Almanac: Brian Eno on technology
“When technology makes it perfect, art loses.” Brian Eno (quoted in Wired, January 1999) Continue reading Almanac: Brian Eno on technology at About Last Night....Read more
A new startup is recruiting gig workers to help landlords evict people from their homes, calling it the fastest-growing moneymaking gig because of COVID-19
Donald Trump paid just
$750 (£581) in federal income tax the year he became US president, and made
no payments in 11 other earlier years, according to US news media reports
Taxpayers pick up the tab for MPs to boost their Facebook 'likes'
Derision, Disbelief After Iowa Meatpacking Plant Where Hundreds Caught Coronavirus Fined Just $957
Iowa regulators issuer their first deriory $957 fine against a meatpacking plant that was the site of one of Iowa’s first COVID-19 hotspots.
How We Perceive Time May Be Related To How Wealthy We Are
“Research already suggests that, on average, wealthy people live longer,biologically. Now, emerging work hints that varied and novel experiences could create more “time codes” in the human brain as it processes memory formation. This, in turn, could mean that people who can afford to enjoy more vacations and hobbies, and who have more stimulating jobs, will recall having lived for a longer time on Earth.” – National Geographic
The shrinking of the Australian mind (The Interpreter Sep 3, 2020)
Australian strategic decision-makers need lessons in our once-grand ambitions – and accomplishments – in world affairs.
More detail on the Venus phosphine discovery
Wes Pegden on herd immunity and transmission rates
Ross Douthat on the Ginsburg seat (NYT)
“In short, academic institutions systemically promote exactly the sort of short-term optimization of which, ironically, the private sector is often accused. Is entrepreneurship a trap? No; right now, it’s one of the only ways to avoid being trapped.” Link here
Rethinking the roots of Chinese civilization we know so little about the ancient world
Expanding the Measurement of Culture with a Sample of Two Billion Humans
New study looks at space power competition through China’s lens. “China views the U.S. commercial space industry as a major advantage for the United States. The report says China’s private commercial sector faces many challenges, including a lack of a supportive policy environment, and the central government’s favoritism toward the state owned sector.”
“Fortune’s Change the World list is built on the premise that the profit motive can inspire companies to tackle society’s unmet needs. Looking at average 1-year returns, The Change the World list has outperformed companies on the S&P and MCSI lists over the past 2 years, proving that companies can do well while doing good. The 2020 list, our sixth, stresses a crucial corollary: No business succeeds alone. Collaboration among companies, even among rivals, is a common thread, from the effort to make “green” steel, to the campaign to close America’s racial wealth gap, and, above all, in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine… The 2020 list, our sixth, stresses a crucial corollary: No business succeeds alone. Collaboration among companies, even among rivals, is a common thread, from the effort to make “green” steel, to the campaign to close America’s racial wealth gap, and, above all, in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine. As we face unprecedented collective challenges—a global pandemic, climate change, profound income inequality cooperation has become a business superpower. Speaking of cooperation: As always, we’ve selected our list in collaboration with our expert partners at Shared Value Initiative, a consultancy that helps companies apply business skills to social problems…”
A JUDGE TELLS A WOMAN, “SHE COULD NOT KEEP BLAMING OTHERS FOR HER BAD DECISIONS”: Instagram model who poses as Catwoman jailed for masked robberies.