Curated Commons // Edition 20
Thank you for subscribing and welcome to the Twentieth edition of Curated Commons. Let’s dive right in.
Never too late to learn
This is a beautiful article on why it is never too late to learn new skills. All the more relevant in the age of automation, extended life spans, and decreasing likelihood of an individual retiring in the profession they started with.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/01/18/is-it-really-too-late-to-learn-new-skills
Can you math your way away from a COVID-19 infection?
Can you quantitatively estimate the risk of a Coronavirus infection and try to avoid it? A fascinating read on building a real-life COVID calculator.
https://www.wired.com/story/group-house-covid-risk-points/
Regulating big tech is not easy
The U.S. government sued Apple in 2012 to protect consumers from higher e-book prices. The government won, but E-book prices went up anyway.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/technology/when-tech-antitrust-failed.html
Do you “rent” yourself?
This is something really pure. A 37-year-old in Japan rents himself, initially free, and now for a price. All for "eat and drink, and give simple feedback, but do nothing more". Fascinating read (also, a job that a robot or an algorithm will struggle to replace!)
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210111/p2a/00m/0dm/016000c
Pathways to online radicalization
A very good read from Cosmopolitan on the link between wellness influencers and that weird conspiracy theory Qanon.
And on Qanon, this is an excellent read on looking at it from a game designer’s perspective. Do read to see how people see what they want to see.
https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qanon-580972548be5
Apophenia is : “the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas)”
Are your roads car (algorithm) ready?
Cattle grids (an obstacle to prevent animals from passing along a road) are apparently being mistaken for walls by sensors on modern cars. The result - a local county council had to spend £70,000 to make the approach road algorithm-friendly!
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-55571080
Monetizing sewage
Very interesting read on how locals in Kolkata convert wastewater into trash.
Every day 750m litres of sewage and wastewater flow into them. With nearly a century of knowledge behind them, each year some 50,000 fisherfolk and vegetable farmers turn excrement into 10,000 tonnes of fish and 50,000 tonnes of vegetables.
Like what you read? Give a shoutout on your social networks!
Algorithms, but for helping people have babies
Companies are developing embryo selection algorithms aimed at boosting the success of IVF. And it appears, with much better success rates than human embryologists.
https://futurehuman.medium.com/an-algorithm-may-soon-help-people-make-babies-c55e2eab1625
Meat, from air; Proteins from insects
Science FTW. A startup has just raised money in a Series A round. For producing meat from…air.
On a related note, The EU's food watchdog approves mealworms as safe for human consumption.
Decentralized Finance now in front
With each passing day, more people, and more importantly, more regulators are beginning to look at DeFi and wonder how the future of banking & finance is going to look like. Here’s one regulator likening DeFi to self-driving banks.
https://www.ft.com/content/c1caca5b-01f7-41be-85a4-3ecb883f2417
America’s biggest farmland owner
Raise your hand if you have a software friend who has always said they want to retire on a farm. Looks like they get their inspiration from one of the most popular techies! If the current conspiracy theories around Bill Gates weren’t enough, Bill & Melinda Gates are apparently America’s top farmland owners!
https://landreport.com/2021/01/bill-gates-americas-top-farmland-owner/
The story behind the ‘Hand of God’ picture
Turns out the actual Mexican photojournalist who took the definitive ‘hand of God’ picture of Maradona from the 1986 world cup is now nowhere credited for the picture, thanks to a British photographer who realized the value and quickly acquired it for a small sum, to make money on it ever since!
https://defector.com/the-man-who-captured-the-hand-of-god-has-been-erased-from-history/
New meaning to butts-in-seats
A Chinese company supplied seat cushions to its employees. It was followed by questions on productivity from the HR manager who used data from the cushions (what a phrase!).
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/world/asia/china-office-cushion-surveillance.html
More good reads:
America gave us a lot of viral pics past four years. Good summary in this thread
Snapchat is paying up to a million dollars a day for viral short videos. This is universal basic income. masquerading as user acquisition costs - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/style/snapchat-spotlight.html
Work from home also mean work barefoot, ergo, a “pandemic of broken toes” - https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/feet-toes-broken-pain-covid/2021/01/11/470d2efa-4a05-11eb-a9f4-0e668b9772ba_story.html
Norway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, hired a sports psychologist who trains military pilots to make its managers more comfortable with taking risks - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-15/norway-s-wealth-fund-taps-sports-psychologist-to-boost-returns
Buddhist monks and temples are buying ESG bonds - https://www.bloombergquint.com/markets/monks-snap-up-esg-debt-in-japan-as-sustainable-investing-booms
Too many questions on this piece. Hacker locks an Internet-connected chastity cage, demands ransom - https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7apnn/your-cock-is-mine-now-hacker-locks-internet-connected-chastity-cage-demands-ransom
PUBG is roiling Afghanistan. The hugely-popular mobile game is becoming too real for some in Afghanistan, given the war that’s going on- https://www.economist.com/asia/2021/01/14/a-popular-video-game-sparks-a-moral-panic-in-afghanistan
Streaming services pay around $1 per remote to put their logo one click away - https://www.protocol.com/2021-tv-remote-branded-button
Good collection of resources on the ‘Passion Economy’ - https://www.passioneconomy.xyz/
And finally, the New Yorker sums up all of us!
Stay safe, and happy reading! And if you liked the newsletter, please do share on your social networks. My DMs on Twitter are always open for any feedback.