Read : 2021-01-03

Today’s selection of articles:

1. “Learning about teaching now” by John S. Rosenberg (Harvard Magazine, 2018-09-24). Link shared previously.
2. “384 ways to help” by MacKenzie Scott (Medium, 2020-12-15). “Then we can select organizations to assist — and get out of their way.”
3. “Discovery of virus variant in Colorado and California alarms scientists” by Apoorva Mandavilli (NY Times, 2020-12-30). Some facts and multi-phrase expert opinion appear later in the article; the first half seems mostly hype.
4. “The U.K. coronavirus variant: What we know” by Carl Zimmer & Benedict Carey (NY Times, 2020-12-21).
5. “Mutant coronavirus in the United Kingdom sets off alarms, but its importance remains unclear” by Kai Kupferschmidt (Science, 2020-12-20). “[T]he United Kingdom may have [detected the novel B.1.1.7 strain] first because it has the most sophisticated SARS-CoV-2 genomic monitoring in the world. Many countries have little or no sequencing.”
6. “Does time really flow? New clues come from a century-old approach to math.” by Natalie Wolchover (Quanta Magazine, 2020-04-07).
7. “The most famous paradox in physics nears its end” by George Musser (Quanta Magazine, 2020-10-29). How black holes (might) shed information.

Read : 2020-12-19

Today’s selection of articles:

1. “Think retirement is smooth sailing? A look at its potential effects on the brain” by Cella Write (TED Ideas, 2019-07-02). A digest of a TED talk by gerontologist Ross Andel. Key take-aways: Be deliberate, find purpose, build routine.
2. “Revelations of cyberattacks on U.S. likely just ‘tip of the iceberg’” by Christina Pazzanese (The Harvard Gazette, 2020-12-16).
3. “What we know — and still don’t — about the worst-ever US government cyberattack” by Kari Paul (The Guardian, 2020-12-18).
4. “The difference between red, blue, and purple teams” by Daniel Miessler (DanielMiessler.com, 2020-04-04).
5. “Introducing the InfoSec colour wheel — blending developers with red and blue security teams” by Louis Cremen (Hacker Noon, 2020-02-21).
6. “Expert reaction to the new variant of SARS-CoV-2” (Science Media Centre, 2020-12-14). Red, blue, and purple hats off especially to Professor Julian Hiscox, for concise, frank sharing of what’s known and not yet known.
7. “Why you shouldn’t freak out about the new strain of coronavirus” by Nancy Schimelpfening (Healthline, 2020-12-18).
8. “Die Luft der Freiheit weht — on and off” by Gerhard Casper (Stanford, 1995-10-05).

Read : 2020-12-12

Today’s selection of articles:

1. “How to start a digital detox” by Amy Moaz (Pocket). A collection of articles discussing how to adopt a more deliberate use of digital technology.
2. “Navy SEAL David Goggins is the toughest athlete on Earth — Thoughts on mindset, the 40% rule & why purpose always trumps motivation” (The Rich Roll Podcast, Episode 266, 2017-01-02). I feel the host could have made the interview much, much shorter and more focused. The (potentially useful) remarks that stuck with me:
   1. Don’t feel sorry for yourself.
   2. Ask less, do more, learn from your “failures”.
   3. To succeed one time you typically gotta fail a lot.
   4. Internal vs external motivation (i.e. purpose vs motivation).
   5. Learn your fears and face them head-on.
   6. Don’t hide and distract yourself from yourself.
   7. Keep the refrigerator empty (i.e. don’t get too comfortable).

Read : 2020-11-21

Today’s selection of articles:

1. “2 companies say their vaccines are 95% effective. What does that mean?” by Carl Zimmer (NY Times, 2020-11-20).
2. “This insect has the only mechanical gears ever found in nature” by Joseph Stromberg (Smithsonian Magazine, 2013-09-12).
3. “A close reading of the best opening paragraph of all time” (Literary Hub, 2017-12-15).

Read : 2020-11-19

Today’s selection of articles:

1. “The last children of Down syndrome” by Sarah Zhang (The Atlantic, 2020-11-18).
2. “Four rules for running fast” by Steve Magness (The Growth Equation, 2020-11).
3. “Lily Collins’s take on Parisian chic is very different than Emily’s” by Janelle Okwodu (Vogue, 2020-11-18).

Read : 2020-09-27

Today’s selection of articles:

1. “Programming language trade-offs” by Larry Garfield (GarfieldTech, 2010-09-30).
2. “Why comparing flu and COVID-19 severity is not equivalent” by Rachel Lutz (Contagion Live, 2020-05-28). An article emphasizing the distinction between reported deaths and estimated deaths, and the potential for confusion and abuse when comparing seasonal influenza with Covid-19.
3. “Guillain–Barré syndrome” (Wikipedia). This disease came up in a discussion of vaccination risks. The article notes that “Guillain–Barré syndrome is rare, at 1 or 2 cases per 100,000 people every year”. I have no estimate how these figures would change if an insufficiently tested vaccine were introduced into widespread use. The article also notes that “[g]lobally, death occurs in about 7.5% of those affected”.
4. “Context matters: You have heard that it was said…but I say to you” by Peter Krol (Knowable Word, 2018-07-27). A reading of Jesus’s words in Matthew 5.
5. “Inspirational writing advice from Charlie Kaufman” by Charlie Kaufman (2011-09-30); video posted by BAFTA Guru (YouTube, 2017-01-06). Personally, I find the video editing distracting (and, ironically, against the authenticity and sincerity that Kaufman advocates). Ditto for the YouTube commercials (ironically, the very marketing and politicalization that Kaufman warns against). If you’re like me, you may prefer the transcript of the speech (BAFTA, 2011-09-30).

