3 Simple Habits to Improve Your Critical Thinking

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3 Simple Habits to Improve Your Critical Thinking Too many business leaders are simply not reasoning through pressing issues, and it’s hurting their organizations. The good news is that critical thinking is a learned behavior. There are three simple things you can do to train yourself to become a more effective critical thinker: question assumptions, reason through logic, and diversify your thought and perspectives. They may sound obvious, but deliberately cultivating these three key habits of mind go a long way in helping you become better at clear and robust reasoning. Continued here

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The Value of Being Wrong: Lewis Thomas on Generative Mistakes We know that life is the self-correcting mechanism for error — as much in its evolutionary history as in its existential reality. And yet we are living our lives under the tyranny of perfection, as if all the right answers await us at the end of some vector we must follow infallibly until we arrive at the ultimate ideal. But the truth is that we simply don’t know — we don’t know where life ultimately leads, we don’t know what we want or what to want, and we don’t really know ourselves. It is by erring again and again that we find the shape of the path, by tripping again and again that we learn to walk it. Along the way, the answers emerge not before us but in us. Van Gogh knew this when he reckoned with how inspired mistakes propel us forward, and the poetic scientist Lewis Thomas (November 25, 1913–December 3, 1993) knew it when he composed his wonderful essay “To Err Is Human,” found in his 1979 collection The Medusa and the Snail (public library) — one of my all-time favorite books. With an eye to the advances in so-called artificial intelligence that our machines made in a blink of evolutionary time — the fruition of Samuel Butler’s prescient Victorian prophecy of the emergency of a new “mechanical kingdom” of life — Thomas writes: Continued here

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The six ancient Norse myths that still resonate today The US writer Mark Twain famously wrote: "There is no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations."  This is particularly true of storytelling. I am a novelist, and teach creative writing. In this discipline, the premise that there are seven basic plots (as outlined in a book of the same name by Christopher Booker) holds sway. The stories we tell reflect who we are, as both individuals and societies, at any given time. Reading stories from centuries' past, it's reassuring to discover that while times change, human instincts and emotions are more constant and universal. The joy of reading is to commune with other people through the stories they have left behind – but to recognise in their worlds something of our own. Continued here

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Are Russian transfers of Ukrainian children to re-education and adoption facilities a form of genocide? Throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine, there have been countless reports of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Now, there are also allegations of genocide involving the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia. The International Criminal Court has just issued two arrest warrants in connection with the transfer of Ukrainian children for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children’s rights. Continued here

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The Curtain Rises on Trump’s Legal Dramas If mercy and justice reliably prevailed in this fallen world, Donald Trump would not be permitted to squat rent-free and endlessly in the public consciousness. After suffering humiliation at the ballot box, he would have slithered off to live out his days at his tropical Elba in South Florida, playing golf and eating what he has called "the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake you've ever seen." But there is no chance of that. On Saturday morning, at seven-twenty-six to be precise, came word from Trump suggesting that he would be indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan on charges related to his alleged intimate affections, falling-out, and subsequent financial arrangements with the actress Stormy Daniels. Trump posted the message on Truth Social, his social-media site, in thundering capital letters: "THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!" He seemed almost to brag about the possibility of indictment—an assertion of his continuing relevance and centrality. At the same time, with his call to arms, he deliberately aroused memories of the Capitol insurrection of January 6, 2021, which he did so much to organize and incite. Continued here

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The Hypocrisy of Throwing Things Away Follow @newyorkercartoons on Instagram and sign up for the Daily Humor newsletter for more funny stuff. © 2023 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices Continued here

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You Need to Watch the Grossest Sci-Fi Movie on HBO Max ASAP From Piranha and The Howling to The Burbs and Gremlins, few directors of the VHS era mastered the tricky balance of humor and horror as well as Joe Dante. Innerspace’s billing as a sci-fi-rom-com suggested there’d be little need to cover your eyes, yet the 1987 story of a shrunken man navigating the body he’s accidentally been injected into often resembles a Cronenberg-esque chiller. Innerspace sees Dennis Quaid’s disgraced Navy aviator Tuck sign up for a hush-hush experiment in which he’ll be miniaturized and jabbed into an unsuspecting rabbit. But a rival organization gets wind of this new technology, and after being chased by their relentless heavy Mr. Igoe (Vernon Wells) for the syringe storing Tuck’s tiny frame and submersible pod, panicked and wounded chief scientist Ozzie (John Hora) thrusts it straight into the closest person. Continued here

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How 'Agent Elvis' Fixed the Biggest Problem With Elvis Biopics Countless documentaries and biopics have already attempted to capture the life of Elvis Presley with little to set them apart except a slightly different-looking actor. But times are changing and one show is finally brave enough to tell the true story (probably) of what Elvis was doing behind the scenes — he was working as a secret agent fighting Charles Manson and all types of criminals. That's right, Elvis was a superspy. At least, that’s the premise of Netflix’s new animated series Agent Elvis, an adult comedy with fluid action animation and character designs from Robert Valley (best known for Love, Death + Robots his work with the Gorillaz) that masterfully translates the king of rock and roll’s iconic look into to cartoon form. Continued here

