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Articles by Ben Smith
The Unforseen Consequences of Makerspaces
Over the last decade, there has been a surge in the number of Makerspaces. Educational institutions such as MIT and even local classrooms dedicate space for such design labs. In any case, the prioritization of creative thought over safety has jeopardized the health of students, faculty, and teachers. The majority of the population are oblivious to the process in which the products they purchase are made.
How Chesterfield’s perfect start crumbled in 4-1 Gillingham defeat | The Debrief #4
Chesterfield’s 100% start to the League Two season ended in emphatic fashion on Tuesday evening as they suffered a 4–1 defeat away at Gillingham. The Spireites had up to that point beaten Barrow, Cheltenham Town and Bristol Rovers prior to their trip down to Kent, conceding just a single goal in the process.
How Chesterfield’s opener in 2-0 Cheltenham Town win brought their blueprint to life | The Debrief #2
Chesterfield made it two wins from two to kick off the League Two campaign on Saturday, claiming a 2–0 victory away at Cheltenham Town. Second-half strikes from Lewis Gordon and Dylan Duffy secured the win, with the former registering his first ever senior goal in the process. But whilst Duffy doubled the lead with an absolute scorcher of a set-piece, Gordon could hardly have wished for a simpler way to get off the mark.
The Bez is back | Chesterfield’s (potential) plan for James Berry’s second Spireites spell
Chesterfield further bolstered their attacking core on Friday, announcing the return of James Berry on a season-long loan from League One outfit Wycombe Wanderers. The 24-year-old only made the reverse switch on a permanent basis in January, joining what was at the time a Chairboys team flying high in the third tier.
Introducing…Ronan Darcy | Chesterfield’s next half-space hero?
Chesterfield made another addition to their attacking unit on Tuesday, acquiring midfielder Ronan Darcy from Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan. The 24-year-old only made the cross-League One switch from Crawley Town to Wigan Athletic in January, with the Sussex-based side collecting what was announced as an undisclosed fee in the process.
Key tactical take-aways from Chesterfield’s 1-0 win over Barrow | The Debrief #1
Chesterfield got their 2025/26 season off to the ideal start on Saturday, beating Barrow 1–0 during the opening round of League Two fixtures. Dilan Markanday, re-signed by the Spireites on a permanent deal after an impressive loan from Blackburn Rovers in 2024, marked his competitive return to the SMH Group Stadium by their registering the first goal of the new campaign and that strike just before the break would also be enough to seal their first win.
Chesterfield (might) be about to unlock Dylan Duffy. Here’s how.
With Chesterfield four friendlies in to their pre-season schedule, a clearer picture is emerging regarding how Paul Cook’s side might look heading into the 2025/26 campaign. And whilst much of the focus at this time of year is (understandably) on the new names in the Spireites’ squad, one of the more intriguing stories might concern a player who was already amongst their ranks.
Why Barnsley brought in David McGoldrick | A (cautious) analysis
League One side Barnsley added an experienced attacker to their ranks on Wednesday, announcing the arrival of David McGoldrick from fourth tier side Notts County. McGoldrick had been presented with a fresh contract to extend his stay at Meadow Lane, but at the end of May it was revealed that an agreement couldn’t be reached and that he would depart at the end of his existing deal.
Introducing…Matt Dibley-Dias | Chesterfield’s deep dictator?
Chesterfield have gone back to a familiar source for their latest summer signing, acquiring midfielder Matt Dibley-Dias from Premier League side Fulham on a season-long loan. Dibley-Dias follows in the recent footsteps of Devan Tanton and Harvey Araujo, both of whom made a temporary switch from Craven Cottage to the SMH Group Stadium during the 2024–25 campaign.
Introducing… Lee Bonis | Chesterfield’s next Northern Irish talisman?
Chesterfield confirmed summer signing number five on Monday, officially announcing the arrival of striker Lee Bonis from Dutch second tier side ADO Den Haag. After a rapid-fire round of transfer unveilings, which included those of both Adam Lewis and Ryan Stirk in the same afternoon, things had quietened down for a period over at the SMH Group Stadium.
Introducing…Ryan Stirk | Chesterfield’s missing midfield engine?
Another day. Another ‘introducing…’ piece. In this one, it’s time to take a look at Chesterfield’s third summer signing, defensive midfielder Ryan Stirk. As mentioned in yesterday’s Adam Lewis article, the Spireites have started dealing at quite the pace after what had been a relatively quiet start to the off-season. In fact, it was a matter of hours between the confirmations of the arrivals of Lewis and Stirk, something the club’s media team played into as part of their unveilings. Excellent work.
