Facebook, Smart Tech, and the End of Language “Lurking beneath the push toward these technologies is a relentless attack on language as unreliable and misleading. The boom in affective computing and wearables—and the various “smart” infrastructures that interface with these technologies—is driven by the promise of access “real” emotions and“real” desires, accompanied by ways of […]

Legendary investor Charlie Munger (Warren Buffett’s financial partner and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway) invokes a set of interdisciplinary “mental models” involving economics, business, psychology, ethics, and management to keep emotions out of his investments and avoid the common pitfalls of bad judgment. In a new book focused on lessons learned from Munger, Tren Griffin […]

How Steely Dan Created ‘Deacon Blues’ – WSJ “A mystical thing takes place and he’s suddenly aware of his surroundings and life, and starts thinking about his options. The “fine line” we use in the song [“So useless to ask me why / Throw a kiss and say goodbye / I’ll make it this time […]

Homo naledi, a new species of human, discovered in a cave in South Africa “At least 15 skeletons of the species – named Homo Naledi – were found hidden deep in a cave dubbed the ‘Star Chamber’ in which is thought to be the earliest form of ritual burial ever discovered. The early humans stood […]

The Lost, True Story Of The CIA’s Greatest Basketball Coach How did a 1972 exhibition basketball game between Russia and Uganda become a crucible for Cold War tensions at the dawn of Idi Amin’s brutal regime? Ask the former CIA agent who tried to hit the Soviets where it would hurt them the most: on […]