We All Have More Time to Read, in This Isolation. I Have Some Goodies to Share
Catching Up on Our Back Reading
Like many of you, I seem to always have a stack of magazines lying about that I am behind in reading. If I could sell al the Atlantics and New Yorkers I have lying about, I could probably make up most of the beating the stock market is inflicting on me just now.
But there is good news. As our splendid isolation continues, we get caught up on such things. I believe my closets, files, and drawers have had all the attention they could possibly use from me at this point. My garage knows I love it. I have about a zillion fewer old computer files than I had when all this started. Time now to catch up on back periodicals.
What follows is a short summary and a link to several readings I have really enjoyed in the last few days. I think you might like them too. They vary in length and focus, but none are too long. Some are funny, most are thought provoking. Each comes with an open link to the article itself.
Have fun! I certainly did.
Birds vs Drones in the Wild
The Atlantic, January/February, Rebecca Giggs
Birds are not taking kindly to drones in “their” airspace. Watch out, Amazon. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/birds-vs-drones/576724/
The Realer Real – Virtual Realty Test Drive
New Yorker, DEC 9, Patricia Marx
A fascinating tour of where we are and where we are going with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. This will change how we see the world in important ways. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/09/taking-virtual-reality-for-a-test-drive
The Last Time Democracy Almost Died
New Yorker, FEB 3, 2020 –Jill LePore.
How democracy flourishes, wanes, rebounds throughout our history. This is not new stuff we are facing.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/02/03/the-last-time-democracy-almost-died
An Embarrassment of Riches
The New Yorker, JAN 6, 2020. Sheelah Kolhatkar
About the ultra-wealthy who think they should be paying higher taxes. They are taking actions to make that happen.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/01/06/the-ultra-wealthy-who-argue-that-they-should-be-paying-higher-taxes
The Quest for Human Level AI
Fortune, February 2020. Jeremy Kahn
A riveting review of the differences between Artificial Narrow Intelligence and Artificial General Intelligence. The latter is powerful, remarkable, risky, shrouded in both secrecy and potential. And it is coming – perhaps soon.
https://fortune.com/longform/ai-artificial-intelligence-big-tech-microsoft-alphabet-openai/
Same Difference: What the Idea of Equality Can Do for us, and What It Can’t
New Yorker, January 13, 2020, Joshua Rothman
A thought provoking, often maddening, discussion. How do we define equality, where does it count? How is it measured and assessed? What does a society do with this concept? https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/01/13/the-equality-conundrum
25 Ideas that Will Shape the 2020’s
Fortune, January 2020. Various authors
A collection from a wide variety of experts, soothe sayers, and others. Speculations about what forces and changes will shape the future. This was published pre-corona virus. Some may now change their prognostications, but most would not, I suspect. Some of the more interesting articles?
“The Line Between Human and Bot Will Disappear – and We’ll be Fine with It.”
“The 2020s Will Connect Rural America – or Loose It”
“Genomics Will Rewrite Medicine”
“Women Will Dramatically Alter the Work Force”
And a lot more. All these are short, easy reads and interesting to contemplate. https://fortune.com/longform/ideas-shape-2020s-tech-economy-markets-ai-health-work-society/
Why Are We So Angry?
The Atlantic, January/February 2019, Charles Duhigg
Actually, this was a reread for me. I decided to come back to it, given all that has been happening in our country since January of last year. Suffice it to say a lot of people are angrier, more often. This was a very useful and helpful discussion. It lays out why so much anger, but also making the case that this is not always a bad thing. Anger can be destructive, but it can also be clarifying. It can serve, in the right settings, a needed forcing function. Worth the read. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/charles-duhigg-american-anger/576424/
That’s It for This Round
Let me and your fellow readers know if any of these rang a bell (or irritated you, or…). What about your reading during all this down time? Anything you would care to share with the rest of us?
Now, go wash your hands – again.
Bill Clontz
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A valuable book to read now, The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson. Non fiction about Churchill and the defiance of the British people during the blitz. Even with bombs going off in the vicinity, people carried on with parties and more. Could Americans do as the British did?
Sounds like an excellent read at a time we need one. We could surely use a Churchill about now.