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Sunday, June 24

24th Jun - Weekender: Off-Topic

Alan Turing is the focus of this week's off-topic linkfest.

Earlier on MoreLiver’s Daily:
Weekender: Weekly Support (weekly reviews and previews, just updated!)

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ALAN TURING 100 YEARS
What Happens When We Turn the World's Most Famous Robot Test on Ourselves?The Atlantic
For years the Turing Test has been used to compare humans with computers. Now sociologists are using it to compare humans with each other.

Happy 100th Birthday, Alan Turingbrain pickings
On the man who was caught between the past and the future in clothes a size too small, and profoundly changed our lives anyway.

A beautiful mindBabbage / The Economist
Like artists, many scientists do not achieve the fame they deserve until after they are dead. Alan Turing, the British mathematician best-known for his codebreaking exploits at Bletchley Park during the second world war, and for fathering the information age, is a perfect example.

Alan Turing: why the tech world's hero should be a household nameBBC
To mark the occasion the BBC has commissioned a series of essays to run across the week, starting with this overview of Turing's legacy by Vint Cerf.

Yours in distress, AlanLetters of Note

MILITARY / POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL
New NSA docs contradict 9/11 claimsSalon
“I don’t think the Bush administration would want to see these released," an expert tells Salon

Measuring the Mafia-State MenaceForeign Affairs
The link between crime and the state is neither as new nor as scary as Moisés Naím depicted it, argues Peter Andreas; after all, criminals have been corrupting governments for centuries. Naím responds that mafia states are unprecedented and worrisome.

Reading Putin: The Mind and the State of Russia’s PresidentForeign Affairs
With Vladimir Putin back in power in Russia, understanding him is more important than ever. Two recent books attempt to unravel the mystery, adding new insight into the Russian leader's life and rule. But by trying to comprehend Putin through his personal history, they miss the true heart of the story: the state he built.

Secret StateGolem XIV

PSYCHOLOGY
Speak first. Speak confidently. Speak often.Bakadesuyo
How can you become the leader of a group even when you don't know what you're talking about?

How Depressives Surf the WebNYT

Tuck into our latest round-up of the best psych and neuro links

Eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut

OTHER
Greek-German Tensions Over Finances Spill Into Another ArenaNYT
“Without Angie, you wouldn’t be here,” bellowed the German fans…“We’ll never pay you back,” countered the Greeks.

Political Scientists Are Lousy ForecastersNYT

Why does the Higgs decay?The Guardian
Higgs bosons might be being produced at CERN right now, but we can't keep them. Lily Asquith explains...

A Curated Linkfest For The Smartest People On The Web!Simoleon Sense

My mother declared my bedroom a disaster areaLetters of Note
In 1984, a seventh-grader named Andy Smith wrote to then-President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, with a request

Blade Runner: Which predictions have come true?BBC
It's been 30 years since the release of Blade Runner and 10 years since Minority Report. Both are rich sources of predictions about the future. But what has actually come to pass?

Dispatches From The World Series Of PokerDealbreaker

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