Kickoff For November 7, 2022
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I’ve found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.
Let’s get this Monday started with these links:
Why are there continent-sized ‘blobs’ in the deep Earth?, wherein we learn about the world far beneath our feet, which the notions of physical work don’t work at those depths, a world which we also can’t see.
Handy Mnemonics: The Five-Fingered Memory Machine, wherein we learn how, for centuries, people used their fingers and hands as devices to help them remember facts (and more).
Someone Else’s Language, wherein Kate Viera explores what happens when you embrace a foreign tongue and how it changes not only your perceptions but your fundamental self.
The Teenage Prank That’s Lasted 60 Years. wherein Clay Jennings Desmond recounts how an attempt to rattle a friend one night spiraled out of control, becoming a long-lasting story of a dangerous creature on the hunt on the outskirts of the small town in which he grew up.
Latin Lives, wherein Anthony Grafton looks at the resurgence in interest in the dead language in the humanities, especially among undergraduates and graduate students, and how that just might be transforming the study of humanities.
Dark horses in the cosmos, wherein Briley Lewis examines the theory that black holes existed at the start of the universe and may hold the solution to dark matter.
Toronto wants to kill the smart city forever, wherein we learn how Canada’s largest city is trying to move away from Sidewalk Labs’ vision for a smart waterfront neighbourhood, instead opting for a sustainable and off-grid neighbourhood of the future.
Boost your productivity: Cripple your technology, wherein we get some simple advice about how to beat distractions, and none of that advice involves using apps.
Why everyone should be ‘quiet quitting’, wherein Stephen Daisley argues that more people should do their jobs and no more, rather than going above and beyond for their employers without much hope for advancement.
And that’s it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.