1. An Oral History of Wikipedia
Wikipedia, this unlikeliest of success stories on the internet, turned 20 last week. This oral history of how it came to be has some fascinating insights: The lucky coincidences that lead to the concept we now take for granted; why the terror attacks of 9/11 turned out to be an early catalyst for its success; and how, as with almost every innovation on the web, pornography played its part. Read it now.
2. How to Write Usefully
Writing well is an underappreciated superpower for almost every job that involves people sitting at desks. Even more so for remote work, when asynchronous, written communication is paramount. So even if what you write is not the actual product of your work, this essay on writing usefully is packed with great advice. Such as this: «Useful writing makes claims that are as strong as they can be made without becoming false.» Read it now.
3. After Alarmism
David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth, looks back at 2020 and what it means for our climate future. He delivers a surprisingly large dose of optimism, while reminding us that things are bad and will be worse. Key quote: «For a climate alarmist like me, seeing clearly the state of the planet’s future now requires a conspicuous kind of double vision, in which a guarded optimism seems perhaps as reasonable as panic.». Read it now.
4. The Hill We Climb
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true: // That even as we grieved, we grew. // That even as we hurt, we hoped. // That even as we tired, we tried.
The poem by 22-year-old Amanda Gorman everyone was talking about after Biden’s inauguration. You’ve probably seen it. But it’s too good not to be included. If you haven’t seen it, you’re in for a treat. If you have, you’ll enjoy it a second time. Watch it (again).
5. Can an AI Predict the Language of Viral Mutation?
Rule of thumb: Whenever you read AI in a news headline, it usually just means that someone is doing something with computers and wants to get more attention. Sometimes, paying attention is worth it. Computational biologists at MIT are trying to understand virus mutations via an analogy to language: For a mutation to be successful, it needs to change the DNA sequence’s meaning, while at the same time preserving its grammar. Read on.
What else?
The otherworldly beauty of infrared photography.
Why you should stop talking about «strategy», and use «decision-context» instead.
«Ninety-Nine» in English is 90+9. In Europe alone, there are a multitude of other ways to do it (I can’t independently verify all of it, but I’d love to hear from those who say 99 as 9+10+4+4*20, which equals…103?!)
«Gender fatigue…is the phenomenon of simultaneously acknowledging that gender inequality exists in general while denying that it exists in one’s immediate work environment.» — Elisabeth Kelan
A little challenge for you: Check out what books I’m reading and point me to a good one I don’t know yet (simply reply to this email). If I end up adding it to my all-time favourites, I’ll buy you $100 worth of books.
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