Harvard Berkman Klein Blogs
blogs.harvard.edu · Group blog · on HN since 2015
Harvard's Berkman Klein Center hosts faculty and affiliate blogs on technology, adtech, privacy, open access and careers in science.
What HN saysCommenters link posts such as An Efficient Journal on open access and Philip Greenspun's blog on PhD career risks, along with essays on leisure.
131HN people shared it
60linked it in comments
143stories submitted
6.9Kstory points
3 years agolast shared
2015people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1An efficient journal (2012)7 people · 55 points · first shared 2016 · 18 comments on HN
- 2GDPR will pop the adtech bubble4 people · 671 points · first shared 2018 · 437 comments on HN
- 3Zoom needs to clean up its privacy act3 people · 1.6K points · first shared 2020 · 509 comments on HN
- 4The Frog of War3 people · 34 points · first shared 2022 · 17 comments on HN
- 5Tesla is the Lisp Machine of cars?3 people · 10 points · first shared 2018 · 1 comments on HN
- 6Apple vs. (Or Plus) Adtech3 people · 4 points · first shared 2021 · 1 comments on HN
- 7Q&A about the Windows Start Menu and Taskbar3 people · 3 points · first shared 2022 · 1 comments on HN
- 8The .Org Fire Sale: How it sold for less than half its valuation2 people · 750 points · first shared 2019 · 176 comments on HN
- 9ICANN races towards regulatory capture: the great .org heist2 people · 643 points · first shared 2019 · 122 comments on HN
- 10A Storage Crisis2 people · 130 points · first shared 2021 · 195 comments on HN
- 11What’s Apple’s competitive edge going forward?2 people · 33 points · first shared 2016 · 56 comments on HN
- 12Rust from a JavaScript Perspective2 people · 31 points · first shared 2021 · 9 comments on HN
- 13Marvin Minsky, 1927-2016: the death of a genial skeptic2 people · 24 points · first shared 2016 · 2 comments on HN
- 14Ruby on Rails and the importance of being stupid (2009)2 people · 5 points · first shared 2016 · 2 comments on HN
- 15Will our digital lives leave a fossil record? (2020)2 people · 4 points · first shared 2020 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
52-6F-62 · 2019-02-05
I think you misunderstand what I mean by classical definition of leisure.
This kind of runs through it:
https://www.academia.edu/17614838/Aristotle_Leisure_and_the_Good_State
or
https://blogs.harvard.edu/nobleleisure/aristotle-on-work-vs-leisure/
Bonus material (wider in scope, though):
http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.html
svat · 2019-02-03
My favourite article about open access, about the Journal of Machine Learning Research, and really the ultimate smackdown, all done very politely: https://blogs.harvard.edu/pamphlet/2012/03/06/an-efficient-journal/
tiatia123 · 2018-07-23
It is an extraordinary risky decision to do a PhD (maybe except in CS). I have seen the best ones fail career-wise.
Excellent blog post about it:
https://blogs.harvard.edu/philg/2018/06/14/losing-the-nobel-prize-on-c…
Quote:
"My take-away from the careers aspect of the book is that if you (1) love competition, (2) have a huge appetite for risk, (3) don’t mind working long hours for a minimum of 27 years until getting that first grant, and (4) are mostly indifferent to money, pursuing a physics PhD and an academic job might be a reasonable plan. You’ll get to work with a lot of smart people, for sure, but, as the book notes, quite of few of them may be planning to stab you in the back when it comes time to assign credit for a Nobel-worthy discovery. It is not like most other fields of human endeavor where there is room for everyone to excel in his or her own way."
tomh · 2016-08-14
Funny you should recommend flying - I think we all know someone who's done that already?
http://blogs.harvard.edu/philg/category/flying/
markshead · 2023-03-17
Back in the early 2000s I had a blog where I would try to post multiple times each week. While I wasn't a poor writer before, it was amazing how much I learned about overcoming writers block and being able to quickly get ideas from my head into a text file. (https://www.productivity501.com)
Later I had a blog post answering some key questions about Agile on a different site. That post didn't get much attention, but it was a good exercise in articulating part of what I'm trying to convey when coaching software engineering teams. (https://blogs.harvard.edu/markshead/what-is-agile/)
After reworking the post into a concise PDF, I sent it to a few people at a potential client. Later, after I had been awarded a contract, I found that the PDF had gotten emailed around within the organization and many people knew me as the "guy who wrote that PDF about Agile."
