increasingly unhinged. Myth-busting becomes necessary.

• (🔒) How to become a successful scientist: a guide. Surviving academia and getting to what matters.

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2/8. If you want to catch me in person this year I am talking about my book The World Behind the World: Consciousness, Free Will, and the Limits of Science at Jabberwocky Bookshop in Massachusetts at 11AM on Saturday, April 27th. It is a free and public event, will be about an hour long, and you don’t have to have read the book to attend.

The event is part of the Newburyport Literary Festival (you can learn more here). Newburyport is a beautiful place less than an hour’s drive north of Boston. The festival brings many authors for other events and the bookstore itself is extensive (my mom owns it and I grew up in it). If you’re in the area this is a good excuse to check out the town and walk its brick streets and pick over its many charming shops and restaurants. After the event I’ll be signing books and chatting in what is hopefully an approachable manner, so if you do come, make sure to say hi (if you like).

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3/8. Lumina is a new product that recently went viral on X, being sold for $250 (down, apparently, from $20,000). The pitch is that you can put it on once at home, and, since the treatment consists of genetically-modified mouth bacteria that colonize your teeth, this supposedly prevents all future cavities.

source

However, others both within and outside the rationalist sphere (where the idea has its origins) had serious concerns, given that it is getting around the bulk of FDA requirements by being sold as a supplement.