The weekend is a great time to catch up on some of the reading you skipped during the week.  We hope you enjoy this set of long-form links.

Finance

A review of the burgeoning low volatility investing theme.  (IndexUniverse)

“Physics deals with theories, finance with models and failing to understand the difference has led to a lot of money being lost, along with a great deal of human misery.”  (The Psy-Fi Blog)

Francis Fukuyama selects five books on the financial crisis including The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis.  (The Browser)

The private equity industry is awash in mediocre managers and and overeager investors.  (Economist also Baseline Scenario)

Economics

Rick Bookstaber, “Industrialization is leading to a continuing convergence between the products that are consumed by the wealthy and the common man.”  (Rick Bookstaber)

A harrowing look inside the factories in China where Apple ($AAPL) products.  (NYTimes)

Alex Tabarrok, “Could we build the Hoover Dam today? We have the technology. We seem to lack the will. ”  (The Atlantic)

Psychology

How do we identify good ideas?  (The Frontal Cortex)

There is no such thing as information overload.  (Pando Daily)

The mechanics of choice: a behavioral finance primer.  (APS via The Browser)

No one is exempt from a raft of behavioral biases.  (Globe and Mail)

What happens when teenagers reach puberty earlier and adulthood later?  A lot of weirdness.  (WSJ)

Science

The power of introverts.  A Q&A with Susan Cain author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.  (Scientific American)

The self-driving car is coming sooner than you think.  (Wired)

An excerpt from Mark Lynas’ The God Species: Saving the Planet in the Age of Humans.  (Scientific American)

Why we are still at risk to a solar superstorm.  (Popular Mechanics)

Education

An MBA looks back at their 10-year reunion.  (The Atlantic)

The term paper is falling out of favor.  Hello blogging.  (NYTimes)

Society

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are having a hard time re-entering civilian society.  (FT)

What caused a huge change in sexual mores in the 18th century?  (Guardian via The Browser)

Profiles

A profile of the “renegade IT guy.”  (Gawker via @longreads)

The man behind Amazon’s push into book publishing.  (Businessweek)

Sports

An excerpt from Jonathan Mahler’s Death Comes to Happy Valley: Penn State and the Tragic Legacy of Joe Paterno.  (Grantland)

How big time sports has taken over college campuses.  (NYTimes)

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