When People Only Read the Headline — Misuse of Journalism

The Society of Professional Journalists links to an interview with an MIT professor who’s studying misinformation on social media (which is not the same thing as bad journalism — some bad actors take journalism out of context in order to deceive). Responsible journalists are aware that sensational headlines can harm the public. The truth is journalists in the field reporting breaking news often don’t write the headlines. Marketers will try…

The Ensigns of Command (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 2) Data plays MacGyver to save stubborn human colonists

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. Data must convince stubborn humans to evacuate an unauthorized colony in Sheliak territory. Meanwhile, Picard must bargain with the legalistic Sheliaks for more time. After a teaser shows Data second-guessing his creative abilities, the main plot follows him as he first tries reason, then rhetoric, then a phaser to persuade the colonists. The actress playing Ardrian gave off a kind of Marion Ravenwood vibe,…

Musician uses computer algorithm to compose every melody possible in C, releases them for free online to fight copyright trolls

  A lawyer and hobbyist musician collaborated with a computer programmer to generate every possible 12-note melody in the key of C. The final compilation includes 68.7 billion melodic combinations, which the pair uploaded to the Internet Archive through a Create Commons Zero license, meaning they reserve no rights of ownership to any of them. They hope the treasure trove of material might help defuse potentially frivolous copyright suits over…