The Monday Kickoff

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:

When a marathon isn’t extreme enough, run backward, wherein we're introduced to some of the offbeat ways in which a small number of runners make competing in marathons more challenging (and more fun).

There Is No AI, wherein Jaron Lanier argues that the technology that we call artificial intelligence isn't, and instead is an innovative form of social collaboration.

Drivers vs. Everybody, wherein Michelle Cyca looks at the difficulties — both political and cultural — involved in making city roads friendly to cars, bicycles, and pedestrians alike.

How physicist Sameera Moussa went from a role model to a target, wherein we learn about the crusading Egyptian scientist who tried to use atomic energy for good and made efforts to involve the public in that choice, and about her mysterious death.

‘My remaining 13 million minutes’: productivity, ambition and being realistic in older age, wherein Jane Hutcheon ponders what it means to be productive as we get older, and whether or not exiting work (rather than continuing to work) in our later years is actually giving up.

Also Italian, wherein Dylan Byron describes the political friction in the city of Trieste in the last century, and how Italian was one of the most important, and perhaps the most important, of the three main languages spoken there.

Conspiracies are the price of freedom, wherein Terry Eagleton argues that the growth and spread of outlandish conspiracy theories is a by-product of liberalism, and because of that the truth (and not those theories) eventually wins out.

We’re All Living Under Gravity’s Rainbow, wherein John Semley argues that Thomas Pynchon's best-known novel, despite being 50 years old, is a field guide to modern times and a must-read to understand our era.

Pick a Practical Major, Like French, wherein Freddie deBoer looks at what people perceive as a practical major at university, and how that definition is constantly morphing.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

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:

The Golden Age of Aerospace, wherein Brian Balkus looks at how, by combining American ingenuity and manufacturing prowess with captured Germany technology and specialists, the United States was able to make incredible progress in the field of flight in the decades after World War Two.

Hustle culture: Is this the end of rise-and-grind? , wherein Megan Carnegie explores whether the always be grinding mindset that's taken root among far too many workers and entrepreneurs is is no longer working as the key to becoming successful.

Why You Need to Think for Yourself, wherein Michael Ignatieff examines what thinking is, how thinking deeply affects us, and where thinking (not just for ourselves) can lead us.

When the Culture Wars Come for the Public Library, wherein E. Tammy Kim looks at how divisive politics and parochial attitudes are threatening the freedoms of a library in Montana, and how that could threaten other libraries throughout the United States.

Does Our Sustainable Future Start in the Mine?, wherein Julie Michelle Klinger explains how using rare earth elements isn't only a problem facing so-called green energy, and looks at how that problem remains even if we don't switch to renewables.

How Japanese educators used religion to ‘make’ ideal humans, wherein we learn how an epiphany by the head of Panasonic, around a holy mission to forge better people, moved from the business world in the the public realm in Japan.

ChatGPT is a data privacy nightmare. If you’ve ever posted online, you ought to be concerned, wherein Uri Gal looks at the privacy and legal issues around how the generative AI tool collects and uses data.

How living on Mars would warp the human body, wherein we're introduced to the potential effects a journey to, and a stay on, the Red Planet will have on the bodies and minds of the astronauts making the trip.

If Technology Only Had a Heart, wherein Sian E. Harding looks at the challenges facing the development of a viable, long-term artificial human heart.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

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:

The Spaceport at the Edge of the World, wherein we learn about the intention to create a centre for launching satellites in a desolate area of Scotland, and the hopes around that to revive a town's declining fortunes.

How Americans edit sex out of my writing, wherein Walter Grünzweig looks at the differences in attitudes towards sex in literature in Europe and the US, which also contributes to how people in both places view life, work, and living.

Into the Field, wherein Amanda Giracca argues that to become better people and more well-rounded professionals, university science students need to do some of their work outside the walls of the classroom.

Without Warrant, wherein Emily Berman looks at how police in the US collect and use data, what role private companies play in the collection and analysis of that data, as well as how we should be able to refuse or constrain the collection of all that information.

