Jewish-Americans, Greek Debt, Statistics & Law, Testosterone, Harper Lee, Frozen Eggs
I Married A Jew
Anonymous | Atlantic | 1st January 1939
An astonishing piece from the Atlantic archive, about an American marriage. What would be its equivalent today? "My husband's father and mother are Jews. My parents are both what Mr Hitler would be pleased to call 'Aryan' Germans. I frequently find myself trying to see things from the Nazis' point of view and to find excuses for the things they do — to the dismay of our friends and the hurt confusion of my husband" (5,670 words)
Syriza And The Politics Of Debt
Michael Pettis | China Financial Markets | 4th February 2015
Europe's debt crisis amounts to a conflict between between two sectors of the European economy: Bankers and workers. Such a crisis is simple — if not easy — to resolve within a single country. You assign the losses. It's been done many times before. But when the bankers are in one country and the workers are in another, the conflict is much more charged. An economic calculation becomes a struggle between nations (8,900 words)
Making A Lottery Out Of The Law
Tim Harford | 3rd February 2015
Sally Clark was convicted of murdering her children after an expert witness told her jurors that the odds against two cot-deaths in the same household were 73 million to one. The number was bogus; and, even if true, would have said nothing about Clark's guilt. The odds against winning a lottery are huge; but that doesn't mean the winner must have cheated. "A little statistical education for the legal profession would go a long way" (870 words)
Testosterone Is The Drug Of The Future
Alexis Madrigal | Fusion | 3rd February 2015
Testosterone is "as close to a direct anti-aging medication as science has yet produced" for men and for trans-men. It works like a "magic wand"; users report "increased energy, more muscle mass, decreased body fat, greater sex drive, and a general sense of well-being." So why don't all men take testosterone when they hit middle age? Perhaps they soon will. On the anecdotal evidence collected here, they certainly should (4,630 words)
Harper Lee’s New Novel
Alison Flood & Paul Lewis | Guardian | 3rd February 2015
Publishing industry stunned. Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, has a second novel coming out. Go Set A Watchman was completed before Mockingbird, but the manuscript was returned by the publisher for a rewrite, lost for 55 years, and forgotten even by the author herself, until her lawyer found it in a safe. Watchman also features Atticus Finch and his daughter Scout, but is set some 20 years after Mockingbird (1,570 words)
The Real Reason Women Freeze Their Eggs
Jillian Dunham | New York | 1st February 2015
Putting your eggs in the freezer to keep open the option of having children isn't something you do as a career choice. It's something you do because you haven't encountered the man with whom you want to have children; and that's a problem with men, not with you. With eggs in the bank, dating becomes a lot more relaxed: "Now I enjoy the late, lingering dinner with the guy, even if there is no future with him" (3,250 words)
Video of the day: Formic
What to expect: An ant struggles to survive in a skateboard park (3'40")
Thought for the day
In any field find the strangest thing and then explore it
John Wheeler (http://todayinsci.com/W/Wheeler_John/WheelerJohn-Quotations.htm)