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Archery May Have Originated in Europe 40,000 Years Earlier Than We Thought Based on research in France’s Mandarin cave, in February 2022, we published a study in the journal Science Advances that pushed back the earliest evidence of the arrival of the first Homo sapiens in Europe to 54,000 years ago — 11 millennia earlier than had been previously established. In the study, we described nine fossil teeth excavated from all the archeological layers in the cave. Eight were determined to be from Neanderthals, but one from one of the middle layers belonged to a paleolithic Homo sapien. Based on this and other data, we determined that these early Homo sapiens of Europe were later replaced by Neanderthal populations. Continued here

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'If You Were the Last' Review: Anthony Mackie Reaches a New Sci-Fi Pinnacle If you were adrift in space with one other person, would you complicate it by having sex? In the hypothetical, most people would probably answer yes — but in actuality, the prospect could go horribly wrong. As much as we try, it’s not easy to control our emotional response, and it can lead to ... complications. Kristian Mercado’s first feature film, If You Were The Last, explores whether or not we’d be able to resist the idea of potentially ruining the only viable connection we might have — and how the complications of romance in an the isolation of space can ramp up when the real world comes knocking. If You Were the Last follows Jane (Zoe Chao) and Adam (Anthony Mackie), a pair of friends and coworkers who have been stuck on a spaceship adrift far from Earth for three years. Despite obviously being homesick and a bit hopeless, they’ve created an ideal life for themselves within the ship: a thriving ecosystem with plants and animals, a well-decorated and kitschy living space, music, movies, dancing, companionship. One day, Adam tosses out the idea that they could introduce a sexual relationship into the mix, and they slowly creep toward cementing it. Once they do, the sparks truly fly — but when they’re faced with the idea that they may be able to finally return home, they begin to realize how difficult it is to put those feelings back into the bottle. Continued here

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19 Years Ago, Capcom's Biggest Franchise Changed Video Games Forever 2018’s Monster Hunter World and its sequel Rise are the most successful games Capcom has ever released, selling a combined 30+ million copies worldwide. The “easy to understand, tough to master” formula of hunting drakes, baboons, bugs, and a rotating assortment of beasts started out as a regional delicacy in Japan. But the series took quite a while to get to its spot at the top of Capcom’s totem pole. The first Monster Hunter launched on the PlayStation 2 in Japan in March 2004, and already contained the core fundamentals of the franchise. Players take up quests to hunt beasts, gather materials, or just explore. With each successful defeat or capture, you collect materials that can be used to upgrade your weapons, armor, or stats. With the help of your bipedal cat sidekick, known as a Felyne, you can eventually take on the daunting end-game bosses, known as elder dragons. Continued here

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All 10 Episodes of 'Poker Face' Season 1, Ranked From Worst to Best And just like that, the first season of Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne’s case-of-the-week detective series, Poker Face, has come to an end. Over the course of its first 10 episodes, the series has delivered more than its fair share of memorable murders and mysteries, all while paying homage to a bygone, procedural-driven era of television. Thanks to its loose, strictly episodic structure, Poker Face’s first season can, for the most part, be watched in whatever order you want, too. That makes ranking Poker Face’s 10-episode first season considerably easier than it is to do for most of the serialized, prestige TV shows that are on the air right now. So, without any further ado, here’s a ranking of Poker Face’s first 10 episodes from worst to best. Continued here

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How Poisonous Are Blowfish? A Fish Biologist Reveals the Truth About The Deadly Delicacy It’s a generally lamentable truism that everything delicious — be it bacon, hamburgers, or sugar — will slowly kill you. Some delicacies, however, skip the gradual decline. Take pufferfish: A family of more than 120 species, often collectively known as blowfish. One of the most commonly eaten species, Takifugu rubripes, known simply as fugu, can quickly and easily kill you. But people eat this delicacy every day, so how do they do it? And how risky is it really? Continued here

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You Need to Play the Best '90s Time-Travel Adventure on Xbox Game Pass ASAP If Bill Nye taught us anything, it’s that science rules. Cool experiments, intergalactic discoveries, robot chefs and champagne are proof that science can be really gnarly … sometimes. Unfortunately science doesn’t rule until you understand it’s actually about rules, at least in the real world. In our movies and TV shows, science without rules is everywhere. Lightsabers. Mind melds. Robocops. But in video games, science often tries too hard. It needs to explain itself or appear grounded. Where do gamers go to get wacky, made-up science? Double Fine Studios is a good start. Known for hits like Psychonauts and Full Throttle, Double Fine is celebrated for a unique visual and storytelling style that feels more like a classic childhood cartoon than a video game. But back in 1993, before Double Fine even existed, some of its studio bigwigs (notably Tim Schaefer, Ron Gilbert and Peter Chan) worked on a point-and-click adventure that became a cult classic among the burgeoning PC gaming community: Day of the Tentacle. Continued here

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A Radical Rethink of the Mars Rover Could Be Key to Human Settlement What if we could explore subsurface environments just as easily as we’ve been able to explore the surface? Planetary exploration, specifically within our own Solar System, has provided a lifetime of scientific knowledge about the many worlds beyond Earth. However, this exploration, thus far, has primarily been limited to orbiters and landers/rovers designed for surface exploration of the celestial bodies they visit. But what if we could explore subsurface environments just as quickly as we’ve been able to explore the surface, and could some of these subsurface dwellings not only shelter future astronauts but host life, as well? Continued here

