You probably already know how correlated success and reading tend to be. This post offers some concrete tips on how to fit more books into your already busy life. First and foremost is a tip that hits home for me - it’s okay to quit reading a book if you don’t like it! | learn more
Humans are genetically wired to be story tellers and story listeners. Our ability to tell stories actually sets us apart from other species and allows us to form larger groups that get more accomplished together. This strength is, unfortunately, one of our big weaknesses too. The narrative fallacy is about how our need to make sense of the world makes us believe cause and effect when they’re not really there.…
Last week we learned about 3D knitting enabling real-time creation of clothing. This week Amazon makes the news with its patent around on-demand clothing manufacturing. From the patent: “By aggregating orders from various geographic locations and coordinating apparel assembly processes on a large scale, the networked environment provides new ways to increase efficiency in apparel manufacturing.” | learn more
Someone made a Chrome browser extension that replaces every instance of the word millennial with snack people, and it’s pretty damn funny. | learn more
A historian found that people used to divide their sleep into two separate periods, waking up in the middle of the night to take care of stuff - chores, reading, praying, etc. Electric lights might have caused our schedules to change, inadvertently causing a third of Americans to have a hard time sleeping through the night. |learn more and even more
Chicago’s 50 wards each have an alderman. How does the city distribute funds for residential infrastructure? It splits it up evenly across each alderman, creating a “cherished perk” of the job. But it’s probably not the best way to spend the money wisely across the city. | learn more
At the turn of the last century, the city had a hygiene problem. The lack of indoor plumbing in most residences meant that most people didn’t have a place to wash up. So, the city built 21 public bath houses. Forgotten Chicago brings you back to this world with photos and details. | learn more
Scientists just keep pumping out anti-aging scientific discoveries. This time, they injected plasma from human umbilical cord blood directly into older mice every four days for two weeks. The mice who received this treatment fared the best on a treacherous maze. | learn more
Elon Musks’ new company will build interfaces that connect computers directly to your brain. If you’ve never read posts on Wait but Why, now is the time to start. Tim Urban uses his uniquely awesome writing (and drawing) style to give an in-depth overview of what Elon’s trying to achieve, as well as how and why. | learn more
“Until now, bot experiences were just you and the bot. But that puts a ton of pressure on the bot to seem human. Chat Extensions pose them more as assistants or tickers rather than conversation partners, better matching what’s feasible with today’s technology.” | learn more