The Charitable-Industrial Complex – The New York Times
“Early on in our philanthropic journey, my wife and I became aware of something I started to call Philanthropic Colonialism. I noticed that a donor had the urge to “save the day” in some fashion. People (including me) who had very little knowledge of a particular place would think that they could solve a local problem.”
The Science of Winning Poker – The Wall Street Journal
“This growth over the past decade has been accompanied by a profound change in how the game is played. Concepts from the branch of mathematics known as game theory have inspired new ideas in poker strategy and new advice for ordinary players. Poker is still a game of reading people, but grasping the significance of their tics and twitches isn’t nearly as important as being able to profile their playing styles and understand what their bets mean.”
Why Do Women Disapprove of Drone Strikes So Much More Than Men Do? – The Atlantic
“Fascinatingly, the closest corollary to a drone strike — air or missile strikes — did not remarkably change the gender difference numbers. In fact, none of the *methods* of military intervention seemed to change the numbers very much in Eichenberg’s study. Which means, perhaps strangely, that drones really do seem to be different. They’re a way of waging a war that men support far more than women.”
A Day Inside Comic-Con’s Hall H – Grantland
“I am not the first person to compare a movie theatre to a church. The two spaces are ones where multitudes come together to sit and listen to somebody else speak, occasionally in silent solemnity, occasionally with smirking laughter. At their best, both spaces provoke awe. We turn up our faces to watch a movie screen, just as those who believe do to sing praises to God. We make weekly sojourns, the truly devout returning again and again throughout the week, seeking the enlightenment and meaning they might find between the lines of holy scripture or between the cuts in a great film.”
Survivorship Bias – You Are Not So Smart
“The military had the best data available at the time, and the stakes could not have been higher, yet the top commanders still failed to see the flaws in their logic. Those planes would have been armored in vain had it not been for the intervention of a man trained to spot human error.”
The Fire Alarm is Ringing. What Are You Waiting For? – Medium
“Research has shown that, when a fire alarm rings, people do not act immediately. They talk to each other, and they try to work out what is going on. They stand around.”
Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep – New Statesman
“Crary is worried about the encroachment on sleep because it represents one of the last remaining zones of dissidence, of anti-productivity and even of solidarity. Isn’t it quite disgusting that, as he notices, public benches are now deliberately engineered to prevent human beings from sleeping on them?”