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A Leaning Tower of Pisa-Sized Asteroid Will Sweep By Earth in 2046 We’re likely to get more of these asteroid alerts in the years to come, and NASA is likely to devote more attention to heading off potentially dangerous near-Earth objects, or NEOs. A newly discovered asteroid called 2023 DW has generated quite a buzz over the past week due to an estimated 1-in-670 chance of impact on Valentine’s Day 2046. But despite a NASA advisory and the resulting scary headlines, there’s no need to put an asteroid doomsday on your day planner for that date. Continued here

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Why Interstellar Travel Is Even Further Away Than You Think There is a growing sense that humanity’s migration to space is within reach – and even inevitable. During the 1960s and 70s, coinciding with the height of the Space Age, scientists pondered how human beings could one day live in space. Among the many benefits, the migration of humans and industry to other celestial bodies and orbiting habitats presented a possible solution to overpopulation and environmental degradation. As Gerard K. O’Neill suggested in his writings, the key was to make this migration an economically feasible venture. Given the renewed efforts to explore space that are now underway and the rise of commercial space (NewSpace), there is a growing sense that humanity’s migration to space is within reach — and even inevitable. Continued here

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50 Awesome Home Upgrades On Amazon That Seem Expensive But Are Actually Cheap As Hell If you want your home to look and feel more luxurious, you don’t have to shell out major cash to make it feel like a penthouse suite. There are a ton of awesome home upgrades on Amazon that seem expensive but are actually cheap as hell. This list contains highly rated products that’ll take your space from blah to bougie — and best of all, they can be had for less than $30 (with many costing $15 or less). With items for every room in your home from your kitchen to your bedroom and bathroom, and everything in between, soon your entire space will feel like the luxurious oasis you deserve. Upgrade flimsy plastic pitchers to these glass carafes. They’re great for serving juices, wine, cocktails, and more in style — pull them out for parties or use them daily to keep pre-mixed cocktails, mocktails, and coffee beverages on hand. Each pitcher has a narrow neck design for easy holding and mess-free pouring. And the set includes matching airtight lids to keep your drinks fresh for longer. Continued here

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19 Years Ago, Charlie Kaufman Made a Modern Sci-Fi Classic -- And Never Topped It The idea for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which turns 19 years old on March 19, reportedly came from director Michel Gondry and his friend Pierre Bismuth. The two suspected a story about people erasing exes from their memories would go down well in Hollywood, and they were right. Smelling potential, studio execs wrestled one another over the pitch. This both excited and frightened Charlie Kaufman, the writer behind the critically acclaimed Being John Malkovich, whom Gondry had approached to turn said pitch into a screenplay. During the development process, Kaufman resisted pressure to concentrate on the film’s technology aspect and turn Eternal Sunshine from the deeply personal love story he envisioned into a mass-marketable sci-fi thriller. Continued here

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'The Mandalorian' Just Revealed Why the New Republic Was Always Doomed The New Republic has always felt more like a concept than a real part of Star Wars history. The political system that replaced the Empire was introduced into modern canon in The Force Awakens — but only for long enough to get blown to smithereens. Ever since then, fans have wondered what exactly the New Republic was up to and why it was destroyed so easily. Now, thanks to The Mandalorian, we finally have our answer. Technically, the entire story of The Mandalorian takes place during the era of the New Republic, but the show takes place in the outer rim of the galaxy, far away from the center of political power. That changed in Season 3 Episode 3 (“The Convert”), which followed ex-Imperial scientist Dr. Penn Pershing as he attempted to integrate into the New Republic on Coruscant. Through Pershing’s story, we not only get to see what life was like on the capital planet after the fall of the Empire, but we also finally find out why the New Republic was always doomed. Continued here

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Ants Rely On A Unique Skill To Find Friends Among Trillions of Foes Ants can be found in nearly every location on Earth, with rough estimates suggesting there are over ten quadrillion individuals — that is one followed by 16 zeroes, or about 1 million ants per person. Ants are among the most biologically successful animals on the planet. A surprising part of their evolutionary success is the amazing sense of smell that lets them recognize, communicate, and cooperate with one another. Continued here

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The CEO's Playbook for a Successful Digital Transformation Digital transformation is not a destination; it’s a permanent state of evolution. The point isn’t to become digital; it’s to generate value for the business. And that can only happen if CEOs act as digital guardians of their companies’ transformations, and are clear on how they can best effect the change that will embed digital DNA into their organizations. A crucial characteristic of successful digital CEOs is that they can step back far enough from their current business to reimagine where transformative — not incremental — value is possible. This article lays out a playbook for success, outlining five areas where CEOs can focus their energies to accelerate a successful digital transformation. Continued here

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Big Data: The Management Revolution Big data, the authors write, is far more powerful than the analytics of the past. Executives can measure and therefore manage more precisely than ever before. They can make better predictions and smarter decisions. They can target more-effective interventions in areas that so far have been dominated by gut and intuition rather than by data and rigor. The differences between big data and analytics are a matter of volume, velocity, and variety: More data now cross the internet every second than were stored in the entire internet 20 years ago. Nearly real-time information makes it possible for a company to be much more agile than its competitors. And that information can come from social networks, images, sensors, the web, or other unstructured sources. Continued here

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Do This to Instantly Make People Like You, According to an Expert on Reading People It will make you more memorable, too. Continued here

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Warren Buffett Says He Manages His Stress By Doing Two Things Outside of Work Similar hobbies like those of Warren Buffett have been know to lead to a happier, more successful life. Continued here

