Book alert: Check out this rave review for Mark Bylok’s new book The Whiskey Cabinet: Your Guide to Enjoying the Most Delicious Whiskeys in the World. (Daring Fireball)
Quote of the Day
"Sharing an idea you care about is a generous way to change your world for the better."
(Seth Godin)
Technology
- The implications of the adoption of a 'mobile first' strategy. (stratechery.com)
- What the Internet of Things is all about: embedded computers everywhere. (fastcompany.com)
- Computers are learning how to read human emotions. (newyorker.com)
- Let's not fetishize the new "algorithmic culture." (theatlantic.com)
Engineering
- The future of energy is better batteries. (slate.com)
- The renewables trend is a storage trend as well. (economist.com)
Science
- Are autoimmune diseases affected by the microbiome? (theatlantic.com)
- Just how big are the biggest squids, whales, sharks and jellyfish? (phenomena.nationalgeographic.com)
Health
- Too many people are taking aspirin unnecessarily. (latimes.com)
- Why eating within a daily 12-hour window is so important. (well.blogs.nytimes.com)
- Why occasionally skipping a meal may boost your health. (npr.org)
- Smoking rates vary largely by socioeconomic status. (washingtonpost.com)
- How Vitamin C mistakenly became to be seen as a cure for the common cold. (vox.com)
The brain
- Let kids pick the books they read: they will read more. (washingtonpost.com)
- Does social media actually stress us out more? (slate.com)
- A short review of David Adam's "The Man Who Couldn't Stop: OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in Thought."* (scientificamerican.com)
Crime
- Street gangs are losing their sway in the LA area. (psmag.com)
- No one can figure out why crime rates are so low. (washingtonpost.com)
Private eyes
- Background checks are the new per-nuptial agreement. (wsj.com)
- On the long, steady decline of the private investigator. (theatlantic.com)
Education
- Further evidence that grade inflation is a real thing. (theatlantic.com)
- The new GED exam is way tougher than the previous version. (thedailybeast.com)
Food
- Fast casual is eating the lunch of fast food. (economist.com)
- Is America ready for "baby bananas"? (wsj.com)
- Chipotle ($CMG) is running into sourcing issues as it grows. (washingtonpost.com)
- Why we love spicy food. (wsj.com)
- Self-service beer taps are coming to a bar near you. (money.cnn.com)
Computer competition
- The real kings of chess are computers. (wsj.com)
- Why it's a big deal that a computer can be humans at poker. (alphaarchitect.com)
Working out
- Can compression clothing help your workout? (well.blogs.nytimes.com)
- Will sauna sessions make you a better athlete? (ft.com)
Sports
- The Olympics are broken. (gizmodo.com)
- How the fall in oil prices could affect professional hockey in Canada and elsewhere. (economist.com)
- Just how big daily fantasy sports has become. (businessweek.com)
- The cost of youth sports participation just keeps on rising. (nytimes.com)
Entertainment
- What films would have been nominated if the Oscars had always had ten best picture nominees? (graphics.wsj.com)
- Hanging out with the women of "Broad City." (grantland.com)
- Movies really aren't getting more 'dystopian.' (fivethirtyeight.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- What you may have missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: robo-advisors, combating anxiety and Larry David. (abnormalreturns.com)