Here’s a video from TU Delft explaining quantum “spooky action,” which they claim to have proven to exist in their experiments.

Update: this video is, ironically, unavailable to inform us at a distance. There is a version hosted elsewhere however. Thanks, NYC Mesh!

Update 2: it seems the video is working again. Weird!

From the NY Times:

The Delft study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, lends further credence to an idea that Einstein famously rejected. He said quantum theory necessitated “spooky action at a distance,” and he refused to accept the notion that the universe could behave in such a strange and apparently random fashion.

Link

Yesterday I gave a talk at the Radical / Networks conference (which continues today!). There’s a bit near the beginning where my audio cuts out, but you can fill in the gaps by pressing ‘p’ (for presenter mode) on my slide deck.

I mention two books at the end that you can find here:

• The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age by Astra Taylor
• To Our Friends by The Invisible Committee

Link

Somebody went and turned all those Apollo program photo scans on Flickr into a time lapsed video.

I guess this is the fastest way to look at all the photos in one sitting.

Link via Keith W. Geeding

Minimalist composer Steve Reich’s Piano Phase performed on two Nintendo Game Boy Micros.

See also: the same composition performed by human pianists.

Link via Evan P. Cordes

This makes me want to stop whatever it is I’m doing, slam my laptop shut, and go spend the rest of the day at a used bookstore.

Animation by Henning M. Lederer, music by Jörg Stierle. Cover images from Book Worship and Julian Montague Project.

Link via BoringPostcards

Mark Z. Jacobson, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford gave a talk at the New School in 2012 about the economics of renewable energy.

His part of the talk starts at 18:50.

See also: his TED debate with Stewart Brand about nuclear energy.

Link

Here’s Maciej Cegłowski giving a talk on the hazards of Big Data.

The current model of total surveillance and permanent storage is not tenable.

If we keep it up, we’ll have our own version of Three Mile Island, some widely-publicized failure that galvanizes popular opinion against the technology.

At that point people who are angry, mistrustful, and may not understand a thing about computers will regulate your industry into the ground.

See also: the text version of the talk.

Link

Hack the planet your personal fitness device!!

Does your lifestyle prevent you from qualifying for insurance discounts? Do you lack sufficient time for exercise or have limited access to sports facilities? Maybe you just want to keep your personal data private without having to pay higher insurance premiums for the privilege?

Unfit Bits provides solutions. At Unfit Bits, we are investigating DIY fitness spoofing techniques to allow you to create walking datasets without actually having to share your personal data. These techniques help produce personal data to qualify you for insurance rewards even if you can’t afford a high exercise lifestyle.

Made by my friends Tega and Surya. Also be sure to download the DIY guide from Biononymous.me.

Link

I am not playing video games as much as I once did, but I enjoyed watching this trailer for a game where you play a stray dog in a randomly generated city.

You can back Kevin Cancienne on Kickstarter.

Link via Allen Tan

Here’s the first chapter of Sam Kronick’s 2013 video series Networks + New Towns.

NETWORKS + NEW TOWNS is an extended site study of Jonathan, Minnesota and related areas. The suburban neighborhood of Jonathan was one of the first “totally planned communities” in the Midwest, born during the short-lived “New Town” movement of the late 1960’s. It grew up during an era characterized by great faith in the power of urban planning and the transformative potential of communications technology. This work uses Jonathan as a microcosm to understand the ways that we augment the earth with matter and data in an ongoing pursuit of better living.

The other chapters of the series are all really great.

Link