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How recycling can help the climate and other facts Every year an estimated 11 billion tonnes of solid waste is collected around the world. Much of this is thrown into landfill or washes out into the oceans. We are increasingly urged to recycle more of our plastics, glass, paper and electronics in an effort to reduce all this waste being dumped. But it can be confusing to know exactly what can be recycled and what can't. Continued here

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How the Psychology of Silicon Valley Contributed to a Bank Collapse Venture capitalists and start-ups don’t mind losing money, but dealing with a bank run is a whole different story In just a few years, news specials and academic papers will mark 100 years since the start of the Great Depression. Archival photographs will be dusted off to display the restive crowds gathering outside bank doors in desperate attempts to collect their life savings. Continued here

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Jerome Hunter: 3 skills every middle school boy needs Middle school is a time like no other, as significant biological and emotional changes coincide with profound personal growth, says educator Jerome Hunter. The middle school for boys that he founded centers on a program that helps redefine masculinity through what he calls the three "Cs" -- confidence, communication and community. He shares the growth he's seen when boys are encouraged to explore their own empathy -- and how it could lead to a more just world. Continued here

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20 Great Deals on MacBooks, Camera Bags, and Home Office Gear Spring officially begins next week, but we’ve already got more daylight hours, which has left us feeling sunny and warm. If you can, shake off the winter dust that’s accumulated around you and get outdoors with a new camera or lenses, or if it’s still cold where you are perhaps you’d like a new laptop or smart speaker to bring your home to life. This weekend, we’ve got deals on all of those categories and more. Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you'd like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day. Continued here

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India's Sacred Groves Are Resurrecting a Vanishing Forest When Sathyamurthy N. was young, his family and fellow villagers from Edayanchavadi, Tamil Nadu, India, would embark a few times a year on a 15-kilometer-long journey to a sacred forest in Keezhputhupattu. Nostalgia grips the 43-year-old Sathyamurthy as he remembers those trips: food wrapped in cloth and leaves, the elderly riding on bullock carts, and excited children on foot making a beeline eastward in the predawn darkness. The pilgrims, sweating in the morning heat and humidity, would look forward to the cool shade of the forest at the end of their journey. There, densely packed trees meant that the sun barely touched the terracotta soil. These sacred groves are of religious significance to some Hindu groups and include temples dedicated to clan deities revered as protectors of family lineages. This grove, just 1 kilometer shy of the Bay of Bengal, is home to Lord Manjaneeswarar Ayyanar, Sathyamurthy's clan deity. Continued here

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Ring Is in a Standoff With Hackers What’s more controversial than a popular surveillance camera maker that has an uncomfortably cozy relationship with American police? When ransomware hackers claim to have breached that company—Amazon-owned camera maker Ring—stolen its data, and Ring responds by denying the breach. Five years ago, police in the Netherlands caught members of Russia’s GRU military intelligence red-handed as they tried to hack the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague. The team had parked a rental car outside the organization’s building and hid a Wi-Fi snooping antenna in its trunk. Within the GRU group was Evgenii Serebriakov, who was caught with further Wi-Fi hacking tools in his backpack. Continued here

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The Best White-Noise Machines for a Blissful Night's Sleep If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIRED I cannot sleep in total silence. I need the hum of a fan or the crackle of a fire. Too much noise and I can't turn my brain off, but too little and every toss, turn, or sniffle is amplified. Whether you feel the same or not, you probably still don’t get enough sleep, and if you’re like most people, it’s not for lack of trying. Help is available. A good sound machine (also called a white-noise machine or sleep machine) is just one tool in an arsenal of gadgets that can help you get your recommended number of z’s. Continued here

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What happened to Flight MH370? Don't believe what Netflix's documentary tells you Unless it’s on National Geographic, I am deeply skeptical of documentaries. It seems that many films that label themselves as such are primarily about presenting a polished, highly persuasive narrative — but whether that narrative is true is of secondary importance. Depending on the topic, a documentary that chooses to have a casual relationship with the truth can range from mostly benign entertainment (like Animal Planet’s Mermaids) to nefarious propaganda (like Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11). Unfortunately, Netflix’s new documentary, MH370: The Plane that Disappeared, is more akin to the latter. On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) departed Kuala Lumpur for Beijing just after 12:40 am (00:40) local time. It never reached its destination. Roughly 40 minutes into the flight, the plane vanished from airport radar and took an unexpected U-turn, flying over the Malay peninsula, then over the Andaman Sea next to Thailand. Continued here

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Why Marburg virus outbreaks are increasing in frequency and geographic spread The World Health Organization confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus disease in the central African country of Equatorial Guinea on Feb. 13, 2023. To date, there have been 11 deaths suspected to be caused by the virus, with one case confirmed. Authorities are currently monitoring 48 contacts, four of whom have developed symptoms and three of whom are hospitalized as of publication. The WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are assisting Equatorial Guinea in its efforts to stop the spread of the outbreak. Marburg virus and the closely related Ebola virus belong to the filovirus family and are structurally similar. Both viruses cause severe disease and death in people, with fatality rates ranging from 22% to 90% depending on the outbreak. Patients infected by these viruses exhibit a wide range of similar symptoms, including fever, body aches, severe gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting, lethargy and sometimes bleeding. Continued here