How worker surveillance is backfiring on employers, wherein we learn how by keeping very close tabs on employees who work from home, companies are adding to the stress and feelings of burnout that those employees are experiencing.

The Modern Memex, wherein Bradford Morgan White takes us on a tour of the origins and evolution of the World Wide Web in its earliest days.

The Origins of Creativity, wherein Louis Menand looks at the concept of creativity, how an obsession with it became entrenched in our culture, and how it's become an economic, not aesthetic, notion.

Why Tokyo Works, wherein we get some insight into why one of the world's largest cities, which is more like a collection of small villages, rather than one big city, is as livable as it and why it operates so smoothly.

The Road to Auto Debt, wherein Julie Livingston and Andrew Ross examine the financial burdens that many American take on when they purchase a car, and the potential consequences of failing to meet that debt's obligations.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

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:

The Designer Economy, wherein Yakov Feygin and Nils Gilman argue that what we need to slow the tide of economic inequality is a fiscal policy that focuses on constructing and reaching a specifically envisioned future.

The epic quest to build a permanent Moon base, wherein Richard Hollingham looks at what it will take to do just that, and some proposals for constructing a lunar settlement.

The man who repossesses multimillion-dollar airplanes, wherein we learn about Ken Hill, one of the few people in the United States who takes planes back from owners who don't or can't or won't repay their loans on those craft.

Norton Space Props Was El Dorado for a Burgeoning Launch Industry, wherein Peter Timko explores a different kind of scrapyard in an industrial area near Los Angeles, a business which was gathered the remnants of the technology of the first Space Age and sold it to more than a few so-called New Space companies to help them get up and running.

How Tokyo Became an Anti-Car Paradise, wherein Daniel Knowles examines how one of the busiest, most populous cities in the world developed into a pedestrian-friendly metropolis — by design, not accident.

Beyond rich guys in rockets: Here’s what will democratize space tourism, wherein Glenn McDonald looks at the nascent space tourism industry, and whether or not it might one day be affordable to all.

We’ve always been distracted, or at least worried that we are, wherein Joe Stadolnik dips into the what's new is old again file and looks at how anxieties around the loss of attention aren't a 21^st century phenomenon — they've been a problem through the ages.

Tripping for the Planet: Psychedelics and Climate Activism, wherein Amber X. Chen walks us through the history of using mind-altering substances, and examines the connection between the plants the bring us those substances and the climate crisis.

Yamagami Tetsuya’s Revenge, wherein we learn about how the conditions that drove the man who murdered a former Japanese prime minister came about, a tale of strange bedfellows, the creation of a regimented society, and the rise of fringe religious movements.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

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:

Japan's Shrinking Population Faces Point of No Return, wherein we get some insight into why the country's population has been in steady decline, and the ways in which Japan's government has been (vainly) attempting to reverse that decline.

40 Years of KOYAANISQATSI, wherein Christopher John examines the titular film, a groundbreaking piece of creative work that combined visuals and music to create a stunning assault on the senses and on the mind.

The Strange Life of Glass, wherein we learn what glass is, how it became an essential material in our lives, and how we can use glass to tell our individual truths, but we can also use it to create false narratives.

What Emojis Can’t Express: How Handwriting Reveals Our True Selves, wherein Neil Servin explores how writing with a pen or pencil can expose aspects of ourselves even we're not aware of, and how handwriting develops and devolves as our priorities change.

30 years ago, one decision altered the course of our connected world, wherein we get a brief history of how the World Web Web entered our collective lives, and how the web became just a reflection of us — and that's by design.

Inside the Secretive Life-Extension Clinic, wherein we're introduced to a little-known centre in Tijuana, Mexico that uses unlicensed therapies to try to help patients stave off old age.

Why Mathematicians Re-Prove What They Already Know, wherein we learn about a curious pastime among those who work with numbers: continuously testing their proofs for fun and to come up with new ideas.

