1. What should be our Bayesian priors on von Neumann probes?

2. AI book mirrors.

3. Why power in Spain is so cheap.

4. The comments on Mick West here are pretty tough.  We still do not know what it is, and yes the national security people have pondered these questions in advance.  Most broadly, trust people who are in “explorer mode,” not debunker mode.  Debunker mode is tempting, because you often end up right, and feeling good about yourself, but it also means you miss big discoveries when they come along.

5. More on the cell phone ban study.

6. Technological breakthroughs and the progress of science.  The early papers based on digital computing techniques did very, very well, at least on average.

7. Germany’s deer calling championship.

8. 2019 appreciation of Genoa.