Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms. New DNA is obtained by either isolating and copying the genetic material of interest using recombinant DNA methods or by artificially synthesising the DNA. A construct is usually created and used to insert this DNA into the host organism. The first recombinant DNA molecule was designed by Paul Berg in 1972 by combining DNA from the monkey virus SV40 with the lambda virus. As well as inserting genes, the process can be used to remove, or "knock out", genes. The new DNA can either be inserted randomly or targeted to a specific part of the genome.[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_engineering cf GMO, biotech

Future Shock Levels, by Eliezer Yudkowsky, 06/10/99. A Shock Level measures the high-tech concepts you can contemplate without being impressed, frightened, blindly enthusiastic - without exhibiting future shock. (more)

aka FiveFactor, OCEAN - Personality Test - In psychological trait theory, the Big Five personality traits, also known as the OCEAN model is a suggested taxonomy, or grouping, for personality traits,[1] developed from the 1980s onwards. When factor analysis (a statistical technique) is applied to personality survey data, it reveals semantic associations: some words used to describe aspects of personality are often applied to the same person. For example, someone described as conscientious is more likely to be described as "always prepared" rather than "messy". These associations suggest five broad dimensions used in common language to describe the human personality and psyche.[2][3] The theory identifies five factors: openness to experience (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious); conscientiousness (efficient/organized vs. extravagant/careless); extraversion (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved); agreeableness (friendly/compassionate vs. challenging/callous); neuroticism (sensitive/nervous vs. resilient/confident) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits (more)

Why Competent People Disappear: Functional Stupidity and the Invisible Professional. Picture a meeting you’ve been in — probably more than once. The agenda is ambitious, the stakes are real, and you’ve done your homework... And somehow, again, the meeting moves around you. The person who delivered three confident-sounding sentences about “alignment” and “moving the needle” gets the nod. Your point — the careful one, the one with the nuance and the caveats and the actual evidence — gets a polite “that’s interesting” before the conversation cheerfully rolls on without it. (mediocrity) (more)

Jim Highsmith frames Practitioner Voice. I've been called a Thought Leader. I don't love the term. But I've used it, because there wasn't another one. (more)

Ian Alexander: Book Review: Donald Schon - The Reflective Practitioner. Readers of my reviews will know that I have been interested for some years in the dialogue between action (do something) and reflection, discussed admirably by John Heron and Peter Reason, and put into practice in their Co-operative Inquiry method. Donald Schön is one of the seemingly few people to have written about reflection and its role in professional life; it is a tricky subject, as it lies between the domains of academia and industry, and must be both theoretically accurate and practically useful to succeed fully. (reflective thinker) (more)

You (and Your Therapist) Can Change Your Personality. A question for the ages: Are you stuck with yourself? (more)

Research Suggests a Cure for Neuroticism ..people high in neuroticism are not just chronically anxious, worried, and unhappy, but they can easily be pushed over the edge when things actually do go wrong in their lives. Because this is a chronic state of reactivity to challenging events, the Australian researchers believed that one intervention in particular could be of value in helping individuals high in this quality to cope with those challenges. Paradoxically, perhaps, they suggest that it is mindfulness, or thinking more intensely about one's experiences, that could help highly neurotic people (more)

What Is Narcissism? Science Confronts a Widely Misunderstood Phenomenon. Up to 6 percent of the U.S. population, mostly men, is estimated to have had narcissistic personality disorder during some period of their lives. And the condition manifests in confoundingly different ways (more)

This Is The Most Surprising Way To Make Your Life Awesome. ...small reduction in trait neuroticism (a propensity for negative moods, stress, and worry) (more)

Todd Nief: Four Tendencies + Five Factors. I’ve found it helpful to understand a variety of different frameworks and attempt to relate them back to the more evidence-based big five model of personality. (more)

Can You Make Yourself Less Neurotic? ...thought patterns, relationships, lifestyle factors, and perhaps medication. There is typically a biological component to neuroticism, meaning that some people are just physiologically more sensitive to stress (more)

Neurotic Behavior: Meaning & Coping. A neurotic personality is when somebody experiences intense emotional reactions and constant worry, even over small things that would not normally deserve such a strong response. (more)

Alex Yun (codercorgi): Tips on Reducing Neuroticism. One of my projects this year has been reducing neuroticism. Here are some tips I’ve found along the way: (more)

Scientists determine four entirely-new personality types. Experts questioned 1.5 million people around the world and uncovered that respondents were either average, reserved, self-centred or role models. (more)

Gordon Brander: LLMs for theory-building. (more)

Macy Meyer: AI Data Centers: What to Know About Their Water and Energy Use. When people find out I’m a journalist who covers AI, they often ask about the drastic energy consumption of AI data centers. Are these centers using up all of our drinking water? (more)

John Whiteside "Jack" Parsons (born Marvel Whiteside Parsons;[nb 1] October 2, 1914 – June 17, 1952) was an American rocket engineer and rocket propulsion researcher, chemist, and Thelemite occultist. Associated with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Parsons was one of the principal founders of both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Aerojet Engineering Corporation. He invented the first rocket engine to use a castable, composite rocket propellant,[1] and pioneered the advancement of both liquid-fuel and solid-fuel rockets... After a brief involvement with Marxism in 1939, Parsons converted to Thelema, the English occultist Aleister Crowley's new religious movement. In 1941, with his first wife Helen Northrup, Parsons joined the Agape Lodge, the Californian branch of the Thelemite Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.). At Crowley's bidding, he replaced Wilfred Talbot Smith as its leader in 1942 and ran the Lodge from his mansion on Orange Grove Avenue. Parsons was expelled from JPL and Aerojet in 1944 due to the Lodge's infamous reputation and his hazardous workplace conduct. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Whiteside_Parsons (more)

Computer Mandate, supposedly from a 1979 internal IBM presentation. (more)

write of IntuitionMachine medium-newsletter, about AI. https://medium.com/intuitionmachine (more)