The Lie Detector Lie and Exploitative Adoption Practices
Featured Articles
What the All-American Delusion of the Polygraph Says About Our Relationship to Fact and Fiction
In what I think is the best read of the week, Justin St. Germain interweaves a personal story with our complex relationship with the truth and memory. It is about polygraphs, sure, but also so much more: government incompetence, justice, mental health, corporate malfeasance, and, writing memoirs. It is a must-read.
The polygraph works a lot like a memoir. It doesn’t find the truth, it creates it.
The lie detector was like any true story in America: the facts didn’t matter as long as a lot of people believed it.
‘People Say, You Sold Your Baby’
Through the experiences of a few women, this article examines the exploitative adoption practices in Utah. One more example where the lack of regulation and oversight in an industry leads to the exploitation of vulnerable people.
“People say, ‘You sold your baby,’” Goins says. “I don’t want to believe that. To this day, I still don’t want to believe it. The whole thing happened so fast. I came there with only my baby and the clothes on my back. I left without her. I didn’t hand her over for cash.”
Other Articles Worth Reading
The American Elevator Explains Why Housing Costs Have Skyrocketed
Through a lens of the surprisingly complex world of American elevators, this article tries to shed light on the challenges of the construction industry, labor shortages, and regulatory complexities that contribute to the housing crisis. I'm unsure if I agree with everything in it, but it is a worthy read.
Behind the dearth of elevators in the country that birthed the skyscraper are eye-watering costs. A basic four-stop elevator costs about $158,000 in New York City, compared with about $36,000 in Switzerland. A six-stop model will set you back more than three times as much in Pennsylvania as in Belgium.
What the Decentralized Nature of Anonymous Tells Us About Its Power
Another article from Literary Hub highlights the complex, multilayered, and often contradictory nature of internet subcultures and communities like Anonymous. It's an excerpt from "My Glorious Defeats: Hacktivist, Narcissist, Anonymous: A Memoir" by Barrett Brown.
In the absence of any structure, Anonymous could become anything at all.
Strategic Interdependence
This is a good, yet a bit of a dry read, on the competition between the US and China for technological supremacy. It explores their co-dependence despite attempts on both sides at an economic / trade war.
. . . the goal of decoupling is unlikely to happen soon. Instead, achieving supply chain resilience necessitates seeking new ways of cooperation in the face of proliferating barriers.