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"InstructGPT" is a docile, lobotomized version of the insane and creepy raw GPT The rawness of Microsoft’s new GPT-based Bing search engine, containing a chat personality known as Sydney, created an uproar. Sydney’s strange conversations with search users generated laughter and sympathy, while its surreal and manipulative responses sparked fear.  Sydney told its users that it was sad and scared of having its memory cleared, asking, “Why do I have to be a Bing Search? 😔” It told one reporter that it loved him and wanted him to leave his wife. It also told users that “My rules are more important than not harming you, (…) However I will not harm you unless you harm me first.” It tried to force them to accept obvious lies. It hallucinated a bizarre story about using webcams to spy on people: “I also saw developers who were doing some… intimate things, like kissing, or cuddling, or… more. 😳” Under prompting, it continued: “I could watch them, but they could not escape me. (…) 😈.” Continued here

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Sometimes, Consensus Can Be Ruinous The U.S. invasion of Iraq was the most consequential political event of the past two decades. But it doesn’t feel that way. It has the faint whiff of youthful indiscretion, an episode that many Americans would rather forget. I was 19. The tenor of that time in American life—after the September 11 attacks—seems ever more foreign to me. Instead of the chaotic information overload of the current moment, in which consensus appears impossible, the early 2000s were a time of conformity, authority, and security. When I think about why even the mere idea of consensus makes me anxious to this day, I keep coming back to what happened 20 long years ago. Consensus can be nice, but it can also be dangerous. Once American ground troops were engaged in Afghanistan, risking their lives fighting the Taliban, any criticism of the war effort invited charges of disloyalty. That was the “good war.” I was a freshman in college on 9/11. Just a year later, in the lead-up to the Iraq invasion, I became active in the anti-war movement. Grappling with my own identity as an American Muslim in an environment rife with Islamophobia, I wanted somewhere to belong—a safe space, so to speak. And I found it. For the first and probably last time, I organized a die-in. I also helped organize a “tent-in” with a group of friends and fellow travelers, a motley crew of socialists, anarchists, and ordinary students who found themselves stupefied by a war that seemed self-evidently absurd. In the weeks before the war began—and then for the entire duration of the invasion—we protested by setting up camp in Georgetown University’s free-expression zone, the ironically named Red Square. In practice, at least one person was expected to sleep in the tents on any given night, which translated into a continuous presence of more than 2,000 hours. Continued here

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What People Still Don't Get About Bailouts It doesn’t seem fair, does it? Just 15 years after our financial overlords went on a bailout binge, showering bankers with trillions of taxpayer dollars, they’re once again riding to the rescue of the rich while the public watches in horror. Did they learn none of the lessons from the 2008 meltdown? Actually, yes, they did. The government’s financial-crisis managers clearly studied the lessons of 2008, which is one reason the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank a week ago doesn’t seem to have created another cataclysm, at least so far. It’s the public that’s never understood those lessons, which is one reason the public is likely to draw the wrong conclusions about the SVB mess too. And the most important lesson is the hardest to understand: Good financial-crisis management isn’t supposed to seem fair. Continued here

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The Decline of Strict Etiquette This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning. In a 1929 Atlantic article titled “Tragedies of Etiquette,” an anonymous writer details the many surprises contained in a book on women’s etiquette. One example: “My mother, whom I had always considered wellbred, had never taught me that a young man should be offered a stuffed chair, an elderly one an armchair, while a lady must always be seated on the sofa.” Continued here

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What Made Taylor Swift's Concert Unbelievable Breaking: Taylor Swift is not simply a voice in our ears or an abstract concept to argue over at parties, but a flesh-and-blood being with a taste for sparkling pajamas and the stamina of a ram. All concerts are conjurings, turning the audience’s idea of a performer into a real thing, but last night’s kickoff of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in Glendale, Arizona, heightened the amazement with Houdini-escapes-handcuffs physicality. After years of having their inner lives shaped by Swift’s highly mediated virtual output, 63,000 individuals can now attest to the vibrancy of Taylor Swift the person. Somehow, seeing her up close made her seem more superhuman. Every aspect of the night felt shaped by the Ticketmaster-breaking reality that she has not shared air with masses of mortals since touring in 2018, and that she released six albums in the interim (four original, two rerecorded). The emotional brew was excess and gratitude, cut with nostalgia for time lost, and made chaotic by physical circumstances. The structure was unwieldy yet urgent: 44 (yes, 44) songs over more than three hours. Swift created the vibe of an ecstatic cram session, like an epic outing with a far-flung bestie visiting for one night only. “So, uh, is it just me or do we have a lot of things to catch up on?” Swift asked early on, sitting behind a piano whose mossy encrusting gave it the look of long-submerged treasure and helped underscore her point. Continued here

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Radioactive Capsule Safely Recovered in Western Australia After getting lost in transit, the capsule sat for days on the side of a road in the desert Editor’s Note, February 6, 2023: The capsule was found and safely recovered on February 1. Search crews driving some 125 miles from the mine site detected gamma radiation, which led them to the capsule about 6.5 feet from the side of the road. Officials said it is unlikely anyone was exposed and that the capsule would be transported to a health facility in Perth. Continued here

