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We cannot change the past, but, in principle, we can “causally affect” the past without plunging the universe into crisis. For example: Tim despises his violent grandfather. He travels back in time to kill his grandfather. He succeeds in shooting his grandfather in the head, causing significant brain damage. As it turns out, it is this brain damage that later causes his grandfather to be violent, which, in turn is what motivates Tim to try and shoot him (2,400 words)

Addiction And Intrigue: Inside The Saudi Coup World

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Action-packed account of recent turmoil in the House of Saud. King Salman ousted his heir-apparent, Mohammed bin Nayef, on the grounds that “MbN” had become addicted to opiates prescribed to him as painkillers following an assassination attempt in 2009. This “high-stakes power grab” has elevated 32-year-old Mohammed bin Salman, “MbS”, the king’s favourite son, to regent. “The putsch went ahead after MbS struck up a strong relationship with Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner” (1,700 words)

Upsetting The Nash Equilibrium Science

Erica Klarreich | Quanta | 18th July 2017

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John Nash argued that there was always a best way of reconciling competing preferences within a group, leading to an “equilibrium” which rational players would respect once it had been found. The idea was simple, brilliant — and wrong in both theory and practice. “There’s no guaranteed method for players to find even an approximate Nash equilibrium unless they tell each other virtually everything about their respective preferences. The amount of time required for communication quickly becomes prohibitive” (2,400 words)

Video of the Day: Game Of Thrones: Libertarian Edition

Parody blending two generally interesting conversation topics: Libertarian thinking and ‘Game of Thrones’ (5’58”)

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Addiction And Intrigue: Inside The Saudi Coup World

Upsetting The Nash Equilibrium Science

Video of the Day: Game Of Thrones: Libertarian Edition

Always be interesting. Never be bored.

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