2025-05-10 00:25:15
Researchers from the Ocean Discovery League estimated how little we know about the deep seafloor:
We then used two independent methods to estimate the amount of deep seafloor observed globally over the past seven decades (see Methods). Using the dive-based method, we estimate a maximum visual seabed coverage of 2130 km2. Using the time-based method, we estimate visual seabed coverage of 3823 km2.
Of Earth’s total surface area (510 million km2), the seafloor makes up 360 million km2 (approximately 71%). Of this ocean area, approximately 93% is deep seafloor (≥200 m), yielding 66% of the Earth’s total surface area (~335.7 million km2). In the framework of this global context, our exploration coverage estimates show that deep-sea visual tools have only observed 0.0006 to 0.001% of the deep seafloor since 1958.
We’re never going to find Atlantis at this rate.
Tags: deep sea, ocean, Ocean Discovery League
2025-05-10 00:03:20
Seth Godin on the importance of judgment:
AI is a tool, and judgment, for the foreseeable future, remains our job. It doesn’t matter how cool your hammer is, it’s still on you to decide which nails need hammering. And to be responsible for what happens when you use it.
There’s been a shift in wording brought on by the AI wave. People “ask” the AI to do things versus “use” our tools to solve problems, as if we should pass responsibility of thought to statistical models. This seems not good.
When talking about AI, I mentally substitute “computer” or “tool” in its place. I don’t ask my computer to analyze data. I use my computer like someone might use a hammer while building a planter box.
Tags: Seth Godin, tool
2025-05-09 15:59:53
Benj Edwards reporting for Ars Techinca:
In “Large Language Models, Small Labor Market Effects,” economists Anders Humlum and Emilie Vestergaard focused specifically on the impact of AI chatbots across 11 occupations often considered vulnerable to automation, including accountants, software developers, and customer support specialists. Their analysis covered data from 25,000 workers and 7,000 workplaces in Denmark.
Despite finding widespread and often employer-encouraged adoption of these tools, the study concluded that “AI chatbots have had no significant impact on earnings or recorded hours in any occupation” during the period studied. The confidence intervals in their statistical analysis ruled out average effects larger than 1 percent.
See the full study by Anders Humlum and Emilie Vestergaard here.
This seems to make sense. Even if our time is freed up in one area, wouldn’t employers expect that time to be spent elsewhere?
Tags: Ars Technica, work
2025-05-09 00:44:45
For Bloomberg, Zoe Tillman and Christopher Cannon break down the lawsuits against the administration in response to executive orders. Sometimes it seems like orders are going unchecked, but there is plenty of pushback. Fighting in court is just a less visible and lengthier process.
Tags: Bloomberg, executive order, government, lawsuit
2025-05-08 23:08:32
Welcome to the Process, the newsletter for FlowingData members about designing useful charts and understanding data better than defaults. Sometimes that means looking outside the data for context.
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2025-05-08 18:36:19
This is outside my wheelhouse, but it seems like Met Gala dresses grow more outlandish each year. Reuters went into the photo archive to confirm.
Using the Reuters photo archive, the Reuters Graphics desk traced 310 celebrity outfits on the red carpet for years 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024. Of the thousands of photos in the archive for those years, Reuters selected photos that captured entire outfits in which the subject was facing the camera or slightly turned. Reuters further narrowed the outfits to exclude suits and kilts, then traced the silhouettes of the remaining 310 unique outfits. The traced silhouettes were then laid on top of one another by aligning the shoulder, bust and waist of each garment.
I saw a handful of photos from this year’s 2025 Met Gala, and it seems like attendees dialed dress sizes all the way back (because they were instructed to?). Maybe 2024 was the peak for puffing silhouettes.
In any case, I like the sketch-overlay method to show the variation in patterns. It’s like a combination of this dress size classic and jean pocket comparison, with a touch of hurricane forecast.
