Curated Commons // Edition 19
Thank you for subscribing and welcome to the Nineteenth edition of Curated Commons. Let’s dive right in.
Fountain pens, with a waiting time of two years
Interesting read on artisanal hand-painted fountain pens from India with massive waiting periods!
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55314701
Is GDP the right metric for the pandemic-hit digital age?
This is an interesting read on why we should move away from using GDP as a measure to evaluate a country for 2020.
https://www.ft.com/content/d41cdeec-dd4f-444a-9836-496fab56c9f1
Reminded me of this good read from 5 years ago on whether the GDP is a flawed measure for the digital age.
The First Microprocessor?
This is a fab read on an alternative history of the first microprocessor, told in a very personal way.
https://www.wired.com/story/secret-history-of-the-first-microprocessor-f-14/
“Your” data - turned against you
Some axioms of the digital age:
Every physical action will be converted to a digital data point
Every database will eventually be compromised
Your data will be used against you
A couple of stories from recent days for #3:
Cops using vehicle data - https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/snitches-wheels-police-turn-car-data-destroy-suspects-alibis-n1251939
Singapore police to have access to COVID-19 contact tracing data - https://www.zdnet.com/article/singapore-police-can-access-covid-19-contact-tracing-data-for-criminal-investigations/
Cyborg moths are here
Researchers put a real moth antenna on a drone to give it a sense of smell. The drone can now track smells.
https://www.wired.com/story/this-drone-sniffs-out-odors-with-a-real-moth-antenna/
Algorithms & defaults
When an algorithm is your boss, and your boss’s bias are determined by devs and product managers who occupy a different economic strata, impact of tiny changes can be significant.
Companies want to size you up
Amazon has a new service which wants to produce a custom-fit T-shirt after taking in a couple of pictures. A case of have data, will use it? The article gets an A+ headline though!
For Amazon’s $25 custom T-shirt, your body is a wonderland (of data)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/05/amazon-tshirt-body/
The digital transformation of…bad luck!
Funniest story of the week. Suspected burglars butt-dialed cops who ended up listening to their plans all the way till they got arrested!
Have you hacked your dreams yet?
Are you a lucid dreamer? If not, fear not. You can now buy your way to being one!
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lucid-dreaming-tech
Mapping out the history of the Indian startup ecosystem
This is a very good long-read on the development of the Indian tech ecosystem over the years, tracing the journey from the original services firms of the 90s to today.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/indus-valley-playbook-sajith-pai/
Online parties, but for record keepers
Neat little read on monthly online parties where archival institutions of USA share tidbits from the past in what’s known as the Archives Hashtag Party
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/style/archives-hashtag-party.html
Who wants to build a telescope on the far side of the moon?
Good read on a big hairy audacious goal science aficionados needs to get around!
https://astronomy.com/news/2021/01/arecibo-is-dead-should-we-build-its-replacement-on-the-moon
Lawyers are gearing up to fight algorithmic systems
It might not look like it, but increasingly, we are living in an algorithmic world. One where automated decisions impact different strata of the society in very different ways. Solving it, at its most basic, is about awareness and education. And accepting that algorithms, by themselves, need not be a beacon of fairness and impartiality.
Today in pandemic-induced problems
There’s always a market. And where there’s a market, there’s supply-demand issues which the pandemic is bringing to fore!
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/business/sperm-donors-facebook-groups.html
More good reads
Collecting sports cards is (still) a booming business! Good short video.
Good tribute to the father of fiber optics, Narinder Kapany - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/technology/narinder-s-kapany-dead.html
The secret economics behind a VIP party where the rich splurge up to $100,000 on alcohol in a single night - https://www.economist.com/1843/2020/07/03/the-secret-economics-of-a-vip-party
Biohackers in Russia have performed what is likely a first plasma dilution experiment on humans - https://www.lifespan.io/news/biohackers-perform-first-plasma-dilution-experiment-on-humans/
Something I learned thanks to this thread - the guy behind the Million Dollar Homepage went on to build Calm.
Italy’s mafia bosses are becoming social media influencers. Who isn’t? - https://www.ft.com/content/285732c9-e962-4896-83c2-ce31e09003e6
The pandemic is driving a demand for more consumer electronics. Which is creating a shortage of chips. Which is impacting automotive supply chains - https://www.ft.com/content/e264fd41-7ee9-4fba-be3c-21446298efd9
Beautiful read on the last two remaining northern white rhinos on earth. And the extinction of a species - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/magazine/the-last-two-northern-white-rhinos-on-earth.html
Can Zoom save the American family? - https://boyle.substack.com/p/can-zoom-save-the-american-family
Fascinating read on a scientist inside the CIA who used top secret images from spy satellites to help understand climate change - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/05/science/linda-zall-cia.html
And finally, in utterly useful things you should know -
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