Clipboard Brief: #5

Some interesting things I came across recently —

1. How Aristotle Created the Computer (The Atlantic)
   In a telling exposition, Chris Dixon traces the evolution of computer science back to the development of mathematical logic. He acknowledges the role of philosophers and logicians in writing the original script for what he calls “a fitting second act to the story of computers”. Excerpt: “Logic began as a way to understand the laws of thought. It then helped create machines that could reason according to the rules of deductive logic. Today, deductive and inductive logic are being combined to create machines that both reason and learn”.
2. The Quiet German (The New Yorker Archives)
   Describing her as the most successful politician in modern German history, this profile of Chancellor Angela Merkel takes the reader through her extraordinary political rise to the Federal Chancellery. She is considered to be analytical, emotionally detached, cautious, patient, strong-willed, disciplined and tough— personal qualities that act as political strengths. The article suggests that she “approaches problems methodically, drawing comparisons, running scenarios, weighing risks, anticipating reactions, and then, even after making a decision, lets it sit for a while before acting”.
3. How Much Europe Can Europe Tolerate? (Project Syndicate)
   Responding to a new white paper on the future of Europe by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, economist Dani Rodrik lays down the central challenge confronting EU — “If European democracies are to regain their health, economic and political integration cannot remain out of sync. Either political integration catches up with economic integration, or economic integration needs to be scaled back”. Retrospectively, he also proffers an alternative — a common social model pursued alongside the single-market agenda could have slowed down the pace and scope of (economic) integration.
4. ‘London Bridge is Down’ (The Guardian)
   The Palace has a plan and someone has gone to great lengths to find out what it is.
5. The Business World’s Most Aggressive Bet (The Economist)
   Almost 200 days since its launch, Jio still seems like the business world’s most aggressive bet. With 100 million customers in six months, Jio has an acquisition rate that is perhaps rivalled only by Facebook. But unlike Facebook which invested about $10 per user, for every customer that Jio might eventually win, it will have invested about $100. At first it seemed unlikely that heavily indebted incumbents in India’s telecom sector will be able to take on the price war triggered by Mr Ambani. But recent developments indicate that the battles have just begun. Jio has not specified a timeframe for reaching its financial targets — premised on explosive growth in data. But it’s clear that it will have to pursue a simultaneous strategy of increasing its customer base and average revenue per user (ARPU).

One additional source and a world map —

1. I remember being a little sad when the Anglo-French Concorde completed it’s final supersonic flight in 2003. It was one of the only two supersonic transport aircraft to enter commercial service, the other being the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144.
   So I was delighted to find out that a team of engineers and pilots at Boom Supersonic — pursuing their goal of routine supersonic flight — is just a year away from taking to the skies.

Boom - Supersonic Passenger Airplanes

A Cold War-era cartographic representation of American preoccupation with the Soviets. (Source: Process History)