Kickoff For July 18, 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:
Science
What We Talk about When We Talk about Holes, wherein Evelyn Lamb tries to find out what holes are, topologically speaking, and discovers that mathematicians don’t have a unified view of what holes are.
Why human brains were bigger 3,000 years ago, wherein we learn how and why our brains have lost volume over millennia and why having a bigger brain doesn’t necessarily make someone or something more intelligent.
What is a Particle?, wherein we learn that even physicist can’t (quite) agree on an answer to that question, mainly because there are many facets to the answer.
History
Studying the Script, wherein Silvia Ferrara looks at how Chinese hanzi developed and ponders their origins.
The record-breaking dive under the Arctic ice, wherein Richard Hollingham recounts the first crossing to the North Pole by the nuclear-powered submarine Nautilus, and both the military and scientific achievements of that voyage.
When did the Medieval Period End?, wherein a quartet of historians weigh in on when they believe the so-called modern age started.
Odds and Ends
Personal Knowledge Management is Bullshit, wherein Justin Murphy argues that the currently-popular and widely-touted tools for managing our information only really work for a small number of people, and that those tools can’t deliver on their promises to most users.
The Life and Death of the Original Micro-Apartments, wherein Kyle Chayka reflects on Tokyo’s now-demolished Nakagin Capsule Tower, an interesting experiment in urban architecture and living which, while it didn’t catch on, was both futuristic and uniquely Japanese.
Before Camping Got Wimpy: Roughing It With the Victorians, wherein we get a glimpse at what early recreational camping was like, before it became fetishized and a high-tech gear arms race among campers.
And that’s it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.