I then took the contents of the PDF and reworked it as a script for an animation that I posted to YouTube. That video now has 2.7 million views and has given me quite a bit of recognition in the industry...or at least recognition of the cartoon version of me. I hear he is much better looking anyway. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9QbYZh1YXY)
I think took the general ideas from the blog post, the paper, and the video and put it together in a book that I generally give away like business cards to potential clients. (https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Agile-Finding-Your-Path/dp/1945121092)
The practice of writing on a blog…
tenpies · 2023-03-05
> There's a reason why Harvard is happy to take people's money and give them an education in the Harvard Extension School, but why they firmly tell those people they can't call themselves Harvard graduates.
Just wanted to add since I've looked into Harvard Extension School (HES): a HES graduate from a degree program is enrolled in the Harvard Alumni Association and does get to refer to themselves as a "Harvard graduate".
The degree is from the HES with a degree in "Extension Studies", which is the big distinction versus "real" Harvard, but I also suspect that beyond you first or second job, that becomes about as meaningful as your GPA.
Also importantly, that difference has come up in the last few years, to the point where the Harvard College Undergraduate Council and the Harvard Graduate Council both voted last year in favour to remove that differentiation from HES degrees[1]. It is however, Harvard University that has to decide, although it's quite interesting that the students - who are generally considered to be the ones who make the biggest fuss about "real" Harvard - are the ones in support of the move.
It's also worth noting that the child of a HES graduate is still considered a legacy, so that benefit is also conferred on their family.
---
[1] https://blogs.harvard.edu/lamont/2022/03/28/harvard-college-uc-support…
dredmorbius · 2023-01-31
The "Divided Dial" series (six parts) from WNYC's On the Media does an excellent job of detailing how and why radio in general (both AM & FM bands in the US) has come to be both so concentrated (in ownership) and divided (in content and audience). Both ... portend poorly.
The full series, with both audio and transcripts, is here: <https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/divided-dial>
Doc Searls, an old radio hand himself, often writes about the topic, though concentrating more on infrastructure than business or culture:
<https://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/category/broadcasting/>
I'd argue that AM radio, much as with FM and over-the-air television, is fading fast, especially in urban regions in which broadband Internet and cable programming offer far more attractive options. For myself, I find I'm listening to podcasts far more than informational radio (though I'll listen to some music programming) over the air --- it's convenient, and has very little advertising. Less than the nominally noncommercial public broadcasting alternative.
But in rural regions, where markets are sparse, AM's range still pulls in what few people there are, and motivated and ideological ownership often drives content, radio remains a potent force. The OTM series gives strong insights into those dynamics.
(The series was mentioned downthread by
danielodievich: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34602095>)
slater · 2023-06-28
Archive link:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230603012825/http://blogs.harvard.edu/wh…
(as blogs.harvard.edu is going away this Friday:
http://blogs.harvard.edu/blog/2023/03/02/blogs-harvard-edu-shutting-do… )
gary_0 · 2023-06-01
You could still plausibly generate (a significant portion of), let's say, "Fire And Ice" by Robert Frost, which is only 50 words.
See also: https://blogs.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/haiku-and-the-fair-use-doctrine/
dporan · 2022-11-29
I created the Start Menu and Taskbar, and I did intend for them to be at the top of the screen.
http://blogs.harvard.edu/danieloran/2022/11/28/qa-about-the-windows-st…
justusthane · 2022-03-24
Apparently just a guy who wandered around Seattle filming people with a camcorder.
https://blogs.harvard.edu/internetmonitor/2013/07/10/surveillance-came…
pella · 2022-03-07
better permalink : http://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2022/03/06/the-frog-of-war/
mjn · 2021-11-14
You can break out of the network effects with some effort. One of the top journals in machine learning nowadays is a community-run open-access journal that does not charge authors, JMLR (https://www.jmlr.org/). There's a bit about its model here: https://blogs.harvard.edu/pamphlet/2012/03/06/an-efficient-journal/ (previously discussed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15280736)
ryandrake · 2021-09-09
Reminds me of "Surveillance Camera Man" [1] from several years ago. His YouTube channel seems to have been scrubbed of videos, but basically the guy just stood out in public recording people, just like thousands of surveillance cameras currently do, with lots of subjects objecting, berating him, becoming scared, upset, even violent. Point being, it's no different than all the surveillance that is already done, except people freak out when there's an actual human visibly holding the camera.