The Reaction Economy, wherein William Davies looks at how much of what's labelled engagement online if actually reaction (often knee jerk), which does little to enhance online life or general discourse.

Why Does the Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe’s Death Still Haunt Us?, wherein Mark Dawidziak examines the enduring mystery of, and fascination with, the death of the American author (and with the man himself).

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

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:

Concrete Built The Modern World. Now It’s Destroying It, wherein Joe Zadeh looks at the history of concrete, and contrasts our reliance upon it with concrete's impact on the environment.

Getting Lost in the World’s Largest Stack of Menus, wherein we learn about accidental archivist Frank E. Buttolph, how she curated an archive of restaurant menus (numbering over 40,000) for the New York Public Library, and the unexpected popularity of that collection of menus over the decades.

The Upcycled Car, wherein we learn about ways in which CO₂ from vehicles is being incorporated back into new ones in an effort to control emissions and capture carbon.

The Nokia Risk, wherein we get a look at the challenges facing some rich, smaller countries whose economies depend heavily on a handful of firms in volatile sectors.

Misdirectives, wherein high school teacher Ian Altman muses about education versus what teachers really do (or should do).

The Out-of-Control Spread of Crowd-Control Tech, wherein we learn about some of modern, so-called less-lethal crowd control weapons being marketed to the military and the police, and learn that those alternatives aren't as benign as their makers suggest.

Ghost Ships. wherein we're introduced to the variety and amounts of data involved in the shipping business, how it's in a number of incompatible and inaccessible formats (including paper), and why it's so difficult to change that.

A Poisoned Reality, wherein Jared Yates Sexton recounts growing up in a community which believed that the apocalypse was nigh and which embraced wild conspiracy theories, and how he was able to free himself from all of that.

Duck Off, Autocorrect, wherein Navneet Alang explores why, after decades of existence, the autocorrect functions on our phones are still so haphazard, and how future of autocorrect will be a reflection of who or what is doing the improving.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

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:

How the Tiniest of Particles Helped Build the Modern World, wherein Suzie Sheehy outlines how physicists have come to understand that makes up the universe — via a combination of theory and experimentation.

What it takes to build a balloon for 100,000ft, wherein we learn about the advancements in the last three decades around balloon technology, and why they're an attractive option to launching rockets or high-altitude aircraft.

Hyperconnected Culture And Its Discontents, wherein Rogers Brubaker argues that the cultural circulation of content is out of our hands and in the hands of algorithms, and concentrates more power with the firms that control those algorithms.

The World-Changing Race to Develop the Quantum Computer, wherein we're introduced to the theories behind the next stage of evolution of computing, learn why companies and governments are trying to make it a reality, and discover just how difficult it is to create a viable quantum computer.

What Were We Thinking?, wherein George Scialabba examines the current economic inequalities in American society and how that situation came about.

I Don’t Want to Be an Internet Person, wherein Ginevra Davis recounts meeting several fringe online personalities, and muses that being like them isn't worth the effort.

The Open Secret of Google Search, wherein Charlie Warzel decries how results from the tech giant's search engine have been hijacked by ads and by useless keyword-laden content, and ponders why that's happened.

Personal Growth, wherein Marina Benjamin reflects on her childhood, her parents, and how fickle human memory can be.

The Controversial King of Hardcore Climbing, wherein we're introduced to Nims Purja, a record-breaking Nepalese mountaineer, and his controversial aim to remake the Himalayan guiding industry in his own image.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

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:

Illusory Wealth: Victor Dubreuil’s Cryptic Currencies, wherein we learn about the life and work of the titular artist, work that was both realistic and a swipe against capitalism.

ChatGPT Is a Mirror of Our Times, wherein Philip Ball argues that technology like ChatGPT holds up a mirror to ourselves, revealing in its shortcomings what cannot be automated or defined by an algorithm: what constitutes the core of humanity.

What Feathers Know, wherein we learn how ornithologists are using a technique called stable isotope analysis to learn more about what birds do and what they can do.

