Newsletter 822

24 Oct 2012 • 2 min read

Best of the Moment

He's Behind You

Adam Curtis | BBC | 21 October 2012

Subtitle: How Colonel Gaddafi and the Western establishment together created a pantomime world. Gaddafi was both baddie and goodie at different times, and he was happy to play along, as Curtis, in his inimitable style, explains Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/hes-behind-you)

Too Tight: Money In A Free Society

Tyler Cowen | TLS | 19 October 2012

Economics of the Great Recession. "We were not as wealthy as we thought we were, and this has required some fall in living standards. In such an environment, just about any macroeconomic recipe will appear to under-perform" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/too-tight-money-free-society)

Fade To Light

Dave Cameron | Walrus | 22 October 2012

"While most people associate Alzheimer’s with memory loss, its effects on reasoning and behaviour are no less defining, and arguably more problematic." Cameron spends time with sufferer Lowell Jenkins to find out how he manages Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/fade-light)

Stiffed

David Runciman | LRB | 20 October 2012

Critical review of "The Occupy Handbook". "How were we duped? Mainly by not paying attention. The 1 per cent didn’t conspire to rip everyone else off. They got their way by walking through the door we left open for them" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/stiffed)

The L'Aquila Verdict: A Judgment Not Against Science, But Against A Failure Of Science Communication

David Ropeik | Scientific American | 22 October 2012

"The trial was not about science, not about seismology, not about the ability or inability of scientists to predict earthquakes. These convictions were about poor risk communication" and allowing people to make informed choices Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/laquila-verdict-judgment-not-against-science-against-failure-science-communication)

Bigger, Better Google Ngrams: Brace Yourself For The Power Of Grammar

Ben Zimmer | Atlantic | 18 October 2012

"In 2010, Google unveiled an online tool for analyzing the history of language and culture as reflected in the corpus of historical texts that have been scanned and digitized as part of the Google Books project." It just got better Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/bigger-better-google-ngrams-brace-yourself-power-grammar)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)

FiveBooks Interview

(http://thebrowser.com/interviews/jonathan-glover-on-moral-philosophy)

Jonathan Glover on Moral Philosophy

How should we live? The philosopher tells us about some of those who've looked for answers, from Plato to Primo Levi Read on (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/jonathan-glover-on-moral-philosophy)

Featured Special Report

(http://thebrowser.com/reports/healthcare-america)

Healthcare in America

The battle over US healthcare reform reaches the Supreme Court. Here's what's at stake Read on (http://thebrowser.com/reports/healthcare-america)

Reader Recommendations

@polit2k (http://twitter.com/polit2k) MT @notayesmansecon (http://twitter.com/notayesmansecon) : @EdConwaySky (http://twitter.com/EdConwaySky) Actually it is real income & it is another unintended effect of #QE (http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=#QE) ... t.co/486nZux5 #browsings (https://twitter.com/search?q=#browsings) More like this (http://thebrowser.com/browsings)

Book of the Day

Book of the Day (http://thebrowser.com/recommended/thoughtful-gardening-by-robin-lane-fox)

Thoughtful Gardening by Robin Lane Fox

Gregory Long says (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/gregory-long-on-gardening) : “I think it is a brilliant book. I thought he was very laid back, but actually he is terribly clever, which is quite alarming” FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive)