under the microscope

Why do scientists lie?

“It’s natural to think of scientists as truth seekers, people driven by an intense curiosity to understand the natural world. Yet this picture of scientists and scientific inquiry sits uncomfortably with the reality and prevalence of scientific fraud. If one […]

fun facts

A map of the unknown world

“A Ghurka rifleman escaped from a Japanese prison in south Burma and walked six hundred miles alone through the jungles to freedom. The journey took him five months, but he never asked the way and he never lost the way…” […]

better doing

Making decisions in an uncertain world. 

We silly humans (aka slightly evolved apes) do not intuitively use expected value thinking, but it’s the best way to make decisions. So, we must train ourselves. This great Farnam Street post goes into details. | learn more

big ideas

3 tech breakthroughs that will help transform the world. 

Bill Joy, cofounder of Sun Microsystems, discusses his investments in big ideas that are going to change the world – cheaper batteries, sustainable concrete, and sustainable meat. According to him, these investments can, and do, pan out, and we need […]

thoughts of food

How The Netherlands feeds the world. 

“The Netherlands is a small, densely populated country, with more than 1,300 inhabitants per square mile. It’s bereft of almost every resource long thought to be necessary for large-scale agriculture. Yet it’s the globe’s number two exporter of food as […]

tech, startups, internet

Why Amazon is eating the world. 

This interesting article dissects the drivers of Amazon’s success – past and future. One thought that I like is that by opening up their infrastructure to market competition, they avoid the trap of complacency in many vertically integrated companies. | learn more

fun facts

The story of the world’s biggest diamond heist. 

“In February 2003, Notarbartolo was arrested for heading a ring of Italian thieves. They were accused of breaking into a vault two floors beneath the Antwerp Diamond Center and making off with at least $100 million worth of loose diamonds, […]

big ideas

Linear thinking in a nonlinear world. 

Humans are great at linear thinking, and we’re generally bad at nonlinear thinking. Unfortunately, many things in life are nonlinear. This excellent HBR article lays out the problem and tactics to address it with. | learn more