Kickoff For February 27, 2023
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:
Do the Populists Have a Point?, wherein Robert Tracinski looks at some myths that right-wing populists believe and why what they offer politically isn’t a viable alternative to the current system.
The Afterlife Is in Our Heads, wherein Kristen French explore the idea that near-death experiences aren’t proof consciousness continues on after we die, but are constructs of our brains when the brain is in a particular state.
Why the communal utopia was hard work for its children, wherein Susanna Crossman recounts her less-than-idyllic years growing up in a commune, and how both solitary and overwhelming that experience was.
Why does time go forwards, not backwards?, wherein Martha Henriques attempts to answer that question, and comes up with as many answers as questions to an idea that’s been fascinating physicists for centuries.
‘We can’t recycle our way out’, wherein we learn that maybe, when it comes to plastic, we need to go beyond recycling and reduce the amount of waste that humanity generates.
I Do Not Keep a Diary, wherein Will Rees examines his fascination with the personal journal as a literary form, and details his struggles to keep a diary.
How We Think about E-Waste Is in Need of Repair, wherein we’re taken into various global electronic reuse markets, places that are the starting point of a repair and refurbishment process, a process that can act as a guide for other countries to deal with their old electronics.
Collision Course, wherein we learn about a controlling con man who, by manipulating and coercing family and friends, pulled off car accident insurance scams that paid out millions.
The Computer Misfits: The Rise and Fall of the Pioneering Laboratory for Computer Graphics, wherein we learn about a research centre at Harvard, founded in the 1960s, that helped lay the groundwork for geographic information systems and other digital mapping and design technologies.
And that’s it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.