Interesting Links for 04-01-2018

[andrewducker]

Digital streaming behind biggest rise in UK music sales for two decades

(tags: business music streaming spotify uk )

Here’s what the evidence shows about the links between creativity and depression

(tags: creativity depression psychology )

Iceland introduces fines for firms that don’t pay men and women equally

(tags: Iceland gender pay equality )

'Kernel memory leaking' Intel processor design flaw forces Linux, Windows redesign

(tags: bug processor design epicfail Intel )

Wrestler vs 9 Year Old Girl (I can't see how anyone would think that wrestling was faked)

(tags: Wrestling girls video funny viaElfy )

The latest horribly dangerous health fad: unfiltered untreated water

(tags: health water OhForFucksSake )

High doses of vitamin D rapidly reduce arterial stiffness

(tags: vitaminD health heart )

Trump didn't think he could be president - and didn't think he should be.

(tags: politics usa OhForFucksSake )

Genetic analysis of ancient Alaskan child suggests the region was settled by people crossing from Asia 25,000 years ago

(tags: Alaska prehistory America asia )

Who Took the Legendary Earthrise Photo From Apollo 8?

(tags: photos moon history space )

Some quotes illustrating why the government's new Universities Regulator isn't suitable to hold *any* job

(tags: sexism Twitter OhForFucksSake Conservatives )

If you earn an average UK salary, by the end of today a top boss will have earned more than you do all year.

(tags: uk pay inequality )

A Breakthrough Blindness Treatment Will Cost $425,000 Per Eye, If It Works

(tags: eyes medicine money )

Comments

Here’s what the evidence shows about the links between creativity and depression

[jack]

Huh, that's interesting. The idea that there might be a link from creativity to depression and other things, but not vice versa, seems persuasive as soon as I saw the title.

In fact, I think I vaguely had the idea that creative types often did have something wrong as well, even though I thought it was just possible that problems were only noticed or taken seriously in people who stood out as successful some of the time.

But I *also* had the idea from many creative types saying "some people think you have to be depressed to be a great artist, fuck that, I've been both and the depression was hell, bad for art, and shouldn't be romanticised"

And I knew there was a tension there, but I didn't really put it together that that they might both be true.

I looked into the face of the abyss and, you know, didn't feel as much equanimity afterwards

[jack]

As to *why*, this is inevitably going to be a lot of raw guessing, but it seemed like the ideas which immediately sprang to my mind weren't the same guesses highlighted in the link. My guesses would have been:

* Creativity is the brain doing something unusual or with fewer bounds. Having a brain that pushes itself into less usual states is likely to find bad states as well.
* To express creativity requires a certain amount of ambition; people who repeatedly smash themselves into the ceiling are more likely to feel bad about it than people content to fit in with people around them
* Creativity involves deliberately thinking about things in new ways, letting all sorts of disturbing thoughts into your head ("OH GOD, *NOBODY* IS RUNNING SOCIETY")
* Creativity can involve deliberately doing things you don't know if they'll succeed or not (Staring at a blank sheet of paper crying, why can't I write a book as good as my first one)

Who Took the Legendary Earthrise Photo From Apollo 8?

[jack]

Oh wow, that's fascinating. It's funny how something you'd think would be so clear can be so ambiguous.

Re: Who Took the Legendary Earthrise Photo From Apollo 8?

[andrewducker]

It's amazing how much people's memories had differed from the truth too!

Intel Kernel bug

[channelpenguin]

Meine Götte!! That could make the next couple of week *very interesting* almost everywhere...

A potentially 30% slowdown is going to have a TON of impact. On the plus side, could make Intel stock a bargain - if you reckon that they ever recover from this!

Re: Intel Kernel bug - .... and relax??

[channelpenguin]

Early adopters finding it a non-issue (at least in Azure)

https://twitter.com/GossiTheDog/status/948877694271451137

Re: Intel Kernel bug - .... and relax??

[andrewducker]

That's a relief

Re: Intel Kernel bug - .... and relax??

[andrewducker]

That is good news!

[heron61]

Digital streaming behind biggest rise in UK music sales for two decades That's definitely awesome news, but looking at the article, I remain utterly baffled that people prefer paid streaming to purchasing digital music (and that digital music is by far the smallest category. As with DRM-stripping my ebooks, I want to own and possess the data I like, not to have its availability dependent upon the willingness and capability of someone else to allow me access to it. OTOH, unpaid streaming is, from my PoV at least, an awesome way to encounter new music.

[rmc28]

As someone who pays for streaming ... it massively lowers the barriers for trying new music and finding stuff I like. If I really like something then I'll buy it, but I usually need to listen to things a couple of times to decide if I want to listen to it forever or that was a pleasant enough experience but I don't feel the need to have more. And paying the cost of one album per month to 'try out' a lot more than one album per month seems like a good deal.

[naath]

I don't buy music mmuch but with books I'm a read onnce person. I don't want the storage costs, and don't care if I can read it again next year.

[andrewducker]

I like having access to a huge range of music. Buying the music I have for streaming (and have listened to in the last year) would cost me a few thousand pounds. Having access to it costs me about £120/year.

If things vanished from Spotify and I couldn't listen to it any more then I'd probably download it (if I cared). Or, more likely, listen to some of the thousands of other songs I have available.

[momentsmusicaux]

Oh wow, I hadn't seen this quote when I first saw this story:

> "It stays most fresh within one lunar cycle of delivery," Singh said. "If it sits around too long, it'll turn green. People don't even realize that because all their water's dead, so they never see it turn green."

!!!!

[andrewducker]

I know! The thought process there is terrifying!