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☆ I saw the northern lights during the historic solar storm. I was surprised by how misleading the photos are.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewI saw the northern lights glowing in the California skies last weekend — but just barely. Over the weekend, this solar activity brought the northern lights south, as far as Arkansas, and gave us a rare chance to see it in California. That's when we knew we were seeing the northern lights. My first solid glimpse of the northern lights came through my iPhone camera. AdvertisementWhy photos make the northern lights look more colorful than they areThe skies looked fully pink in my photos.

Persons: —, Morgan McFall, Johnsen, San Francisco —, Dan Bartlett, Maria Walach, auroras, Bartlett, I'm Organizations: Service, Business, Mount, State Park, Lancaster University Locations: California, Arkansas, San Francisco, Lake , California, Yosemite

☆ Coups and Climate Change in the African Sahel - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

On the time scale of human civilization, this might still be true, particularly when it comes to interpersonal violence. But on the time scale of human memory, it isn’t true any longer, particularly when it comes to warfare. By some measures, it’s more conflict ridden than at any point since the end of World War II. Nonstate violence — conflict between nongovernmental armed groups, such as gangs — has more than tripled, according to Sweden’s Uppsala Conflict Data Program, since a low point in 2007. In 2011, when Pinker published “Better Angels,” there were nearly 40,000 deaths from warfare worldwide, Uppsala estimates.

Persons: Steven Pinker’s, ”, —, Pinker Organizations: International Institute for Strategic Studies, Survey Locations: London, Sahel, Uppsala

☆ Charlie Munger made billions for Berkshire Hathaway, but he made investing mistakes too
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But Munger made mistakes too, and cited Alibaba and Belridge Oil as two of his biggest investing errors. AdvertisementLegendary investor Charlie Munger was a shrewd investor who helped Berkshire Hathaway make billions. Here are the mistakes Munger has admitted to:Alibaba was 'one of the worst mistakes' Munger madeMunger's Daily Journal quadrupled its holding of Alibaba stock in the third quarter of 2021. Oil giant Shell acquired Belridge Oil in 1979 for about 30 times the price Munger had paid for the company's shares. "But I would have had twice as many billions if I'd just made a different decision about Belridge Oil."

Persons: Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway, Munger, —, Munger —, Pinker, Alibaba, Jack Ma, they're Organizations: Service, Berkshire, Munger's Daily, Daily, Oil Munger, Belridge, Shell, Belridge Oil Locations: Berkshire, California, Munger's

☆ Technology - The Latest Tech News, AI, Personal Tech, iPhone and Android Coverage and More
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Shubham Agarwal | Susan Pinker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Sam Altman has returned and the company is to expand its board and explore governance changes, but who won and who lost in its new power structure? 12 hours ago 7 min read

Persons: Sam Altman

☆ Does Working With Robots Make Humans Slack Off?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Susan Pinker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Robots can perform surgery, shampoo someone’s hair, read a mammogram and, of course, drive a car. A chatbot could probably write my column, if I let it. Now that machines can do nearly everything humans do, the question is what effect they have on human motivation. Do they make our lives easier and more efficient, or do they turn us into slackers? Anyone who has worked in a team knows that one or two people usually carry the load while the others sit back and watch; researchers call this “social loafing.” It turns out that people treat robots the same way.

Organizations: Robotics

Tiny but bountiful, Antarctic krill make up one of the planet’s largest biomasses, nourishing everything from fish to marine mammals and seabirds. At Steinberg’s lab, researchers are examining how warming oceans — Antarctic krill need water colder than 4 degrees Celsius (39 Fahrenheit) to survive — are altering krill’s life cycle. However, a leading marine biologist the industry once relied on to burnish its environmental credentials has since denounced krill fishing. She accepted with the hope that she could help mitigate the effects of krill fishing on the Antarctic ecosystem. Today, she believes that krill fishing should be banned.