Read : 2020-09-20

Today’s selection of articles:

1. “The baloney detection kit” by Maria Popova (Brain Pickings, 2014-01-03).
2. “Coronavirus responses highlight how humans have evolved to dismiss facts that don’t fit their worldview” by Adrian Bardon (Scientific American, 2020-06-26).
3. “Mortality analysis” (Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, 2020-09-20).

Read : 2020-09-19

Today’s selection of articles:

1. “Millennials and Gen Z are spreading coronavirus — but not because of parties and bars” by Rebecca Renner (National Geographic, 2020-09-17). ” An August 18 briefing from the World Health Organization announced that people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are now driving the virus’s spread, but that’s because most are just trying to do their jobs.”
2. “The crushing reality of Zoom school” by Dan Sinker (Esquire, 2020-09-16). An opinionated article. “The lesson we refuse to learn with COVID-19 is that decisions we make today have no bearing on right now, but have a huge effect in a few months.”
3. “Why I changed my mind about the Caster Semenya case” by David Epstein (The Range Report, 2020-09-18).
4. “How the government lost its mind” by Deborah Pearlstein (The Atlantic, 2020-09-17).
5. “Sun, skin, and science” by Stephanie Dutchen (Harvard Magazine, 2020-09).
6. “Your shoes were made for walking. And that may be the problem” by Juan Siliezar (The Harvard Gazette, 2020-09-17).
7. “The big Tesla hack: A hacker gained control over the entire fleet, but fortunately he’s a good guy” by Fred Lambert (Electrek, 2020-08-27). Will successful hackers always be good guys? (The hack referenced in the article’s title occurred in early 2017.)
8. “The ‘serendipity mindset’: How to make your own luck” by Sharon Walker (The Guardian, 2020-09-13). “[H]ave an eye for the main chance and making the most of the unexpected.” (Also, one can add “chocolate-chip cookies” to that list of “lucky accidents”.)
9. “Facebook has been a disaster for the world” by Jamelle Bouie (NY Times, 2020-09-18). Another opinionated article. The author makes some valid points, but doesn’t make any attempt to search out evidence that would disprove his thesis, or even just add balance. I feel an analogy would help (the following is not the most helpful analogy): Facebook as a highway, that some (many? quantify!) people decide to drive on at speeds that endanger others. Is this behavior the fault of those who built the highway? No. The behavior of the users is on the users. But if those responsible for maintaining the highway and enforcing its speed limits refuse to do so, that’s on them. Which maybe clarifies an aspect of the Facebook criticism: Hold individual users accountable for misuse; hold politicians accountable for the lack of “speed limit” laws; and hold decision-makers at Facebook accountable when they ignore, break, or actively suppress these laws.

Read : 2020-08-29

Today’s selection of articles:

1. “What we don’t understand about fascism” by Victoria de Grazia (Zócalo, 2020-08-13).
2. “NISTIR 8309: Status report on the second round of the NIST post-quantum cryptography standardization process” by Gorgjan Alagic et al. (2020-07).
3. “How we recovered XXX,000 in bitcoin from an encrypted zip file” by DEFCON (2020-08-05). 41m43s YouTube video.
4. “Reopening schools: Lessons from abroad” by Tyler Barton & Anand Parekh (The Commonwealth Fund, 2020-08-11).
5. “Federalist Papers No. 10” by James Madison (Bill of Rights Institute, 1787).
6. “Chinese diplomats helped military scholars visiting the U.S. evade FBI scrutiny, U.S. says” by Kate O’Keeffe & Aruna Viswanatha (Wall Street Journal, 2020-08-25).
7. “Tracking Laura: Map and times of arrival” by John Muyskens, Lauren Tierney, Chris Alcantara, & Laris Karklis (Washington Post, 2020-08-28).
8. “Preparing your mind for uncertain times” by Eric Weiner (The Atlantic, 2020-08-25).
9. “Cantique de Jean Racine” by Gabriel Fauré, recorded by Maîtrise de Radio France, conducted by Sofi Jeannin (YouTube, France Musique, recorded 2016-10-18, posted 2017-12-18).

Read : 2020-08-10

Today’s selection of articles:

1. “Covid-19 will be painful for universities, but also bring change” (The Economist, 2020-08-08). “For many years government subsidies and booming demand have allowed universities to resist changes that could benefit both students and society. They may not be able to do so for much longer.”
2. “China is now blocking all encrypted HTTPS traffic that uses TLS 1.3 and ESNI” by Catalin Cimpanu (ZDNet, 2020-08-08).
3. “Facebook: Trim positions, but stay long” by Gary Alexander (Seeking Alpha, 2020-08-05).