1: https://blogs.harvard.edu/internetmonitor/2013/07/10/surveillance-came…
FabHK · 2021-08-01
There's also How I met my Wife published in the New Yorker 1994, which starts with
> It had been a rough day, so when I walked into the party I was very chalant, despite my efforts to appear gruntled and consolate.
http://blogs.harvard.edu/sj/a-matter-of-antics/
lend000 · 2020-07-18
You'll need a source for your aggressive claims -- these suggest that chapter 11 recidivism isn't that rare ("less than a handful" is patently false) [0][1]. And I wouldn't go so far as to abolish it, but to give debtors a stronger vote in the proceedings. Right now, the balance of power strongly favors shareholders, socializing the losses amongst creditors and prolonging the demise of companies that have no future (e.g. JC Penney).
[0] https://blogs.harvard.edu/bankruptcyroundtable/tag/chapter-22/
[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bankruptcy-repeats/companies-turn-t…
082349872349872 · 2020-07-03
see also https://blogs.harvard.edu/sj/tag/statistics/ for Haldane, “The Faking of Genetical Results“, Eureka #6
"But I shouldn’t worry too much about the higher orders. The only examiner who is likely to spot that you haven’t done them is Haldane, and he’ll probably be interned as a Red before you send your thesis in."
Quanttek · 2020-04-02
This also related to their horrendous privacy policy [0]
[0]: https://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2020/03/27/zoom/
ggm · 2020-02-13
Somebody can riff on "Fuzz Against Junk" again maybe!
https://blogs.harvard.edu/houghtonmodern/2014/03/06/fuzz-against-junk/
WalterSobchak · 2019-12-03
Can the URL be updated to use HTTPS, which is fully supported on blogs.harvward.edu?
https://blogs.harvard.edu/sj/2019/12/02/the-dot-org-fire-sale-sold-for…
Torien · 2019-09-27
My immediate thought when I saw this was "Fancy scam mixed with PR bomb", a little digging surfaced these:
https://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2019/02/27/spinner/
https://www.prexamples.com/2018/07/frustrated-husbands-can-use-micro-t…
javery · 2019-06-07
This is what VRM is supposed to be.
https://blogs.harvard.edu/vrm/
francisofascii · 2019-01-29
Related: Why Rich People work more hours... https://blogs.harvard.edu/michaellaw/2014/04/18/why-rich-people-work-l…
jboynyc · 2019-01-16
Here's another example, the Journal of Machine Learning Research, where the cost of publishing an article works out to about $10: https://blogs.harvard.edu/pamphlet/2012/03/06/an-efficient-journal/ (previous discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15280736)
coldtea · 2018-09-30
>I dont know about others but isnt Zuckerberg donating majority of the wealth?
As an "I control everything anyway", tax evasion scheme.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/04/business/dealbook/how-mark-zuckerbe…
https://blogs.harvard.edu/philg/2015/12/03/is-the-new-zuckerberg-fake-…
kinsomo · 2018-05-25
> Targeted advertising has always seemed pretty dumb, to me most advertising is done by Coke and their target is every where.
Doc Searls made a good point: targeted advertising isn't advertising, it's really direct marketing (like spam and junk mail).
Coke is doing advertising, but the adtech "targeted" advertisers are just spamming you using new technology.
https://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2018/05/12/gdpr/comment-page-1/
Lionsion · 2018-05-15
> The opposite is true: Less personalized ads -> Lower revenue per user -> An even smaller budget for journalism.
I read an article recently that made a good point: personalized ads aren't advertising; it's really direct marketing, just like junk mail, spam, and telemarketing.
"Personalized advertisers" are also very mercenary, and no quality publication can rely on revenue from them. They'll use your content to profile your audience, then abandon you and target them on cheaper websites your users also frequent.
Edit: here's the article: http://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2018/05/12/gdpr/
buovjaga · 2018-03-20
The bee obsession has its roots in shamanism. An example is the two bee-headed figures in Tassili rock art: http://samorini.it/site/archeologia/africa/funghi-allucinogeni-teste-r… found in In-Aouanrhat and Ti-n-Tarin.
This has a different photo of the painting in In-Aouanrhat: https://blogs.harvard.edu/houghton/2015/09/10/spirit-of-the-mushroom/
The Roundhead style rock art that these belong to dates from about 9000 BP to about 6600 BP.
This has more about the sacredness of the bee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_(mythology) Yet, it is lacking a lot of stuff, including how bees appear in Finnish epic poetry.
git-pull · 2018-02-11
> However, please don't make your experiences a statement of fact about the state of technical management and leadership in general.
Sure.
There's a name for it: The Bozo Event Horizon.
https://blogs.harvard.edu/waldo/2012/07/27/the-bozo-event-horizon