Monday Assorted Links from Marginal Revolution
Key Takeaways
- •Marine biologists have documented humpback whales interrupting orca hunts and protecting other species, though the behavior's explanation remains debated.
- •A study drawing on traces of nearly four million coins examines how ancient Rome achieved economic integration.
- •Reliable estimates of the total cost of cybercrime remain difficult to compile and are disputed among researchers.
- •Bjorn Lomborg has argued that reporting on Great Barrier Reef condition is more mixed than commonly portrayed.
- •California Forever, the proposed new city in Solano County backed by Silicon Valley investors, has encountered further permitting, environmental, and political hurdles.
Marginal Revolution's Monday assortment of links covers the following topics:
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How are age verification systems going? (X post)
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Eliezer predictions. This references Tyler Cowen's standing challenge to Eliezer Yudkowsky to state concrete, falsifiable forecasts about AI development. (link)
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Are humpback whales policing nature? The phenomenon of humpbacks interrupting orca hunts, sometimes protecting other species such as seals, has been documented by marine biologists and remains debated in terms of explanation. (Space Daily)
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"Traces of nearly four million coins reveal how Rome achieved economic integration." Numismatic evidence has long served as a proxy for trade flows and monetary circulation in studies of the Roman economy. (FAPESP agency)
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Estimating cybersecurity costs (numbers). Reliable figures for the total cost of cybercrime are notoriously difficult to compile and disputed among researchers. (X post)
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Great Barrier Reef is doing fine? Bjorn Lomborg, known for his critiques of mainstream climate policy cost-benefit analyses, has previously argued that reef condition reporting is more mixed than commonly portrayed. (X post)
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California Forever meets further setbacks. California Forever is the proposed new city project in Solano County backed by Silicon Valley investors, which has faced permitting, environmental, and political hurdles since its land acquisitions became public. (NYT).