Introducing…Adam Lewis | Chesterfield’s latest flying full-back?
Chesterfield are back making signings, meaning the ‘introducing… series’ returns! Today, it’s to take a look at the Spireites’ second summer arrival, ex-Morecambe man Adam Lewis. After taking a bit of time to (officially) kick into gear, things have really started to ramp up on the transfer front at the SMH Group Stadium in recent days.
In defence of the Liam Jessop selection
26 minutes played. 1–0 down after 12 seconds. A further goal conceded shortly after. Substituted off. Not the ideal debut start for any defender. Ben Smith · Follow 5 min read · -- And yet, that is the fate Chesterfield youngster Liam Jessop had to endure during the Spireites’ 3–0 defeat down at Milton Keynes Dons on Tuesday night. The right-back was beaten in the build-up to the first goal, and then left powerless to prevent Alex Gilbey connecting with a cross to secure the hosts their second.
Reducing global AI competition through the Commerce Control List and Immigration reform: a dual-pronged approach — LessWrong
This essay proposes a dual approach to enhance U.S. competitiveness in AI while safeguarding national security. First, it calls for strengthening security measures in frontier AI labs by leveraging existing legal frameworks like ITAR and EAR to restrict access to sensitive technologies and implementing robust background checks. Second, it advocates for liberalizing skilled immigration, particularly from China, by expanding the number of employment visas.
Day 26-28 (Tour) Biking in different countries
Near the end of my bike touring trip I noticed the insanity of British roads for biking in comparison to some of the amazing Swiss and German roads, where they often provide a completely separate bike track. The pictures below were taken along the Romantic Rhine, along a busy road, but having a separate road entirely for bikes we felt safe and not in any danger of being clipped or hit by traffic and we didn’t have to slow down the traffic down and piss off the drivers either.
Day 24/25 – Floating the Aare 4 times and going home!
I was super scared this morning as I wanted to float down the Aare all the way from the campsite, but I didn’t know how to be safe. I thought I should bring a float or my waterproof saddle-bag but I realised this might impair me and what I needed was just to swim… when I went to the waters edge I met a lady who was about 70 years old and had done it many times before.
Day 22 - The Eiger Trail
I couldn’t leave Interlaken without atleast not getting as close to the Eiger as possible. After yesterday’s ride I felt tired but this wasn’t too difficult a hike. The sun was strong the UV rating was 8/11 you really felt it and I got burned high up with no clouds, but was epic to see Eiger so clearly, when it is usually in cloud. Getting there I took the train. First to Grindlewald, which was normallt priced and easy, but then you have to take a mountain train that goes up intensely steep peaks.
Day 21 - Bike ride from Interlaken to Grindlewald via Grosse Scheideg!
The lake of Brienzersee was just beautiful, so blue and crystal clear with pontoons for people to swim and sunbathe on and then floating planes. Looked like paradise! The valley of Meringen was also super beautiful with vast stretching landscapes and farms and waterfalls falling high up from the mountains.
Day 19 - Leaving Zermat arriving in Interlaken
The day had come I knew I needed to leave and go to see the Eiger and Grindlewald. I booked my coach and boat back that day so I had some certainty when I would return. FlixBus from Bern to Brussels, they take bikes. And then train or cycle to Dunkirk and then Ferry to Dover the next day. Felt sad to say by to my climbing buddies but I will train and get good so maybe I can actually summit a mountain with them next year. I think they will be there every year.
Tour bike and hike De Switzerland
My trip to the mountains I met these Germans last night in the campsite in Interlaken. They found my trip hilarious so I thought I’d write up a summary. So yeah basically I never really had any intention to alpine climb or camp here. After spending 1 week with Darren cycling along the Rhine and saying goodbye, which at the time seemed terrifying as I had no idea where I was going how I was really going to get there ( could I cycle 200km on my bike even?) I set off.
Day 17 - Mountaineering
To climb a proper mountain at high altitude, like 4000m you need proper gear. You need warm clothes, preferably waterproof, hiking boots, crampons, ice axe, ropes, carabiners , a hiking or climbing partner, to check the weather on the peak (many mountaineers get hit by lightening in storms or rain clouds) and mountain rescue insurance! Jules, the cool Japanese alpinist here, was telling me he was rescued once. The Swiss rescue services here are second to none.