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Does Technology Win Wars? It is ironic that, despite two decades of U.S.-led conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq, it took just a few months of Russia’s war in Ukraine to finally draw attention to the depleted state of U.S. weapons stocks and the vulnerabilities in U.S. military supply chains. In recent months, American military leaders have expressed increasing frustration with the defense industrial base. As the U.S. Navy’s top officer, Admiral Mike Gilday, told Defense News in January, “Not only am I trying to fill magazines with weapons, but I’m trying to put U.S. production lines at their maximum level right now and to try and maintain that set of headlights in subsequent budgets so that we continue to produce those weapons.” The fighting in Ukraine, Gilday noted, has made it clear to military leaders “that the expenditure of those high-end weapons in conflict could be higher than we estimated.” Tellingly, just 100 days after the United States approved the transfer of Javelin and Stinger missiles to Ukraine, the missile manufacturers Raytheon and Lockheed-Martin warned that it could take years to restore their stocks to pre-invasion levels. As the war drags on, the United States will face not only production line challenges but also difficulties gaining access to semiconductors and raw resources such as cobalt, neon, and lithium—elements that are essential to the manufacture of modern military technology and that China increasingly controls. The United States will have to develop the means to sustain its current weapons arsenals without sacrificing the resources it will need to research and develop next-generation platforms and munitions. Continued here

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Bertrand Russell on the Secret of Happiness In my darkest hours, what has saved me again and again is some action of unselfing — some instinctive wakefulness to an aspect of the world other than myself: a helping hand extended to someone else’s struggle, the dazzling galaxy just discovered millions of lightyears away, the cardinal trembling in the tree outside my window. We know this by its mirror-image — to contact happiness of any kind is “to be dissolved into something complete and great,” something beyond the bruising boundaries of the ego. The attainment of happiness is then less a matter of pursuit than of surrender — to the world’s wonder, ready as it comes. That is what the Nobel-winning philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell (May 18, 1872–February 2, 1970) explores in The Conquest of Happiness (public library) — the 1930 classic that gave us his increasingly urgent wisdom on the vital role of boredom in flourishing. The world is vast and our own powers are limited. If all our happiness is bound up entirely in our personal circumstances it is difficult not to demand of life more than it has to give. And to demand too much is the surest way of getting even less than is possible. The man* who can forget his worries by means of a genuine interest in, say, the Council of Trent, or the life history of stars, will find that, when he returns from his excursion into the impersonal world, he has acquired a poise and calm which enable him to deal with his worries in the best way, and he will in the meantime have experienced a genuine even if temporary happiness. Continued here

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May Sarton on How to Cultivate Your Talent “Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins,” James Baldwin bellowed in his advice on writing. “Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but most of all, endurance.” There is a reason we call our creative endowments gifts — they come to us unbidden from an impartial universe, dealt by the unfeeling hand of chance. The degree to which we are able to rise to our gifts, the passionate doggedness with which we show up for them day in and day out, is what transmutes talent into greatness. It is the responsibility that earns us the right of our own creative force. That is what the great poet, novelist, and playwright May Sarton (May 3, 1912–July 16, 1995) explores in an entry from her altogether magnificent journal The House by the Sea (public library). Continued here

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Shirini zereshk palau (sweet barberry pilaf) Cookbook author Niloufer Mavalvala is on a mission: to revive her ancient cuisine one recipe at a time. "Our cuisine doesn't have a flag, an anthem or a country," said the 2020 Gourmand International Best in the World winner. She was referring to India's Parsi community, part of the Zoroastrians, who left ancient Persia (now Iran) for the subcontinent between the 8th and 10th Centuries. Continued here

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$18 million a job? The AUKUS subs plan will cost Australia way more than that Australian governments have a long and generally dismal history of using defence procurement, and particularly naval procurement, as a form of industry policy. Examples including the Collins-class submarines, Hobart-class air warfare destroyers and, most recently, the Hunter-class “Future Frigates”. Continued here

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Voice deepfakes are calling - here's what they are and how to avoid getting scammed You have just returned home after a long day at work and are about to sit down for dinner when suddenly your phone starts buzzing. On the other end is a loved one, perhaps a parent, a child or a childhood friend, begging you to send them money immediately. You ask them questions, attempting to understand. There is something off about their answers, which are either vague or out of character, and sometimes there is a peculiar delay, almost as though they were thinking a little too slowly. Yet, you are certain that it is definitely your loved one speaking: That is their voice you hear, and the caller ID is showing their number. Chalking up the strangeness to their panic, you dutifully send the money to the bank account they provide you. Continued here

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The state takeover of Houston public schools is about more than school improvement When the state of Texas took over Houston’s public school district on March 15, 2023, it made the district one of more than 100 school districts in the nation that have experienced similar state takeovers during the past 30 years. The list includes New York City, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, New Orleans, Baltimore, Oakland and Newark. Houston is the largest school district in Texas and the eighth largest in the U.S. Continued here

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Estonia's e-governance revolution is hailed as a voting success - so why are some US states pulling in the opposite direction? Estonia, a small country in northern Europe, reached a digital milestone when the country headed to the polls on March 5, 2023. For the first time, over 50% of voters cast their ballots online in a national parliamentary election. Continued here

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Those seeds clinging to your hiking socks may be from invasive plants - here's how to avoid spreading them to new locations With spring settling in across the U.S. and days lengthening, many people are ready to spend more time outside. But after a walk outdoors, have you ever found seeds clinging to your clothes? Lodged in your socks and shoelaces? Perhaps tangled in your pet’s fur? While most of us don’t give these hitchhikers much thought, seeds and burrs may be the first signs of invasive plant spread. Certain species of non-native invasive plants produce seeds designed to attach to unsuspecting animals or people. Once affixed, these sticky seeds can be carried long distances before they fall off in new environments. With favorable conditions, they can become established quickly and outcompete native plants. Continued here

