Tag Archives: Economist

Things I Learned this Week

Among the things I learned this week:
* The Wikipedia post for Chinese Crested Dog should have a dispute banner, perhaps (Courtesy: Personal Experience):
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* Habermas’ take on the Internet (Courtesy: Economist):

Digital communication, he wrote a few years ago, has unequivocal democratic merits only in authoritarian countries, where it undermines the government’s information monopoly. Yet in liberal regimes, online media, with their millions of forums for debate on a vast range of topics, could lead to a “fragmentation of the public” and a “liquefaction of politics”, which would be harmful to democracy.

* We’re so post-PC that reviews of next-gen computer equipment now include commentary on the aesthetics and space challenges of a computer (Courtesy: Brian X. Chen, NYT):

The Rift works with technology that some might find anachronistic: a Windows PC, monitor, keyboard and mouse. With many people shifting away from desktop computers toward laptops, tablets and smartphones, finding a place to install the Rift and those other components may be a challenge. In my modest San Francisco apartment, I set up the system in the living room next to my television set. What an eyesore.

There are other similar aspects to the article, in case you want to learn something this week.

Things I Learned this Week

Among the things I learned this week:
* Mansudae Art Studio is North Korea’s art department, and its artwork is available for sale via an Italy-based company. (Courtesy: NYT)

* Evacuation Day (Courtesy: NYT)

* CubeSat movement technologies. (Courtesy: Economist)

* Northwestern-style xiao long baos have a thicker skin, because of the region’s more common use of flour. (Courtesy: NYT)

* Tobacco was legal tender in Virginia. (Courtesy: David Graeber’s Debt)

Things I Learned this Week

Among the things I learned this week:
* Electric vehicle range can be reduced by 57 percent depending on the temperature: “The average EV battery range in AAA’s test was 105 miles at 75°F, but dropped 57 percent to 43 miles when the temperature was held steady at 20°F. Warm temperatures were less stressful on battery range, but still delivered a lower average of 69 miles per full charge at 95°F.” (Courtesy: AAA)

* Of 3858 Chinese P2P lender CEOs, 266 have fled China. (Courtesy: The Economist)

* Insurance technology funding patterns. (Courtesy: CB Insights)
20160125-cbinsights-insurtechfunding