Browser Daily Newsletter 1332


Hic sunt camelopardus: this historical edition of The Browser is presented for archaeological purposes; links and formatting may be broken.

My State Of Emergency

Eric Snoey | San Francisco | 4th June 2014

Doctor's notebook from Highland Hospital in Oakland, California. "Patching bullet and stab wounds and dealing with drug-crazed patients is a tiny fraction of what I do. Patients everywhere suffer from pretty much the same ailments. The poor get just as many heart attacks and broken arms as the wealthy do. The difference is that at Highland, we may be the only doctors our patients ever see" (2,200 words)

Inside The Air Force’s Drone Training Classroom

Corey Mead | Atlantic | 4th June 2014

Learning to fire Hellfire missiles is "more like sitting in a regular college classroom than you might expect". There are texts, tests, nervous students. Pro tips: When chasing a vehicle, aim for the centre of the roof; when chasing an individual, aim for the feet. And by now the targets know the warning signs, so get in quick: "An understanding of sonic boom time is what separates mediocre drone pilots from skilled ones" (2,600 words)

Working-Class Ballet

Simon Critchley | Roads & Kingdoms | 6th June 2014

A philosopher's tribute to soccer. "Football is an experience of enchantment. For an hour and a half a different order of time unfolds, a temporal rupture with the routine of the everyday. At its best, football is about shifts in the intensity of experience. At times, it’s like Spinoza on maximizing intensities of existence. At other times, it’s more like Beckett’s Godot, where nothing happens twice" (3,850 words)

How Mistakes Can Save Lives

Ian Leslie | New Statesman | 4th June 2014

What surgeons can learn from pilots. Pilots are surrounded by rules and systems designed to contain their mistakes; their fallibility is assumed. Surgeons are trusted to be the best judges of their situation, whatever the situation might be. So when Martin Bromiley, a pilot, lost his wife to a doctor's elementary misjudgement, he decided it was high time to export some of aviation's safety culture to medicine (6,580 words)

Tickets For Restaurants

Nick Kokonas | Alinea | 4th June 2014

Chicago restaurant group Alinea sells table reservations using a ticketing system; prices are higher at peak times. "A ticketed system that shows the entire evening’s tables completely upends trust problems. Customers can see the template, understand which tables are already sold, and decide how to act. They are not asked a question – What is your desired time? – and then told — Nope, you can have this instead" (6,370 words)

Video of the day:  Your Family Tree Explained

What to expect: Cartoon graphics. How to tell your second cousin from your first cousin twice removed

Thought for the day:

"He who never bluffs never wins; he who always bluffs always loses" — Danniel Dennett

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