The numbers behind the highest rated (and best-selling) cold-war themed board game: Twilight Struggle. (FiveThirtyEight via @cdixon)
Technology
- Can we crowdsource our way to pothole-free roads? (fastcoexist.com)
- ET will likely be a superintelligent robot. (kottke.org)
- How the technology industry is beginning to rethink Moore's Law. (venturebeat.com)
Science
- How restored forests are combating climate change. (nytimes.com)
- Anchorage, Alaska experienced no days below zero in 2014. (washingtonpost.com)
- Researchers find the genetic link between fish fins and animal hands. (washingtonpost.com)
- When rats are smarter than people. (hbr.org)
Psychology
- Why trying to get people to change their minds is so difficult. (vox.com)
- What IQ tests miss. (scientificamerican.com)
- Seven steps on how to have a difficult conversation. (bakadesuyo.com)
Health
- Do you need to see the dentist twice a year? (wsj.com)
- LED light may be messing with our eyes. (ft.com)
- What's the deal with Seasonal Affective Disorder? (vox.com)
- Quit whining about your sick colleague. (nytimes.com)
- Short, intense workouts were a big trend in 2014. (well.blogs.nytimes.com)
- Cancer may be largely a function of chance. (bloomberg.com)
Food
- Should you stop eating at Shake Shack now that it going public? (marginalrevolution.com)
- Why vegans should feel comfortable eating oysters. (slate.com)
- Startups are working to make life easier for small farmers. (nytimes.com)
- How a bunch of farmers became restauranteurs. (businessweek.com)
- Food trucks are in large part a technology phenomenon. (blogs.wsj.com)
- Why airport restaurants suck. (viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com)
Drink
- Why the big brewers can't keep their hands off of craft brewers. (wsj.com)
- Belgian brewers are upset with happy with "beer architects." (wsj.com)
- The craft beer brewers need to chill on the hops. (slate.com)
- On the death of the dive bar. (esquire.com)
Sports
- Why cities should buy sports teams not build them stadiums. (sports.vice.com)
- Sport fishermen want a bigger voice in policy decisions. (fortune.com)
- How the Yellowstone Club made a huge comeback from bankruptcy. (dealbook.nytimes.com)
Books
- How Anthony Doerr's novel "All the Light We Cannot See" became a bestseller. (nytimes.com)
- Authors are none too happy with the all-you-can-read Kindle Unlimited offering. (bits.blogs.nytimes.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- What books Abnormal Returns readers purchased in December 2014. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you may have missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: a discussion with Jason Calcanis. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Longform links: the man who invented Scotch tape. (abnormalreturns.com)