AI, Lookalike, Music, Bond, Museum
AI Can Detect Political Ideology With One Photo
Ideas Sleep Furiously | YouTube | 1st August 2021
Can you tell which way a person voted by looking at a ph0to of them? Computers can. In fact, a recently developed AI has a higher accuracy rate by looking at one photo than personality quizzes with hundreds of personal questions. What metrics is it using? Well, for example, "liberals tend to face the camera more directly, are more likely to express surprise, and less likely to express disgust" (7m 24s)
Sending An Attractive Lookalike To My High School Reunion
Vice | YouTube | 9th November 2020
A man who had a rough time in high school sends an actor to play a hotter, more successful version of himself at his ten-year high school reunion. Unexpectedly, almost everyone instantly recognizes that it isn't him. Sad, strange, fascinating social experiment, perhaps revealing more about the psychology of its subject than the psychology of his classmates (22m 35s)
You Don't Need Music Theory
12tone | YouTube | 30th July 2021
Music theory is limited because it's "like cartography: we can only draw maps of places we've already seen." And basic musical knowledge is already in your brain, whether you've studied theory or not, because you've been listening to music your whole life: "it's a process called enculturation, where you slowly learn the norms and behaviors of a particular culture simply by existing within it" (10m 32s)
The "More Realistic" James Bond Delusion
Collative Learning | YouTube | 3rd August 2021
Critiquing the idea that some Bond films are more realistic than others. Casino Royale, in particular, falls short of its reputation. "Making a fight scene fast-paced often tricks people into not noticing the ridiculousness of it all. The same goes for harsh lighting, subdued colors, and grimy environments—gimmicks to dupe the audience into thinking that what they're watching is more realistic" (30m 24s)
Browser Interview Of The Week: Stella Zawistowski
Stella is a cryptic evangelist and puzzle maker for The Browser and The New Yorker. This week, she talks to Baiqu about how she became the only person in the world who can solve a New York Times Sunday crossword in under five minutes and deadlift 325 pounds (19m 02s, or transcript here)
Cool Video Of The Week
Gallery of objects from the centuries-old Powerhouse Museum in Sydney
Watch The Viewer's recommendations each week as a handy YouTube Playlist.
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