Germany, Churchill Solitaire, Millenials, Gender, Growth
Has The German State Lost Control?
Editorial | Der Spiegel | 21st January 2016
"The state stands disgraced and trust is vanishing. It goes far beyond the horrific scenes in front of Cologne's main station. The state has been overwhelmed. It is an uncomfortable realization for the German people. The same state that records their lives right down to the smallest taxable detail is now failing at its most basic tasks: Protecting its citizens; law enforcement; security; public order" (5,300 words)
At 83, I Made An App
Donald Rumsfeld | Medium | 24th January 2016
During the Second World War, Winston Churchill taught a "uniquely challenging game of solitaire" using two decks of cards to a young Belgian diplomat called André de Staercke. Thirty years on, at NATO, de Staercke taught the game to Donald Rumsfeld. Another forty years later, Rumsfeld has turned Churchill Solitaire into an iOS app. "I’ve done business, politics, and war. Now I’m trying my hand at mobile gaming" (1,350 words)
Young, Gifted And Held Back
Editorial | Economist | 22nd January 2016
Young adults — aged between 15 and 30 — are richer, better educated and more intelligent than any previous generation in history. They will probably live longer. If they are female or gay "they enjoy greater freedom in more countries than their predecessors would have thought possible". So why do millenials seem to have so many grievances? Why do they talk as though they were an oppressed minority? (1,070 words)
‘Gender Is A Spectrum’: Some Problems
Rebecca Reilly-Cooper | More Radical With Age | 6th January 2016
"Gender is the value system that ties certain desirable behaviours and characteristics to reproductive function. Once we’ve decoupled those behaviours and characteristics from reproductive function (which we should), what can it possibly mean to continue to call this stuff 'gender'? What meaning does the word 'gender' have here, that the word 'personality' cannot capture?" (2,530 words)
Compounding
Paul Romer | 12th October 2015
Our intuitions about resource constraints tell us that eventually growth must end. But history tells us the reverse. The only hard constraint is ingenuity — and of that resource, humanity is producing more and more. "Economic growth springs from better recipes, not just from more cooking. New recipes produce fewer unpleasant side effects and generate more economic value per unit of raw material" (2,900 words)
Video of the day: Hamburg In The 1950s
What to expect: Scenes of Hamburg city life around 1955, edited by Konstantin von zur Mühlen (3'02")
Thought for the day
Never underestimate the power of a million amateurs with keys to the factory
Chris Anderson