FutureIQ

Share this post

Quick Thoughts: Black Fungus, Privacy, and Watching Others Play Video Games

futureiq.substack.com

Quick Thoughts: Black Fungus, Privacy, and Watching Others Play Video Games

Navin Kabra
Jun 1, 2021
Share this post

Quick Thoughts: Black Fungus, Privacy, and Watching Others Play Video Games

futureiq.substack.com

(This is my weekly list of quick thoughts based on the most interesting topics I found in my feed.)

Black Fungus

Twitter avatar for @NGKabra
Navin Kabra @NGKabra
@sroy_sroy Everything you wanted to know about fungus but were afraid to ask
scientificamerican.comDeadly Fungi Are the Newest Emerging Microbe Threat All Over the WorldThese pathogens already kill 1.6 million people every year, and we have few defenses against them
2:04 PM ∙ May 24, 2021
1Like1Retweet

Why has fungus suddenly become the new thing to be worried about and where was it hiding all this while? The surprising answer lies in 3 consequences of modern technology: climate change due to which fungi are evolving to survive in higher temperatures, modern medicine which keeps people with weak immune systems alive for longer, and again immunosuppressants (used in treating cancer, but also Covid) which have a similar effect.

Long article, but worth the read.

How Data About You Is Being Collated?

Note, I said collated, not collected. Data that different companies and different sources collect is being collated by marketing companies to create a coherent picture of you.

Twitter avatar for @RobertGReeve
Robert G. Reeve @RobertGReeve
I'm back from a week at my mom's house and now I'm getting ads for her toothpaste brand, the brand I've been putting in my mouth for a week. We never talked about this brand or googled it or anything like that. As a privacy tech worker, let me explain why this is happening. 🧵
3:32 AM ∙ May 25, 2021
293,672Likes101,160Retweets

No, this is not because his phone was listening to you (although that does happen in India). There are easier ways:

Twitter avatar for @RobertGReeve
Robert G. Reeve @RobertGReeve
They can match my Harris Teeter purchases to my Twitter account because I gave both those companies my email address and phone number and I agreed to all that data-sharing when I accepted those terms of service and the privacy policy.
3:38 AM ∙ May 25, 2021
23,140Likes1,436Retweets
Twitter avatar for @RobertGReeve
Robert G. Reeve @RobertGReeve
Here's where it gets truly nuts, though. If my phone is regularly in the same GPS location as another phone, they take note of that. They start reconstructing the web of people I'm in regular contact with.
3:39 AM ∙ May 25, 2021
37,521Likes3,914Retweets

And no, turning off your GPS location on the phone doesn’t help all that much (link1, link2).

Twitter avatar for @RobertGReeve
Robert G. Reeve @RobertGReeve
The advertisers can cross-reference my interests and browsing history and purchase history to those around me. It starts showing ME different ads based on the people AROUND me. Family. Friends. Coworkers.
3:43 AM ∙ May 25, 2021
34,007Likes3,033Retweets

How Much Solar Power Is Needed To Power the Whole World?

Twitter avatar for @waitbutwhy
Tim Urban @waitbutwhy
The cumulative solar arrays that would power the world. Kinda weird that we haven't just done this yet. Image credit: @poweredbyart
Image
11:37 PM ∙ May 26, 2021
784Likes131Retweets

The Video Game Streaming Industry

Twitter avatar for @JuliaAngwin
Julia Angwin @JuliaAngwin
This is a win for statistical analysis. @dreamwastaken recorded a controversial Minecraft speedrun. A 29-page statistical analysis showed that his luck was impossibly good. mcspeedrun.com/dream.pdf Dream just admitted that he mistakenly cheated. https://t.co/0KqsYYttw1
Image
4:07 PM ∙ May 30, 2021
19Likes2Retweets

Video game live-streaming YouTuber Dream recently admitted that he had (inadvertently) cheated on his record-breaking Minecraft speedrun in October 2020. (A speedrun is a recording of a play-through of a video game in which the player tries to set a record for the fastest time to complete a task.) This was a raging controversy from October to January and involved multiple deep statistical analyses of whether Dream’s dream run was a result of luck, skill, or cheating.

Why is this interesting? Why did a video of some guy playing a video game cause so much controversy that is still bubbling 8 months later? And who wants to watch videos of someone else playing video games?

Apparently, lots of people. In fact, more people subscribed to video game streams and Let's Play videos on YouTube and Twitch than for all of HBO, Netflix, ESPN, and Hulu, combined. The global video streaming market size was valued at USD 50.11 billion in 2020 and it is expected to grow at 21.0% CAGR for the next 8 years. Most kids know this. Most older people don’t realize how big it is.

Those who still don’t understand it, ask yourself this: Why is watching Roger Federer playing tennis any different from watching a video game live stream? And how long before you become a dinosaur in this changing world that you don’t understand.

The other aspect is of course the power of statistics. What was a he-said-she-said argument got converted into a scientific one about probabilities by statistical analysis, and ultimately resulted in the truth coming out.

Subscribe and Share

Please share this post with others who might find it interesting

Share

If you came to this page via a link someone sent you, you can subscribe to get the latest updates via email.

Share this post

Quick Thoughts: Black Fungus, Privacy, and Watching Others Play Video Games

futureiq.substack.com
Comments
TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Navin Kabra
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing