What's the most interesting thing you read / learned lately?

[RichardGibbons]

It's probably about a year ago, but one thing that completely uprooted one of my beliefs about the world was Hans Rosling's analysis of population growth in

. 

 

I believed that world's population will grow indefinitely, eventually resulting in fierce competition for resources. The video has a bunch of really interesting information, but the most noteworthy is Rosling's argument that the world's population growth will flatten out over the next few generations.

 

If something more recent is required, I have to go with politics (apologies for introducing that topic, but this is a big shift in perspective for me). Bills C-25, C-51, and C-69 have convinced me that Canada's Liberal government is implementing discriminatory laws, and therefore has to go.

 

[Nell-e]

TED talk titled 'Where in the world is it easiest to get rich?' 

 

[alpha231616967560]

 

Also reading "Boyd", and liking it a lot: https://www.amazon.ca/Boyd-Fighter-Pilot-Who-Changed/dp/0316796883/

 

Thanks for the reminder / recommendation on this one. Just bought it and am reading as of today.

 

Enjoy! Let me know how you like it.

 

Fascinating thus far. I'm reading Aerial Attack Study (Boyd's book) as part of reading this book. He's a very clear writer - such a talent. The section on evading missiles is easy to understand and I imagine is still somewhat useful today. Boyd reminds me of Richard Feynman in his clarity and quick identification of bs.

[Spekulatius]

For those that like history, I can very much recommend Barbara Tuchman books. I listened to the Audiobooks “ Guns of August” (how WW1 begun and was fought early on) and “March of Folly” (Samples of Folly from history ) which I feel should get a new edition with a chapter on how Trump runs our country, especially how he starts an Trade war.

 

I also read “A distant mirror” about the 14 century and liked it a lot. What I like a out her books is that the very much regards history through the then contemporary eyes of the protagonists who lived in these times, but also draws (somewhat opinionated) comparisons to present.

[Liberty]

 

Also reading "Boyd", and liking it a lot: https://www.amazon.ca/Boyd-Fighter-Pilot-Who-Changed/dp/0316796883/

 

Thanks for the reminder / recommendation on this one. Just bought it and am reading as of today.

 

Enjoy! Let me know how you like it.

 

Fascinating thus far. I'm reading Aerial Attack Study (Boyd's book) as part of reading this book. He's a very clear writer - such a talent. The section on evading missiles is easy to understand and I imagine is still somewhat useful today. Boyd reminds me of Richard Feynman in his clarity and quick identification of bs.

 

I haven't read AAS yet, but somewhere in the book Boyd it mentions that its been used basically as is for over 40 years (from memory). Shows just how fundamental his breakthroughs were.

[compounding]

If you guys are interested in a critique of Sapiens:

 

http://www.newenglishreview.org/C_R_Hallpike/A_Response_to_Yuval_Harari%27s_%27Sapiens%3A_A_Brief_History_of_Humankind%27/

[Pelagic]

Currently reading https://www.amazon.com/1493-Uncovering-World-Columbus-Created-ebook/dp/B004G606EY

 

In it they go into the period known as the Little Ice Age which affected mainly Europe between 1550 and 1750 causing extreme cold, poor crops, and generally unpleasant conditions. While the causes are varied, from solar output to volcanoes, one of the theories put forward for its cause is particularly interesting.

 

Native Americans in the centuries preceding Columbus had actively managed the landscape of North America with fire. Yearly burnings of massive tracts of land, essentially the entire Eastern US from Florida to Maine and parts of the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys as well, created a landscape that was ideal for deer, elk, and other game animals allowing Native Americans to easily hunt them and move about. While the idea of pre-Colombian civilizations actively managing the landscape in a way that would be impressive even today is interesting in and of itself, how it ties in to the Little Ice Age is even more interesting.

 

The theory goes that when contact between Europeans and Native Americans occurred and the resulting transmission of diseases caused a loss in population, the forest grew back. And in growing back, creating a dense understory like we see today in much of the Eastern US, it sequestered enough CO2 to have an impact on atmospheric temperatures, creating the period of global cooling we know today as The Little Ice Age.

 

An interesting theory whether it explains the Little Ice Age or not.

[Nell-e]

Currently reading https://www.amazon.com/1493-Uncovering-World-Columbus-Created-ebook/dp/B004G606EY

 

The theory goes that when contact between Europeans and Native Americans occurred and the resulting transmission of diseases caused a loss in population, the forest grew back. And in growing back, creating a dense understory like we see today in much of the Eastern US, it sequestered enough CO2 to have an impact on atmospheric temperatures, creating the period of global cooling we know today as The Little Ice Age.

 

An interesting theory whether it explains the Little Ice Age or not.

 

I see this book was written in 2005.  Do you think any conclusions have changed since then?

 

 

[Nell-e]

Interesting article about how China is creating its version of a FICO score that will determine what type of punitive measures might be enacted on individuals.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/china-social-credit-system-punishments-and-rewards-explained-2018-4

 

I don't think it's a totally bad idea.

[Cigarbutt]

Interesting article about how China is creating its version of a FICO score that will determine what type of punitive measures might be enacted on individuals.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/china-social-credit-system-punishments-and-rewards-explained-2018-4

 

I don't think it's a totally bad idea.

 

A somewhat negative take on the incoming "scheme":

https://newrepublic.com/article/148121/control-14-billion-people

 

I wonder how online participation to a Board such as this one, where "dissent" is a defining principle, would affect one's social credit score.