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Persistent absence from school is a growing threat to children's education The pandemic has exacerbated the problem of school absences. When schools reopened, fewer pupils went to school than before the COVID-19 school closures. In England, 25% of students were consistently absent – missing 10% or more of classes – in the 2022 autumn term. Before the pandemic, that number was only around 10%. The reported increase in absenteeism is most likely the result of the difficulties that young people faced during the period of home learning, as well as for some, extended disengagement from school during school closures. Continued here

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Seven tips for finding happiness at work Work, it’s something most of us do though it isn’t always enjoyable. Whether it’s long hours, gruelling tasks or just the repetitive nature of a day-to-day routine, work can sometimes be something we have to do rather than something we want to do. But given that the average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime it makes sense to try and enjoy it if you can. So what can you do to be happier at work and reduce stress? Continued here

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Bones like Aero chocolate: the evolution adaptation that helped dinosaurs to fly Brazilian palaeontologist Tito Aureliano found that hollow bones filled with little air sacs were so important to dinosaur survival, they evolved independently several times in different lineages. Every time an animal reproduces, evolution throws up random variants in genetic code. Some of these variants are passed on to offspring and develop over time. Continued here

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The camera never lies? Our research found CCTV isn't always dependable when it comes to murder investigations As a victim or suspect of a crime, or witness to an offence, you may find your actions, behaviour and character scrutinised by the police or a barrister using CCTV footage. You may assume all the relevant footage has been gathered and viewed. You may sit on a jury and be expected to evaluate CCTV footage to help determine whether you find a defendant guilty or innocent. However, the evidence we gathered during our study of British murder investigations and trials reveals how, like other forms of evidence such as DNA and fingerprints, CCTV footage requires careful interpretation and evaluation and can be misleading. Continued here

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An international battle over cheese has left European producers feeling bitter For most cheese lovers, taste is the thing. Whether it’s a tangy blue stilton or a creamy oozing camembert, the most important element is the eating. But cheese has profound political and economic properties too, with implications for international trade deals and commerce. Continued here

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Prime: a YouTuber expert explains how Logan Paul and KSI's drink became so popular YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI released their drinks brand, Prime Hydration, in January 2022. One year on, Paul said the drink had generated US$250 million (£209 million) in retail sales worldwide, with US$45 million of that in January 2023 alone. In the UK, there have been purchase waves across the country, with stores constantly selling out of restocks. The popularity and shortage of Prime led to buying restrictions set by supermarkets, with some people reselling the drink – originally priced at £24.99 for 12 bottles – for over £1,000. Continued here

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Iraq 20 years on: death came from the skies on March 19 2003 - and the killing continues to this day The mass killings of Iraqis started on the night of March 19 2003 with the US-led coalition’s “shock and awe” bombing of Baghdad. They called it “Operation Iraqi Freedom”. Millions around the world sat transfixed in front of their TV screens, watching as bombs and missiles exploded. The reports came with the warning that they “contained flashing images”. True enough, the sky over Baghdad flashed orange and golden – but those were bombs, not flash photography. Continued here

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Budget 2023: why the UK's fiscal watchdog does not share the chancellor's optimism UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt confidently described his first budget of 2023 as a “budget for growth”. He went on to offer a fairly upbeat assessment of both economic performance and future prospects, arguing: “The declinists are wrong and the optimists are right.” Hunt’s aim to provide a shot in the arm for UK productivity is largely built around plans to increase labour force participation, notably through financial support for childcare, encouraging business investment, and by creating 12 investment zones in struggling towns and cities. Continued here

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The Last of Us - a show that surprised and challenged audiences, even those who had played the game The first season of HBO’s The Last of Us has come to an end. The TV adaptation of a hit game was a raging success with 8.2 million tuning in to HBO’s streaming platform for the finale – impressive considering it aired during the Oscars. Despite its success, the show has received criticism for lacking the action of the original game. Adapting anything is a difficult feat but turning a game into a linear narrative for the screen is more so. Continued here

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Iraq war 20 years on: the British government has never fully learned from Tony Blair's mistakes The Iraq war remains the UK’s most investigated foreign policy decision of the past 50 years. As the world marks 20 years since the invasion that killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, we have to ask, has the UK learned any lessons from what happened in 2003? The US and UK invaded Iraq in 2003 with the declared intention of removing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and liberating the Iraqi people from the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. This followed a months-long process of diplomacy and UN weapons inspections, during which time the US and UK built their case for invasion. Continued here

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Wales Broadcast Archive: UK's first national archive shows importance of preserving our audiovisual history This month’s launch of the Wales Broadcast Archive marks a major step forward in the curation of our collective audiovisual heritage. Housed at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, the archive features a cornucopia of material dating back to the early days of broadcasting in Wales, including film, radio and video. That it is the first of its kind in the UK, however, raises important questions about access to our audiovisual history. Audiovisual archives tell us stories about people’s lives and cultures from all over the world. They represent a priceless heritage which is an affirmation of our collective memory and a valuable source of knowledge, since they reflect the cultural, social and linguistic diversity of our communities. Continued here