Day 15 - Zermat hike to the lake Stellisie
Realised I couldn’t make coffee in the morning so the first thing I did after waking up was go buy a camping stove. Was awesome to wake up to the Matterhorn: Spent another 60/70 quid to get a camping stove and cup. But it’s essential. Then later on in the day I took my bike and ride it up to the 5 lakes hike. You can take a train or lift but I wanted to cycle. Followed this forest path up, passed some great views of the Matterhorn and loads of butterflies! Paddy messaged me when I was near the top.
Fear of centralized power vs. fear of misaligned AGI: Vitalik Buterin on 80,000 Hours — LessWrong
Vitalik Buterin wrote an impactful blog post, My techno-optimism. I found this discussion of one aspect on 80,00 hours much more interesting. The remainder of that interview is nicely covered in the host's EA Forum post. My techno optimism apparently appealed to both sides, e/acc and doomers. Buterin's approach to bridging that polarization was interesting. I hadn't understood before the extent to which anti-AI regulation sentiment is driven by fear of centralized power.
Bike ride to Barrage de Moirey
Mark wanted to do another bike ride with me the next day so I suggested one with a lake at the end of it so we could swim. However it was freezing cold so we didn't at the end. Was an epic bike ride. Made a film here with some hip hop music from Stormzy we were listening to in the car: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGe7wFw8N/ It started in the town of Grimentz.
I've broken my foot?
So after an agonising sleep (due to my foot slipping on a rock in the mountains) last night and then not being able to walk this morning, as I write this, I'm on the way to the hospital! I tried to go see the doctor in Andermatt but they were closed and I wasn't sure if they would be open the next day. So on the advice of the guy who ran the hostel I decided to get the train down the mountain and then a bus.
Black Forest to Zurich by bike!
I hope this is possible. I have a couch there somewhere. Below is Darren driving away. I almost went back with him as I felt concerned about this quite unplanned journey. But it will be ok. Just need to work out stop off points. The journey was pretty good prob the most scary bit was coming down this motorway into the Swiss border. There was no bike lane so it felt a bit sketchy. However I survived even though the brakes got extremely hot! I met the Rhine again when I got into the border town.
Day 4 - Remagen to Koblenz
Darren was still really ill last night although a bit better. When I arrived I managed to lock ourselves out so we had to wait for the key, which wasn't great. Still had a nice kebab...Darren really likes the alcohol free beer. In the morning I went to the local weingut to see what they sold and bought some Riesling. I was met by a boy who told me to wait for his grandfather who was the legs round jolly German man, 67 years old.
Toward a taxonomy of cognitive benchmarks for agentic AGIs — LessWrong
Inspired by the sequence on LLM Psychology, I am developing a taxonomy of cognitive benchmarks for measuring intelligent behavior in LLMs. This taxonomy could facilitate understanding of intelligence to identify domains of machine intelligence that have not been adequately tested. Generally speaking, in order to understand loss-of-control threats from agentic LLM-based AGIs, I would like to understand the agentic properties of an LLM.
Auto Trader Product & Technology
This is a story that starts from humble beginnings, charting an incredible journey showing how one can evolve over multiple eras, always staying culturally relevant whilst building upon and honouring the eras that have come before. It's a story that shows you can be hugely successful in your field whilst being your authentic self and maintaining strong values, and that the only way to remain relevant over time is to be prepared to constantly reinvent yourself.
The Relationship Between Music & Words in 'Maria'
Words and music are both very natural ways for humans to communicate; as a species, we have used both for millennia. Despite this inherent familiarity, however, there is often immense complexity and nuance in how composers will use words in their music. Western art music and popular music styles alike put a lot of emphasis on their lyrics, often in an attempt to tell a story.
Julius Eastman's Crazy N***** (1979)
Julius Eastman was a gay, African-American composer in the mid-late 20th Century. His music is unusual, in that, when considering his full compositional repertoire, it somehow evades any stylistic label - the closest you could get is the broad, 'avant-garde' - a fusion between his classical training as a pianist, and the overwhelming surrounding of jazz influences in New York, all while telling stories of all shapes and forms within his canon.
Cook, Clouds and Carnage: The Story of Chesterfield’s Fairytale Coronation
Chesterfield will be a Football League club for the first time since 2018 next season, after officially wrapping up the National League title with five games still to play. An earlier trip to FC Halifax Town had presented Paul Cook’s side their first opportunity to clinch promotion, with a win for second-placed Barnet the night previous prolonging the wait for official confirmation.
