Nationalize Amazon. Is this a realistic demand? Perhaps not yet, but that’s the point.
November 17, 2018
UN poverty envoy calls UK poverty a “political choice” that inflicted “great misery.” Any poverty in a rich country is a political choice.
November 16, 2018
Humans are having huge influence on evolution of species, study says. I would be very surprised were this not the case.
Amazon and Google Are Taking Over Cities. The Smartest Startups Are Going Virtual. Opting out of geography offers startups the best of both worlds–a deeper and cheaper talent pool. The agglomeration effect is overstated, mainly by post hoc ergo propter hoc thinking.
Please, Hillary, don’t do it. Can we donate money so she doesn’t run? I’m in for that.
November 15, 2018
Dutch Culture Taught Me to Be Brutally Honest: The Dutch Directness. Germans are also this way. I worked for a German company for a while.
Tantalizing But Preliminary Evidence of a ‘Brain Microbiome.’ I wrote an sf story a long time ago about human intelligence being the result of parasitism, and the philosophical implications thereof.
November 14, 2018
Armored school doors, bulletproof whiteboards and secret snipers. Billions are being spent to protect children from school shootings. Does any of it work? I never thought I’d live in a time where mass slaughter of children would just be…normal.
Something Happened to U.S. Drug Costs in the 1990s. This conceals more than it reveals; totally ignores the question of why the US diverged so much. Propaganda by omission.
November 13, 2018
It is heartening to know that we essentially have the technology to phase out fossil fuel right now, if we had the political will to do so. Yes. We could be off fossil fuels in 20 years, if the political will to do so existed.
Three senior living communities in Vermont owned by Dallas private equity firm East Lake Capital have been seized after a state investigation found more than 100 elderly residents were being neglected and, in some cases, weren’t receiving food. America; what a country, where we let private equity firms abuse our elders in the sacred name of profits.
Why We Dread New Software Updates. Because they remove capabilities, steal yet more data, and force interfaces I’d’ve been embarrassed to use as a five-year-old.
November 12, 2018
Be Afraid of Economic ‘Bigness.’ Be Very Afraid. In the 1930s it contributed to the rise of fascism. Alarmingly, we are experimenting again with a monopolized economy. This is under-examined. Glad there is a mainstream article linking oligopoly and monopoly to fascism.
November 11, 2018
Pundits analyzing Britain’s Leave vote obsess over everything but what mattered: decades of economic decay in declining regions. But the only possible explanation for anything is racism, don’t you get it?
Why I Dread Returning to an American Public School. In Germany, my daughter’s school offered circus lessons. Now I’ll have to sell wrapping paper to keep the gym lights on. Whenever I go to a more civilized country, it’s always a bit of a shock to return to the US.
November 10, 2018
Scientists Do Too Much Research on the Old Instead of the New. Mostly agreed. But in academia, you are often severely and irreparably penalized for striking out on your own or having unusual ideas.
DNA Testing Reveals Baffling Bird Is Three Species in One. Oh. I thought its name was “baffling bird.” Maybe that’s just the title of its name. Or perhaps that’s just what we call the title of its name. Congratulations, now you understand references and pointers in C.
November 9, 2018
Aristotle Was Wrong—Very Wrong—But People Still Love Him. Other than as an historical footnote, it is pointless studying Aristotle.
What Explains U.S. Mass Shootings? International Comparisons Suggest an Answer. A lot of alienation and a whole lot of guns.
November 8, 2018
American Meritocracy Is Killing Youth Sports. Where “merit” == money.
Energy cost of ‘mining’ bitcoin more than twice that of copper or gold. I’ve heard stupider ideas that Bitcoin, but not all that many.
November 7, 2018