Category: politics-social-racism

  • Russians & Ice in Their Drinks

    Alina Simone explores why Russians dislike ice in their cold drinks. The commentators aren’t that impressed with the article, neither am I, but it’s a nice way to open up a post about ice. A lot of people don’t like ice or ice cream because it hurts their teeth. I actually freeze a lot of…

  • Is Shame Necessary?

    Jennifer Jacquet on “Balancing group and self-interest has never been easy, yet human societies display a high level of cooperation.”

  • The Limits of Friendships

    Editors from Wired and Vanity Fair take a look at personal branding through Facebook. Many people aren’t aware or fully aware that they over-share. Employers now Google and Facebook potential applicants to see exactly who they are. Over-sharing can complicate things. Just like real-time conversations, online personas should contain some editing.

  • Danah Boyd on Google+ Real Name Policy: Assertion of Authority

    Danah Boyd comments on Google’s policy with ‘real names’. I totally agree with this policy. While Facebook uses something like this, I no longer use Facebook. This policy actually makes me want to use Google+ less (which isn’t really much overall). The draconian way Google is enforcing it might also be telltale of what is…

  • How the Malware Stuxnet Was Discovered by Digital Detectives

    In depth article about how computer security experts discovered the malware Stuxnet, which has been classified as a cyberweapon.

  • Siddharta Deb’s Gatsby in New Delhi

    Siddharta Deb’s article Gatsby in New Delhi about Arindam Chaudhuri can be found at n+1 issue 10, but before it was deleted from the original source, someone reproduced. The original publication is being sued by Chaudhuri. In addition to The Caravan and its proprietors, the suit charges Siddhartha Deb, Penguin (the publisher of the upcoming…

  • Michele Bachmann: All Sorts of Loony?

    Nice profile and editorial in the Rolling Stone about Michele Bachmann. Bachmann is a religious zealot whose brain is a raging electrical storm of divine visions and paranoid delusions. She believes that the Chinese are plotting to replace the dollar bill, that light bulbs are killing our dogs and cats, and that God personally chose…

  • CEO Pay: There Is Something Wrong with This

    Sarah Jaffe reports on the current disparity between the pay of the CEOs and the pay of their workers. It’s unconscionable but corporate America won’t let anyone do anything about it. The way the system works is rigged in favor for large corporate entities. They are running things, and corporations are psychopaths. In fact, since…

  • Robert Watts: Changing Attire to Get Respect in the College Classroom

    Robert Watts experimented with wearing beautiful suits every day to work this year and here is what happened to his undergraduate classes. Classes this year seemed more relaxed, in the best sense of word. Student discussions have been livelier, and comments and questions have seemed more probing and sincere. Where I had thought the suit…

  • Errol Morris on the Invention of Email

    This is the first part of a five-part series on the NYT by Errol Morris. I’ve finished the first and I’m starting the second part today. They make very interesting reads.