First…

 

 

The photo shows the posts (Related) that the WordPress algorithm thinks are related to yesterday’s post. Note that one of them was published almost five years ago.

It is a virtual certainty that none of you who read yesterday’s post remembers that one (Random Thoughts From A Random Person) even in the unlikely event that you read it. I am asking that you click the link(s) and read these related posts. It takes only 3 to 7 minutes to read the average Disaffected Musings post.

I am also asking that, if at all possible, you read this blog in your browser by clicking on the post title in your email. When a post is read in another way, such as in the WordPress Reader, I am losing money.

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It took a damn virus for NBC to first air the brilliant Canadian medical drama Transplant. (NBCUniversal co-produces the show with Bell Media of Canada.) Another exogenous event, the current writers strike in the entertainment industry, has led the Peacock network to pick up seasons three and four, although they probably won’t begin to air until next summer. Season three has already aired in Canada. As you probably know, my wonderful wife and I were able to watch that season via our VPN.

While the show is not quite the same since the departure of John Hannah and his character (Dr. Bishop) after the second season, it is still an excellent program, in my opinion. Season one had decent ratings on NBC, but not so much in season two. I think the long hiatus didn’t help as the last episode for the first season aired on NBC in December, 2020, but the first episode for season two didn’t air until Spring of 2022. I also think the extreme parochialism of many Americans hurt the ratings as they slowly came to the realization that the show is not set in the US, but in Canada.

For me, only the first season of House was better than the first season of Transplant, but the first two seasons of the latter are the best consecutive seasons of any TV show I’ve seen. The seventh and eighth episodes for the first season of Transplant are the best back-to-back episodes I’ve seen of any TV program. We will watch season four via VPN, but will also gladly watch seasons three and four whenever they air on NBC.

 

 

From left to right, Ayisha Issa (Dr. Curtis), Hamza Haq (Dr. Hamed, the lead character), Jim Watson (Dr. Hunter) and Laurence Leboeuf (Dr. LeBlanc). Haq has won the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy as Best Lead Actor in a Drama all three seasons. Issa and Leboeuf have also won that award as Best Supporting Actor in a Drama.

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Many of you probably know about the fake, AI-generated picture of an explosion that became viral on the Internet yesterday. That photo, almost certainly created and spread by the Russian “government,” led to a brief selloff in the US stock market. (The fake explosion “occurred” near the Pentagon.)

As amateurish as the photo was, apparently, its impact shows the danger of Artificial Intelligence especially when combined with the scourge of social media. Some companies have developed software that can detect AI-generated images and writings with a 99% degree of accuracy, but social media companies and news outlets don’t have to use such software and don’t. It is only a matter of time before a similar, but better executed, AI-generated hoax causes real damage.

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Here is the first paragraph of this Why Evolution Is True post titled, “Required academic DEI statements challenged in court and Wisconsin ditches them.”

 

“A law school prof once told me [Jerry Coyne, author of Why Evolution Is True] that he thought that required DEI statements for hiring academics was illegal: a violation of the First Amendment.  As “compelled speech,” analogous to loyalty oaths, this is a violation of the First Amendment that’s less well known than “the government cannot prohibit you from saying what you want.” Instead, it’s “the government cannot force you to say things you don’t want to say” stipulation, also legally part of the First Amendment.”

 

The WEIT post also reports that many similar lawsuits are now pending. As regular readers know, I think DEI stands for Deny Excellent Individuals. NO ONE should be included or excluded from consideration for anything for any reason other than merit. First earn, then receive.

 

#TransplantReturns

#AIIsDangerous

#FirstEarnThenReceive

#somanyCARSjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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