Ian’s Picks

by Ian Pollock

* Intrade recently shut down, for reasons that have yet to be clarified but look pretty suspicious. This is a big disappointment for prediction market fans like me, because they have the potential to be really useful and salutary for our political discourse.

* Luke Muehlhauser’s fairly comprehensive FAQ on decision theory.

* Cosma Shalizi’s fantastic linked notebooks on... a whole bunch of topics.

* Hyperphysics is a concise compendium of physics knowledge, an excellent reference.

* The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on torture. One interesting aspect is that the article (unlike most in the SEP) comes to some fairly strong conclusions: (1) an absolute moral prohibition on torture is implausible, and (2) institutionalized torture is a terrible idea.

* I am halfway through Red Plenty by Francis Spufford. It’s hard to pigeonhole this book into a genre, but its aim is roughly to novelize a discussion of how the Soviet economy of the 60s worked (or not). Highly recommended.