AI #55: Keep Clauding Along — LessWrong
Simeon: If your moat was having good ideas: RIP. The human (remaining) moat will be in execution. Daniel Losey: Claude 3 as a research assistant?
McAfee, Dell Team Up To Help Keep Your SMB Safe
Related Posts Antivirus vendor McAfee has developed a new all-in-one security solution for small business customers working with Dell. The new suite, called McAfee Business Protection, protects against various threats and combines firewall, dark web data monitoring, VPN, web browsing protection, identity protection and other security features. McAfee claims the new product helps protect businesses from malware and viruses and is easy to use.
The Platform Engineering Approach to VC
Below I outline how this approach directs the the architectural principals for each layer: The Platform Engineering Approach applied to the Data layer maximises the capabilities of the platform through coverage, depth and freshness. For InReach and our platform: DIG, this can only be achieved through being a Live Data Platform that is architected for extensibility (adding any data-source is trivial) and constantly automatically growing (updates happen every second with no human intervention).
A Fair Chance for Job Candidates with Criminal Records
By Lina Bankert, , Kedra Newsom Reeves, , , , , and Gabrielle Novacek Reading time: 8 min Key Takeaways Today’s talent shortage leaves employers severely challenged in meeting their labor needs, but one source of talent remains significantly underutilized: the nearly one in three working-age adult Americans with a criminal record. Perceptions of the risks associated with fair chance hires are often rooted in misconceptions.
Please don't throw your mind away — LessWrong
Thanks. You make an important point. Fun in general is a broader thing than playful thinking (and deeper and more sacred in some ways), so playful thinking doesn't at all encompass all of fun. Fun and playful thinking are related though; playful thinking is supposed to be fun, and at least for me, the issue with playful thinking is that the fun is being stifled. So following on your last paragraph, the deeper thing is fun simpliciter.
Successfully Leverage Business Partnerships and Relationships
To launch, a business needs time and capital; but to genuinely scale, partnerships become equally as important. This has become a forced reality in a day when competition is now global, not just local. For business leaders, it means mastering and leveraging the resources outside the company as well as within. To lead successfully, knowing what is available, how to ask and how to return value in partnerships is of utmost importance.
Startups in 2020 - How to Get an Idea Funded
You are here: Home / Building Your Business / Startups in 2020 – How to Get an Idea Funded Building Your Business | Startups | February 2020 Many of us think we have a “great idea,” but getting that idea to a point someone will write a check for is far more complex than many may think. To get funded, it’s important to look for three key elements: Is the idea scalable? Is the team behind it solid and capable to get it there? And is the market actually ready for it?
From Research to Revenue
You are here: Home / Building Your Business / From Research to Revenue Building Your Business | Startups | March 2020 No research goes to market without time and money spent. Great ideas often die in a lab or workshop because the person behind them does not have the knowledge on how to bring the idea to market.
[Intro to brain-like-AGI safety] 3. Two subsystems: Learning & Steering — LessWrong
Part of the “Intro to brain-like-AGI safety” post series. In the previous post I defined the notion of “learning from scratch” algorithms—a broad category that includes, among other things, any randomly-initialized machine learning algorithm (no matter how complicated), and any memory system that starts out empty. I then proposed a division of the brain into two parts based on whether or not they learn from scratch.
Preprint is out! 100,000 lumens to treat seasonal affective disorder — LessWrong
What do people think about the effects of such bright light on skin? I have heard anecdotally that some SAD lights can cause sunburn. The long term oxidative effects may not be desirable, either aesthetically in terms of skin ageing, or for health in terms of skin cancer risk. The health effects of stress/loneliness/depression and sheer subjective misery are powerful counter-arguments regardless. I'm currently in the middle of building a light setup based on this one by David Chapman of Meaningness.
InReach Ventures` Tech Stack
Christoph’s post a while ago on Point Nine’s Tech Stack was a great read. I love it when people pull back the curtain to demystify what can be quite an aloof industry. At InReach we build and use software to power everything we do. From discovery to executing an investment: it’s all software.
InReach Open-Source: angellist-client
I’m probably not giving away any deep secrets by telling you that the InReach platform hits the AngelList API from time-to-time. We figured we’d release the simple Java8 client-library that we’ve built so others may benefit: https://github.com/inreachventures/angellist-client As always, contributions are extremely welcome. Only part of the API has been implemented so if anyone fancies filling in the rest of the calls we’d be eternally grateful.
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