Shortlisted: This week’s best links, Issue #94
The power of kindness; an illustrated history of ramen; how people respond to innovation; and 13 more links.
Arts and Culture
The Chef Who Saved My Life (Top pick)
Brett Martin / GQ / 22 mins
On Jacques Pepin, and kindness. Worth your time.
Letter To My Younger Self
Pete Sampras / The Players Tribune / 6 mins
Sampras was my favorite tennis player growing up. Interesting to hear his reflections on fame, rivalries, mentors, and more.
An Illustrated History Of Ramen
Clarissa Wei / First We Feast / 5 mins
How “noodle technology from China” became quintessentially Japanese, and then global.
What Is The Biggest Fuck Up In History?
Reddit
An entertaining thread.
Politics and World Affairs
E.B. White On The Meaning Of Democracy (Top pick)
E.B. White / The New Yorker / 1 min
A short, beautiful letter. Here’s a taste: “Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time.”
Greece
Steve Randy Waldman / Interfluidity / 13 mins
What a mess. The blame that Greece deserves is obvious; this is a vivid and angry look at the blame that European banks and politicians deserve. The chart at the end showing Greek GDP in freefall is crazy.
Everything Is Yours, Everything Is Not Yours
Clemantine Wamariya / Medium / 33 mins
“At age six, I ran away with my sister to escape the Rwandan massacre. We spent seven years as refugees. What do you want me to do about it? Cry?” Reflections on a life that has led the author from Rwanda to Oprah to Yale and beyond. Captivating.
If #LoveWins, Why Are Brands Silent About #BlackLivesMatter?
Alysha Light / Digiday / 3 mins
A good question. Credit to the activists and movement builders who work for years to make it easier for the rest of us to do the right thing.
Business and Economics
Arianna Huffington’s Improbable, Insatiable Content Machine
David Segal / The New York Times / 18 mins
Profile of a controversial and contradictory figure: a media mogul who doesn’t use the web, and a healthy lifestyle advocate whose employees are crushed by work and stress. We need a word for the curious combination of indignation, jealousy, and admiration that Huffington instills.
Empty Stomach, Poor Decisions
David Heinemeier Hansen / 37signals / 1 min
An interesting counter to the narrative that hunger and struggle are the best path to business/startup success.
Purpose Is The New Bottom Line
Casey Gerald / Creative Mornings / 19 mins
An inspiring talk: “There’s no line item on a balance sheet for ‘give a damn,’ but it’s the most valuable thing you’ve got in the business.”
There’s A Device That’s Basically A Dog Car Wash
Allison Bagg / BuzzFeed / 2 mins
I’m tempted to get a dog, just so I can get this brilliant product: the Woof Washer 360.
Science and Technology
How People Respond To Life-Changing Inventions
Jason Kottke / 1 min
Nine steps. We’ve all been there.
A Quick Puzzle To Test Your Problem Solving
David Leonhardt / The New York Times / 5 mins
78 percent of the respondents made a very simple mistake. I won’t say anything more to spoil it…
Major Gaps Between The Public, Scientists On Key Issues
The Pew Research Center / 2 mins
Very interesting set of charts. The biggest gap is on the safety of GMOs; the smallest gaps are on space exploration and fracking. You can also see differences by gender, race, age, education, party ID, and more.
Silicon Valley 101
Tradecraft / Medium / 3 mins
A well-edited collection of links, covering everything from the Valley’s history to a playbook for building web products to an overview of key definitions for VC funding.
Sign up to receive Shortlisted straight to your inbox each Sunday.
