Photos, books, links and writing related to society
Everything tagged society
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02/26/08
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Debunking ‘Third-World’ Myths
A fantastic talk by Hans Rosling from the TED conference archives. Rosling does a nice job of debunks some myths about the so-called “developing world.” But really what carries the point home is the stunning animation software developed by Rosling’s …continue reading »
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02/20/08
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Tom Coates on the One Laptop Per Child Project
By far the best piece of writing on the One Laptop Per Child project that I’ve run across (my own included). I’ve been following this project for over a year now (partly because of my job at Wired, but also …continue reading »
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02/10/08
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The Ancient Indus Valley
This is great site for anyone interested in seeing what south Asia looked like circa 1900-1920. Actually it’s a good bit more than that, but since I happen to be writing about that area, at that time, that’s what I’ve …continue reading »
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01/08/08
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The 61 Year Old Farmer Who Won the World’s Toughest Race
I wish I knew more stories like this one: Every year, Australia hosts an 875-kilometer endurance racing from Sydney to Melbourne - considered to be the world’s longest and toughest ultra-marathon. It’s a long, tough race that takes five days …continue reading »
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11/08/07
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Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century
Just when you think the internet might have actually overlooked a thing or two, you stumble across something like this: Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century. And don’t forget the subhead: A Daily Celebration of The Golden Age of Upper Lip …continue reading »
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11/08/07
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Travelling In America, Where Everyone’s A Suspect
Filed “we gotta get out of this place.” Here’s the story of what it’s like to be a foreign traveller visiting the United States. Contrasting this with my own experiences abroad is downright frightening. Nepal, for instance, may have a …continue reading »
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10/17/07
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Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
Micro-lending is something I’ve posted about before, but lately I’ve been considering actually doing it. It interests me because its a chance to invest in something on the community scale. Investing in large corporations makes me uncomfortable on a number …continue reading »
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10/17/07
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Vanishing Point: How to Disappear in America Without a Trace
This is by far the most comprehensive, paranoid and occasionally illegal guide to disappearing I’ve ever run across, but it speaks to the extreme lengths one might have to go to “live off the grid” as it were, in modern …continue reading »
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09/23/07
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Life Before Air Conditioning
Having spent the seven of the last ten years in the American south, where summer is a sweltering miserable nightmare, I’ve given quite a lot of thought to heat, air-conditioning and the impacts both have had on the local culture. …continue reading »
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09/18/07
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Big Brother is Watching us All
There’s a line in the quintessentially paranoid film Enemy of the State where Gene Hackman’s character suggests that all the technology being used to track Will Smith’s characheter is nothing, antiquated, compared to what could be used. Judging by this …continue reading »
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08/14/07
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Debtor Nation
Great piece in the Harvard Magazine about something that’s always puzzled me… consumerism. I’ve long wondered exactly how American culture can continue to buy and buy and buy, it seems like eventually we’ll run out of stuff to buy and …continue reading »
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08/03/07
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Religion and the Arts in America
Facinating essay by Camille Paglia about the role of religion in culture and art. Rather long and quite of bit of historical background, but well worth the read and generally agree with these last few paragraphs: “For the fine arts …continue reading »
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07/27/07
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Sao Paulo: The City That Said No To Advertising
This sounds too good to be 1, but apparently Sao Paulo Brazil banned all forms of advertising within the city limits. That’s gotta scare the crap out of Google, but it sounds great to me. “A city stripped of advertising. …continue reading »
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07/27/07
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3 Famous Psychology Studies That Would Be Illegal Today
“What happened to the good old days, when a scientist could just rustle together some test subjects and let loose in the lab? You know, without having to worry about petty humane things.. like ethics!” Indeed. And what’s more, who …continue reading »
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06/18/07
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What the World Eats — A Photo Essay
Time has a great photo essay documenting everything that fifteen families from around the world eat in a typical week. The photo essay comes from Peter Menzel’s book Hungry Planet.continue reading »