It’s been awhile since the last recommended articles post which was back on 5 October. The main reason for the delay is that i have not been reading that many articles lately as i’ve concentrated on my book reading.
Anyway, here are the most noteworthy articles i’ve managed to read.
The Drugs Don’t Work A Modern Medical Scandal – Unfortunately this fascinating (and disturbing) article by Ben Goldacre is no longer available at the Guardian newspaper website. But you can have a look at his TED talk.
Loneliness – written by James Harris
“What do we want from each other? What do you want from another person that will make you happy? I’ve asked my friends experimenting with computer dating what they are looking for in a good match. Surprisingly, or not, they don’t know. Usually they can specify things they don’t want. I think their loneliness is a general sense of unease and they don’t specifically know what will make them happy, but they often know the details about other people that make them unhappy.”
Man or machine – can robots really write novels? – BBC
“Professor Philip Parker, of Insead business school, created software that has generated over 200,000 books, on as varied topics as the 60 milligrams of fat in fromage frais to a Romanian crossword guide.
Amazon currently lists over 100,000 titles under his name.”
Sony (Dubious Quality) and The Ghosts of Sony (Japan Subculture)
Sony’s bonds have been rated as junk.
“Sony’s in big trouble. They’re not alone–so is Sharp and Panasonic–but Sony is the most suprising, given their place in the history of consumer electronics, and their position as apex predator only a decade ago.”
We might be living in the least disruptive age in history – Wired (courtesy of Loud O)
“My grandmother would have folded her arms and frowned. She was born in Belfast in 1900. Horse drawn carts clopped up and down her cobbled street. Life expectancy was 57, Britain was a superpower with the naval equivalent of the Death Star and her house was lit with gas and candles. By the time she was 20, cars were rattling and hooting down her road and they were enjoying electric lights, outrageous women’s clothing and jazz. Russia had convulsed into a radical new kind of government, airships were crossing the Atlantic and many of her male relatives had been slaughtered in the First World War.”
Gary Neville’s punditry is the best, but others need to raise their game – Guardian
“Second, Neville is thorough; his Monday Night Football offerings are clearly the result of meticulous research. Putting together a 15-minute sequence on the art of diving, as he did towards the end of last season, takes dedication and commitment others lack. One Sky colleague comments on how Neville treats punditry the same way he treated professional football, where he succeeded primarily through hard work and intense preparation, rather than natural talent.”
Matchday 2012 and Billionaires toy with the beautiful game – Financial Times
and
“As he contemplates becoming No 10, Guardiola may reflect on the differences between working for a proper football club and a Tudor dictatorship. Barcelona is what it says on the wall: a club, owned by its 180,000 members. Its main rival, Real Madrid, has a similar structure. Most German clubs are also majority-owned by their members.”
Why does coffee never taste as good as it smells – Daily Telegraph
“We have got two senses of smell.”
Incoherent Thoughts 