Newsletter 823
Best of the Moment
The Kindness Of Beasts
Mark Rowlands | Aeon | 24 October 2012
Can animals be moral? "A growing number of animal scientists are going over to the dark side, and at least flirting with the idea that animals can act morally." Which is not to say the days of trying animals in court should return Comments (https://thebrowser.com/articles/kindness-beasts)
Broken BRICs
Ruchir Sharma | Foreign Affairs | 22 October 2012
"The notion of wide-ranging convergence between the developing and the developed worlds is a myth. As of 2011 the difference in per capita incomes between the rich and the developing nations was back to where it was in the 1950s" Comments (https://thebrowser.com/articles/broken-brics)
If Smart Is The Norm, Stupidity Gets More Interesting
David Dobbs | NYT | 22 October 2012
"Where does intelligence come from? How is it built? Researchers have tried hard to find the answer in our genes." And they haven't got very far. Maybe we should be trying to identify what makes people stupid instead Comments (https://thebrowser.com/articles/if-smart-norm-stupidity-gets-more-interesting)
The Unnatural: Bobby Fischer
Jonathan Safran Foer | Slate | 24 October 2012
"He worked harder than any of his peers. He attempted to conceal his insecurity behind an ego built for 20, and his self-love behind self-hatred behind self-love. And perhaps more than any human who has ever lived, he kvetched" Comments (https://thebrowser.com/articles/unnatural-bobby-fischer)
The Truck Stop Killer
Vanessa Veselka | GQ | 24 October 2012
Vanessa Veselka was a teenage hitchhiker in the mid-1980s. It almost got her killed. Years later, she returns to the scenes of her youth, looking for clues about the man who menaced her and links with a convicted serial killer Comments (https://thebrowser.com/articles/truck-stop-killer)
Why I Won't Vote
James Altucher | Altucher Confidential | 22 October 2012
Want an alternative take on Romney vs Obama? "People get very upset about this voting thing. I’m accused of being unpatriotic, for instance. I’m not asking anyone to agree with me. [But] here are some reasons for not voting" Comments (https://thebrowser.com/articles/why-i-wont-vote)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)
FiveBooks Interview
(https://thebrowser.com/interviews/tess-gerritsen-on-favourite-thrillers)
Tess Gerritsen on Favourite Thrillers
The bestselling author says a good thriller isn't about the violence or bloodshed; it's about making the reader feel off-balance and as if something isn’t quite right. She tells us about books that grab you and don't let go Read on (https://thebrowser.com/interviews/tess-gerritsen-on-favourite-thrillers)
Featured Special Report
(https://thebrowser.com/reports/america-drugs)
America On Drugs
Ritalin, Adderall, LSD, cocaine. Even bath salts. What is drug use doing to Americans? Read on (https://thebrowser.com/reports/america-drugs)
Reader Recommendations
@MattGreenAfPak (http://twitter.com/MattGreenAfPak) The killers of Quetta: "The light of our home is out" t.co/Miu4fw1U #browsings (http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=#browsings)
More like this (http://thebrowser.com/browsings)
Book of the Day
Book of the Day (https://thebrowser.com/recommended/science-and-secrets-nature-by-william-eamon)
Science and the Secrets of Nature by William Eamon
Philip Ball says (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/philip-ball-on-origins-curiosity) : “This book gives fantastic context for how people have thought about nature as a treasure trove of secrets” FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive)
Video of the Day
Power Of Quiet
(https://thebrowser.com/videos/power-quiet)
Susan Cain talks about introversion. Awesome animation by Molly Crabapple More videos (http://thebrowser.com/videos)
Quote of the Day
Cornel West, on the presidency (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/magazine/talk-cornel-west.html?src=tptw)
"Be a thermostat, not a thermometer. A thermostat shapes the climate of opinion; a thermometer just reflects it"
More quotes (http://thebrowser.com/quotations)