Brain Ticklers Ed. 23
Links for December 2021 with Q-rated ticklers from around of internet that I think you SHOULD read! Enjoy.
Greetings!
Hope all good. So, here’s yet another edition for you as we draw the curtains on another year. Even as all the soul searching begins, I need your help in doing mine - about this newsletter: Answer just two questions in this survey (what you like/dislike, that’s all). Btw, we may or may not have an edition in January - Depends on my mood at the end of this month, basically.
Interesting-Perspectives
Why do children learn better than adults? (Because they are not risk-averse)
Metaverse and the near-infinite economic growth
I didn't like the previous interviews in "Observer Effect" (found them meh mid-way) but this one with Atlassian founder was good that I completed the whole (loong) thing.
Making Ayurveda a real science
What if Xi is not all that competent
Stop telling kids they’ll die from climate change
GAFAM might currently be where GE etc. where in the mid 20th century.
Okay, I thought rationalism and empiricism were friends (as opposed to blind beliefs & superstitions) but looks like they are not.
Virtual Vs Real communities
Are "invasive species" really invasive? Or is that the real nature of the world?
Is anti-aging really worth? (Review of the book Lifespan, but my takeaway was all on the worth of it)
History, Culture, Society
We still use the light-bulb (thread) design of Edison
Nice read on Auroville (no new insights if you know about the place already, but stories about it continue to fascinate me, as a former Pondicherry resident)
Cut the bullshit: organizations with no hierarchy don’t exist
Timeline of human condition - Just wow list of history. I strongly recommend you print this, and discuss it with your children.
The great organic farming fraud (Okay, this is about a specific company in the US which is told to have made customers spend a quarter billion dollars more than they should have. And I like this statement: The scheme may have been sustained, in part, by a disdain for organic consumers. “There was a little bit of a sense of effete, latte-drinking, Volvo-driving people,”)
Secrets of great families (featuring the likes of Darwin, Marie Curie, Tagore etc.). I would like to understand, what are the catalysts that make the first person in the family to be great. We can at least kickstart that process, you see. (An aunt of mine used to consider a "secular" model of a family getting better, with each generation moving forward one step ahead of their parents. You try to take more steps within a generation and you will be ruined, was her theory. But at that rate, I am afraid it will be close to the end of humanity for my descendants to be "great")
Pakistan seems to have a stronger version of Aadhaar (a biometric system covering 98% of the population)
I know this is a bit early, but Economist has published a "World in 2022" (the first 9 pages cover 2022, and then it goes to last year). Well, I don't have a subscription too, but the headlines and the short teaser content gives enough perspective that it's worth going through the list (if you are a sucker for such content)
Tale of the greatest toy man (incredible Story of entrepreneurship & hustling!)
Understanding Tokyo's urban design
Origins of Trans-Eurasian languages (Okay, more than the origin; I didn't know that this group had 98 languages in it)
Science & Technology
How does a brainless slime mold "think and decide"? (Leaving the think/decide part aside, they belong to the fourth kingdom; i.e. it is not a plant, animal, or even fungus)
Gov-Tech failures - Latest exhibit from Sweden's school systems. (Homework for you: Is India Stack an exception to these? Or just an equal disaster? Or a case of Govt. just facilitating private players? Or has India moved to the "Synergy" phase referred here?)
Zillow's algorithmic issues in pricing houses and its impact
The UX of eternity (Rest in Pixel, apparently)
Human body (okay, with two people so far) seems capable of removing HIV from itself completely without any medication.
A brief introduction to container logistics
A new Planet 9 is being considered. Look, I don't care. Bring as many new ones. But first reinstate Pluto as the original 9th planet. You can't just remove planets and reduce their status, etc.
Crypto adoption is somewhere like what Internet was in 1998, in terms of the number of people. Well, I don't think the use-cases for mass adoption are anywhere near in Crypto. And as usual, I might be wrong.
How should KidTech evolve? I agree with everything said there except adding one more concern (for which there is no solution per se) - The effect of blue-screen on the child's eyes and the strain caused by it.
Is Web3 bullshit? (I liked this statement a lot: Ten years from now, Chris Dixon and the Winklevoss Twins will be much richer than me, and my quality of life will be the same, or worse)
Perso-Dev
What if this (any task you were putting off) were easy? A good read - may be I needed it this week, so your mileage may vary. Includes quotes like "Be willing to let it be easy. You might be surprised." from SwissMiss
Nice tool on Group Decision Making
Oh-Really
A different kind of a dictionary where you find the word for which you know the meaning. I thought it was called Google.
There is a quiz to determine if you are a coffee person or a tea person
Coronavirus has just taken a break to go to the wild (animals), mutate itself, and come back. (Okay, just kidding. Read it to know what happens when wild animals become reservoirs of the virus).
Real meanings of what's spoken at work. (Like: "I hear you")
Most (awful) things on the modern Internet come from Something Awful.
Origin of the phrase "Sh*t hit the fan"
Employee Hacks His Job, Gets Paid To Do Nothing For 5 Years
Scorpion & the Frog fable with different endings
Placebo in dogs. Oh My!
Santa Claus has an evil counterpart
Why are Duolingo's sentences so weird - I was thinking along the lines of "only such weird sentences convey the complexity/nuance of the language" but this is more a case of "that is what will let you stay alert"
If you liked anything here and think someone you know will benefit, do SHARE this - Don’t be lazy and selfish. Or HEART this. I have to get more subscribers too, no? You won’t and don’t care? That's OK too. You are still a friend.