Mastodon Isn’t Just A Replacement For Twitter, wherein we learn about how and why users fleeing corporate social media for more open alternatives must adjust their usage and behaviour patterns (it's hoped for the better).

The infrastructure behind ATMs, where we learn a bit about the hows and whys (at least, behind the scenes) of automated banking machines.

The Man Who Fixes the World's Finest Violins, wherein we learn about luthier John Becker, a master craftsman who views his work as an act of historical and cultural preservation.

Failure is Infinite, wherein Stephen Akey muses upon the various types of failure that writers experience, and why all of that doesn't really matter.

A New Drug Switched Off My Appetite. What’s Left?, wherein Paul Ford discusses the effect a drug to help him lose weight has on him, and ponders the future of other such medications.

The Band That Best Captures the Sound of the ’70s, wherein Kevin Dettmar argues that the band Blondie reflected the music scene in which they were immersed, and in doing so exemplified a motley era in popular music.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

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:

Choice Reading, wherein we learn about the Library of Choice Reading, a series of reprinted European books that were published as a counterpoint to the mass-produced volumes and periodicals that started appearing in late 19^th century America.

Why Your Brain Isn't Into the Future, wherein we learn about the idea of the hazard rate, which posits that because of uncertainty (personal or otherwise), it's natural for us to discount future rewards for more immediate ones.

The case for turning off your Zoom camera, wherein we learn that keeping our cameras off during virtual meetings can make us more present, productive, and engaged, despite what many managers seem to believe.

Searching Earth For Alien Worlds, wherein we learn how scientists are using planetary field analogs on our world to learn more about the conditions on other planets.

Japan was the future but it's stuck in the past. wherein Rupert Wingfield-Hayes looks at why the country is still in the doldrums, over 30 years after its financial bubble burst.

ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web, wherein Ted Chiang muses about large language models and AI chatbots, and how they fashion an illusion that those tools actually understand material, when they're just regurgitating and paraphrasing it.

How New Ideas Arise, wherein Paolo Belardi explains the many ways in which ideas come to us, and how artists and scientists use their ideas.

How We Learned to Be Lonely, wherein Arthur C. Brooks explores how many haven't recovered from the isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemics, and offers advices about how to escape the cycle of loneliness.

The World Through a Copyeditor’s Eyes, wherein Jeff Reimer explains what he, and other like him, do for a living — a misunderstood and (in my opinion) often-undervalued job.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt

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:

What happens when a huge ship sinks? A step-by-step guide to averting disaster, wherein we're walked through the scenarios and processes for recovering cargo vessels and what they're carrying when the worst happens.

Are You the Same Person You Used to Be?, wherein Joshua Rothman examines the various continuities that can mark out development as people, and why they occur.

The weird and short story of twin-fuselage An-225 Mriya, wherein we learn about a gigantic Soviet airplane intended to launch spaceplanes, a concept which died on the vine because of a number of down-to-Earth problems.

What dangers must we overcome before we can live on Mars?, wherein Simon Morden looks at the problems that we must overcome to not only get to the Red Planet but for humans to have a chance of surviving there.

Don’t Treat Your Life as a Project, wherein we're urged to live life without the overlay of a narrative arc and instead shouldn't be afraid to follow a chaotic, more linear path in life.

How Online Mobs Act Like Flocks Of Birds, wherein we learn about murmuration and how this behaviour in birds is analogous to how groups of people on the internet seem to act in concert.

How old batteries will help power tomorrow’s EVs, wherein we learn about new techniques for extracting raw materials from old lithium-ion batteries, and get a peek at how one company is trying to create batteries for electric vehicles from those reclaimed materials.

The Big Whimper, wherein David Kordahl looks at how the direction of science can be shifted by unexpected discoveries and revelations from unexpected quarters.

The eerie emptiness of 'Britain's Area 51', wherein we learn about Orford Ness, a now-abandoned British military research site, and about the odd treasures it still holds.

And that's it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt