There are two types of people in the world
There are two types of people in the world, Aretae claims: People who know everyone is wrong a lot, and people who know everyone else is wrong a lot.
View ArticleBait and Switch
Thomas Friedman points out that a disproportionate number of the finalists of the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search are of immigrant origin, shares their names — Linda Zhou, Alice Wei Zhao, etc. — and...
View ArticleDemocracy or Tyranny
Why did it take so long to achieve democracy? One thing I like to try to do is remember my original reaction, as a child in the '70s and '80s, to the present history of the world as revealed to me then...
View ArticleMoore's Law, Not More Steel
Bill Gross likes to say that they use Moore’s law, not more steel at eSolar's solar-thermal plants: This “power tower” technology is not new, but what sets the company apart is Gross’ use of...
View ArticleSend them back to Africa
Sometimes the best option really is to send them back to Africa, Miss Snuffleupagus says — as a black teacher in London: It is assumed by most people that bad kids are bad and good kids are good. What...
View ArticleA sweet problem
Table sugar, or sucrose, is half glucose and half fructose, because each sucrose molecule comprises one glucose molecule and one fructose molecule, bound together. High-fructose corn syrup is also half...
View ArticleRomanticizing the Poor
We're romanticizing the poor, Aneel Karnani says, when we portray them as creative entrepreneurs and discerning consumers whose vast potential can be untapped by micro-lending: All people have moments...
View ArticleFDR, like Lincoln, was a dictator
FDR, like Lincoln, was a dictator: He governed America more or less personally by decree. Obviously, many people worked for USG in FDR's time; but, as with a normal corporate CEO, none could flout his...
View ArticleEx-Offenders and the Vote
I don't think the New York Times has any idea how it sounds to ordinary Americans when it argues that there is no good reason to deny former prisoners the vote: Millions of ex-offenders who have been...
View ArticleThe Predictioneer
New Scientist has a piece on Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, who has successfully branded himself as the predictioneer: Bueno de Mesquita's "predictioneering" began in 1979 when he was on a Guggenheim...
View ArticleM. S. Corley's Classic Penguin-Style:Book Covers
M. S. Corley has redesigned a number of book covers in the classic Penguin style — Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi's...
View ArticleA Great People in a Great Place
America's successes did not happen because of America's unique political system: They happened despite America's unique political system. America became great not because American democracy was great,...
View ArticleArt of the Steal
Art of the Steal starts with a story of Gerald Blanchard parachuting onto the roof of a Viennese castle, in order to purloin a priceless jewel, the Sisi Star. Then it just keeps going.
View ArticleCancer genes in human melanomas have been switched off
Cancer genes in human melanomas have been switched off via RNA interference (RNAi): The researchers created the particles from two polymers plus a protein that binds to receptors on the surface of...
View ArticleIntellectuals and Society
Thomas Sowell defines an intellectual as one whose work begins and ends with ideas — which, John Derbyshire points out, excludes many — engineers, architects, surgeons, lawyers, generals — who make a...
View ArticleGary Gorton vs. Michael Lewis
Gary Gorton's Slapped in the Face by the Invisible Hand is insightful but not nearly as lively as its title, Eric Falkenstein says: Alas, most people will find Gorton a bit too dry, too many...
View ArticleSaigon did not fall to barefoot black-pajama-clad guerrillas
There are three reason why every sentient being in the universe should read On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War by Col. Harry Summers, NerveAgent says: First, it is probably the most...
View ArticleWater Wars
It's hard for me to take someone seriously when they're outraged — outraged! — that someone might want to turn water — a shared public resource! — into a private asset that can be traded on the open...
View ArticleTaking AP Classes versus Passing AP Tests
Parents and educators seem to ignore the vital difference between taking Advanced Placement classes versus passing Advanced Placement tests, Steve Sailer says: The conventional wisdom assumes that the...
View ArticleThe Case for Teaching Less Math in Schools
Peter Gray presents the case for teaching less math in schools, based on some old, forgotten research: In 1929, the superintendent of schools in Ithaca, New York, sent out a challenge to his colleagues...
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