Links - December 7, 2016
- What do cows want? Jayson Lusk
Measuring a farm animal’s utility is an interesting exercise. Choice is not only a human problem.
- This Is What Happens When Millions Of People Suddenly Get The Internet Sheera Frenkel - BuzzFeed News
A fascinating story about figurative walls coming down. It made me think a lot about the inadequacy of the label “third world.” Coming from Costa Rica, which has the highest internet access rate in Latin America, the experiences told in this story are shocking. Widespread definitions and categorizations sometimes don’t make sense.
- Even Trump Is a Keynesian Noah Smith - Bloomberg View
Tax cuts, and infrastructure spending are good ideas, but will he actually put them in motion?
- The hardest problem in computer science Eevee (Lexy Munroe) - fuzzy notepad
I’d wager that this is the hardest problem in all human endeavors, and not just in CS. Communication is hard, and while language helps us share our ideas, it is nearly impossible to be sure that the message we wanted to get across was properly conveyed.
- I, Pencil Leonard E. Read - Library of Economics and Liberty
The fact that anything works is crazy. Making pencils is nearly impossible, and yet, there is probably a store within a couple of blocks from you where you can get one, along with N other more complex items.
- Swift and the Legacy of Functional Programming Rob Napier - Realm.io
While I am not a swift-er yet (is that a thing?) I am slowly picking up functional programming, and I find the ideas in this talk quite valuable.
- Prop 13, or, California's Progressive Blindspot Illuminated Diego Aguilar-Canabal - Bay Area Metropolitan Observer
Shared without comment.
- Knowledge Builds Technology and Technology Builds Knowledge a16z Podcast
In this interview wit Joel Mokyr, Sonal Chokshi and the a16z team bring historical perspective into today’s economic environment. Building new things is easier when you have an understanding of the past. The episode reminded me of why I should have taken Mokyr’s class at NU, instead of signing up for an awful data structures course.
- The History Of Light Planet Money
Right up there with “I, Pencil” and the story of economic complexity, we have the story of economic growth. Consider this a case study.