Dailies - Observations (Page 3)

Testing the Automation Revolution Hypothesis

This [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3496364] is a short paper where the authors try to understand what predicts automation of jobs, and if there is an automation revolution ongoing or in the near future that will causes large-scale displacement

Seeing With Neutrinos

This amazing photo of the sun was made from neutrinos, tiny subatomic particles similar to electrons but with no electrical charge: Source: Astronomy Picture Of The Day [https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap980605.html] / R. Svoboda [svoboda@phlash.phys.lsu.edu] and K. Gordan

The Most Interesting Population Density Maps

@TrungTPhan [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCqo7MhQT6U] has been tweeting out really interesting world maps recently. Two of the best ones illustrate how skewed population density is throughout the world: > Found an insane collection of maps from Reddit. The best ones 🧵 1/

Selection Pressure

Selection pressure [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_pressure] is one of those important ideas that human intuition isn't designed for. The idea helps visualize how selection (natural or otherwise) works. I usually picture it as a force pushing the evolution of

Flood Myths

Mark Isaak has collected a large number of flood myths from across the world here [http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html]. Here's one from Papua New Guinea, notice the resemblance to the Noah story: > The wife of a very good

Why Was Stonehenge Built?

The AskHistorians subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1odqwp/what_is_the_most_accepted_explanation_for/] on what the best accepted explanation for Stonehenge is: > They believe that Stonehenge is a domain of the dead; there are no signs of habitation

Rules For Rulers

A great introduction to how power works that I wish I had seen five years ago: The Dictator's Handbook [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11612989-the-dictator-s-handbook] elaborates on this subject, also highly recommended.

Why Don't We Work 15-Hour Weeks?

Economist Tyler Cowen on how the idea that productivity growth will reduce working hours hasn't panned out: Some interesting bits: * People do work less to some extent, but it's concentrated in the elderly (people retire much earlier now) and teenagers

The Future of Reading Depends on the Future of Learning Difficult to Learn Things

My takeaway from Alan Kay's 2013 article [http://www.vpri.org/pdf/future_of_reading.pdf] was that in the future it will be important to invest time into learning deep, complex skills that help us navigate a more complex world. A

The Economics Of Christmas Trees

The economics of a good that takes almost a decade to produce and gets almost all of its sales within a few days each year are bound to be fascinating. The Hustle's article [https://thehustle.co/the-economics-of-christmas-trees/] on the economics of Christmas

Learning Epistemic Humility With Storyline

Storyline [https://storylinegame.com/]is a game about guessing trends. You chart progress of a trend over time (e.g. growth in # of internet users from 1975-2010), and later compare your guess with reality. For example, here's my guess for how internet

How The Ancients Shaved

A few days ago, I found myself wondering when people started shaving and how. Sculptures of Roman emperors depict most of them as clean shaven. How did people shave back then? Bust of Roman emperor Augustus / Source: Sailko [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2020

Winners of the competition were announced recently. My favourites: The Transit of Mercury [https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year/galleries/2020/our-sun] , Eruption [https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year/galleries/2020/our-sun] ,Once in a Blue Moon [https://www.rmg.co.uk/

Reversing Aging

A modest discovery [https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03119-1] in the quest help humans live longer: researchers were able to trigger regeneration of damaged neurons in old mice and restore their vision.

A Long History of a Short Block

A Long History of a Short Block: [http://www.nyudri.org/research-index/2016/greenestjune] [http://www.nyudri.org/research-index/2016/greenestjune]Four Centuries of Development Surprises on a Single Stretch of a New York City Street [http://www.nyudri.org/research-index/2016/greenestjune] is

Edison's Diary

The diary [http://ariwatch.com/VS/TheDiaryOfThomasEdison.htm] of Thomas Edison, covering the short period from 12 - 21 July 1885. Not much of scientific interest here, just some amusing bits: > It has just occurred to me that the brain may digest certain

How White Bread Became Ubiquitous

Rachel Ludan on why [https://www.rachellaudan.com/2017/01/why-did-our-ancestors-prefer-white-bread-to-wholegrain-bread.html] our ancestors switched from eating wholemeal to white bread. In a nutshell: higher energy density, easier digestibility, higher social status probably made white bread more popular than wholemeal bread even though it

What Ancient Egyptian Sounded Like

How researchers figured out what Ancient Egyptian sounded like:

Microsoft Frontpage

I remember using Microsoft Frontpage almost a decade ago in an attempt to create my first website. While I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, it's still something I am nostalgic for. This post [https://invisibleup.com/articles/33/] is good

The Importance Of Agriculture

Rachel Laudan on [https://www.rachellaudan.com/2016/01/was-the-agricultural-revolution-a-terrible-mistake.html] Jared Diamond's thesis that agriculture was the worst mistake mankind ever made: > The agriculture-as disaster theory rests, at least in part, on ignoring the work involved in processing and cooking

The Tabula Peutingeriana

The Tabula Peutingeriana [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabula_Peutingeriana] was an ancient map believed to have first been constructed by the ancient Romans, although the copy we have today was drawn in 1265. While reading Charles' Allen Coromandel: A Personal History of

The UK's Tech Unicorns

sifted.eu has collected [https://sifted.eu/rankings/european-unicorn-startups]a list of unicorns (startups values at > $1bn) from Europe, and an impressive number of them are from the UK. And they are from a variety of industries: Transferwise (banking), Monzo (banking), Cazoo (car

Journey To The Microcosmos

Journey To The Microcosmos [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBbnbBWJtwsf0jLGUwX5Q3g] is a YouTube channel I stumbled upon today that does amazing videos of microscopic organisms. Here are two that I liked: Stentors, giant single-celled organisms upto to 4mm long: Tardigrades:

The Tiny Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was huge: 5 million sq. km [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire#:~:text=The%20Empire%20reached%20its%20largest,of%205%20million%20square%20kilometres.] at its peak, larger than India (3.2 million sq. km), about half the size of the

Travel Blues

Morocco's Mount Toubkal [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toubkal] was in the travel list for 2020 before the pandemic hit. Now instead I'm feeding my travel bug with photos [https://allthatsinteresting.com/chefchaouen] of Chefchaouen, Morocco's blue city.