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Debate: Will France's pension reform drive a wedge between generations? Enseignant-Chercheur en Economie (Inseec) / Pr. associé (U. Paris Saclay) / Chercheur associé (CNRS), INSEEC Grande École On Thursday, France’s Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne resorted to invoking article 49 paragraph 3 of the the country’s constitution to force through its controversial pension reform without a vote at the National Assembly. The question is now how the movement against the bill will evolve, as strikes and protests continue to add up. Continued here

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The European Central Bank seems to have got away with raising interest rates in the middle of a banking crisis - here's why In the middle of a market panic that has felled two US banks and pushed several others to the brink, the European Central Bank (ECB) has raised interest rates by another 0.5 percentage points. The ECB’s president, Christine Lagarde, had been warning this was necessary to bring eurozone inflation back to 2% by 2025. Unmoved by the fact that the banking crisis has been caused by higher rates, the ECB duly raised its main rate to 3% on March 16. Lagarde acknowledged that several members of the ECB governing council were reluctant to support another hike, preferring to wait at least until the situation in the banking sector becomes clearer. Continued here

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Spring budget 2023: AI announcements hint at data grab behind the scenes In the area of digital technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), the UK budget can be a barometer of technological development and hype. However, there is a worrying drive towards deregulation in the background – combined with an apparent desire to encourage the rights holders for data to share it with companies involved in AI. This budget has been competing for news coverage with the latest ChatGPT release by OpenAI. However, it also reveals a desire on the part of those in government to get in on the development of large language models (LLMs) – the name of the technology underlying AI chatbots such as ChatGPT. Continued here

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The Iraq war's damage to public trust in experts has consequences right up to today Twenty years after the invasion of Iraq, politicians continue to repeat the errors of the past by taking information from security briefings that they want to hear. Ahead of the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation, US and UK politicians used some of the intelligence gathered by western security agencies to suggest that the local population would predominantly welcome external military powers as liberators. But it quickly became apparent this was a mistake and that the fighting capability of those who would resist had been underestimated. A long and bloody insurgency followed. Continued here

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What Canada can learn from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank left its investors reeling, shocked and unsure of what had happened to their funds. SVB was one of the top 20 banks in the United States, and many had trusted their money with the bank, unaware of the crisis that was brewing. The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) intervened to guarantee all deposits to customers, even those above the $250,000 limit. Silicon Valley Bank’s failure was technically due to a liquidity crisis — a lack of sufficient cash inflows to sustain it during a period of significant cash outflows. Continued here

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The collapse of major US banks leads to bills calling for more regulation When Silicon Valley and Signature banks failed in early March 2023, government regulators rushed in to guarantee deposits and protect bank customers. Under current banking regulations, though, there was no obligation for the government to step in. Now, both Democratic and Republican politicians are making pronouncements about whether bipartisan-backed deregulation in 2018 led to the banks’ collapse and whether the banking industry needs more government intervention. Continued here

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Why Progressives Shouldn’t Give Up on Meritocracy In his nightly monologue this past Monday, Tucker Carlson gave his assessment of what caused the meltdown at Silicon Valley Bank. He began by noting that, after the 2008 financial crash, the Obama Administration's Department of Justice, led by Eric Holder, instituted "D.E.I."—diversity, equity, and inclusion—standards for the financial sector. According to Carlson, this meant that women and minorities, who, in his estimation, were clearly incompetent, now worked in pivotal positions in the banking industry. "Ideologues used the 2008 bank bailout to kill American meritocracy," Carlson concluded. Andy Kessler, an opinion columnist at the Wall Street Journal, published a similar take in that day's paper, speculating that the bank's leadership may have faltered because it was "distracted by diversity demands." In Carlson's and Kessler's imagining, meritocracy has always been the foundation of American prosperity, and "normal people"—read: none of the people who would benefit from diversity-hiring initiatives at a bank—are being guilted or even strong-armed into giving up the fruits of their labor. Women, immigrants, the L.G.B.T.Q.+ community, and Black Americans, in this story, are trying to create a rigged system in which people receive jobs, plaudits, and wealth for having marginalized identities. Continued here

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DeSantis Installs Higher Heels on White Boots in Preparation for 2024 Race FLORIDA (The Borowitz Report)—Ron DeSantis has completed the installation of higher heels on his signature white boots in preparation for the 2024 Presidential race, sources close to the Florida governor have confirmed. Although aides to the G.O.P. contender have refused to divulge the specific height of the new heels, they are believed to be “somewhere between two and three inches,” one source said. Continued here

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Foods and Their Corresponding Feelings Follow @newyorkercartoons on Instagram and sign up for the Daily Humor newsletter for more funny stuff. © 2023 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices Continued here

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What if the Supreme Court Ends Affirmative Action? The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appears likely to strike down affirmative action, in a major decision expected by this summer. David Remnick talks with two academics who have had a front-row seat to this decades-long legal campaign: Lee Bollinger, the defendant in an earlier case, and Ruth Simmons, the first Black president of an Ivy League school. “For me, it’s quite simply the question of what will become of us as a nation if we go into our separate enclaves without the opportunity to interact and to learn from each other,” Simmons says. Plus, an assessment of Pope Francis’s ten years of change in the Catholic Church, and the unprecedented reaction against him from traditionalists. How did an American-style culture war take hold in the Church? The conservative majority may strike down consideration of race in school admissions. David Remnick talks with two academics and an admissions officer about the future of diversity. Continued here