The weekend is a great time to catch up on some of the reading you skipped during the week.  So for all you “time shifters” out there, here is another set of long-form links.

The equity risk premium as “urban legend.”  (Research Affiliates via Pragmatic Capitalism)

The bounceback in quantitative investing and a profile of Cliff Asness.  (The Atlantic)

Predicting the future is difficult, when you can’t even predict the present.  (The Psy-Fi Blog)

Bond Girl, “There is not much left to support the long-end of the market at this point.”  (self-evident)

Is shale gas the solution to American energy needs?  (WSJ, ibid)

Does the ‘top 1%‘ realize that income inequality in America already gone too far?  (Vanity Fair)

What is the “Second Internet” and why is it so difficult for companies to make the transition?  (GigaOM)

Paul Allen on the beginning of Microsoft (MSFT) and his subsequent exit. (Vanity Fair)

The iPad is a ‘badge not a product.’  (The Independent via The Browser)

Randomness plays a much bigger role in success (and failure) then commonly believed.  (Scientific American)

Why do we keep conducting tests that don’t predict what they are supposed to?  (WSJ)

Why leaders don’t learn from success.  (HBR via The Browser)

Some cool census graphs.  (New Geography)

Is there a serious gap in biology’s understanding of life on Earth?  (Economist)

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