Persons: “ What’s, ”, Alistair Allan, Bob, it’s, Santa Cruz, Deborah Steinberg’s, ” Steinberg, Emma Cavan, Steinberg, Claire Christian, “ It’s, aren’t, Dirk Welsford, Matts Johansen, ” Johansen, Kjell Inge Røkke, Brett Glencross, “, Jesse Trushenski, Trushenski, Johansen, William Harris, he’s, Javier Arata, Helena Herr, CCAMLR, Ari Friedlaender, ” Friedlaender, Peter Hammarstedt, JoNel, Helen Wieffering, Fu Ting Organizations: Bob Brown Foundation, Soviet Union, Associated Press, Shepherd, Walton Family Foundation, AP, University of California, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, World Wildlife Fund, Imperial College London, Commission, Conservation, Antarctic Marine Living Resources, Antarctic, Southern Ocean Coalition, U.S, United Nations, Antarctic Provider, Aker BioMarine, Aker, Aker ASA, National Institutes of Health, University of South, Association, Pew, University of Hamburg, Foods, Amazon, Wildlife Fund, LCA, Sea Shepherd, Washington , D.C Locations: Antarctica, Chilean, Alaska, U.S, Soviet, Russia, China, South America, Orkney, Norwegian, Santa, Cavan, Tasmania, It’s, Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Texas, Australian, Montevideo, Uruguay, dwarfing, Norway, American, Europe, Canada, Australia, Houston, Aker, Oslo, Brussels, Boise , Idaho, University of South Dakota, Salt Lake City , Utah, Santa Cruz, Virginia, Peruvian, Ski, Los Angeles, Washington ,, Investigative@ap.org

☆ The Long-Term Benefits of Hands-On Fathering
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Susan Pinker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/the-long-term-benefits-of-hands-on-fathering-cd3e8cb2

Persons: Dow Jones, cd3e8cb2

☆ Opinion | Behold the Free Speech Chutzpah of the Republican Party
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Thomas B. Edsall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

One of the underlying issues in the free speech debate is the unequal distribution of power. Frymer suggested that ultimatelyWe can’t consider free speech without at least some understanding of power. We can’t assume in all contexts that the truth will ever come out; unregulated speech does not mean free speech. The framing in the current debate over free speech and the First Amendment, Post contends, is dangerously off-kilter. Post makes the case that there is “a widespread tendency to conceptualize the problem as one of free speech.

Persons: Steven Pinker, Biden, “, —, Paul Frymer, Frymer, I’m, Robert C, Post Organizations: Harvard, Freedom, University, Republicans, Washington Post, Trump, Yale Locations: “, Princeton

☆ The Saving Reach of Social Connections
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Susan Pinker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-saving-reach-of-social-connections-a81c7b41

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' are both about death
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In their shared opening weekend, "Barbie" and' "Oppenheimer" have been breaking box office records. In box office-shattering numbers, people flocked to the theaters for the premieres of Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" and Greta Gerwig's "Barbie". Life in plastic, not so fantasticIn what is now a viral meme, Barbie begins having incessant thoughts of death early on in the film, mid-dance sequence. 'Death, the destroyer of worlds'Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in "Oppenheimer." Universal PicturesIt's easier to understand what "Oppenheimer" has to do with death.

Persons: Barbie, Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan's, Greta Gerwig's, pinker, Mari Faines, Robert Oppenheimer, we're, Ruth Handler, Murphy, J, Albert Einstein, Einstein, Daniel Uhlfelder, you've, — we've, Faines, We're Organizations: Service, Global, Manhattan Project, Pictures Locations: Wall, Silicon, Florida, Russia

☆ Cannabis Is Linked to Mental Illness
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Susan Pinker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/cannabis-is-linked-to-mental-illness-e8d1db54

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Yes, you should have children, even in the face of climate change!
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Henry Blodget | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A would-be parent asks whether it's selfish to have children today because the world's going to hell. "The Ethicist" (Kwame Anthony Appiah) provides a long, thoughtful response to this question that boils down to, "yes." And, therefore, it might be mean or selfish or irresponsible for would-be parents to bring children into the world. But more importantly, despite climate change, et al, the world actually isn't worse than it has ever been. So, yes, worried would-be parents, by all means have children.

Persons: —, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Kwame's, it's, Steven Pinker, we've, That's, maiming Organizations: Service, New York Times, Harvard University Locations: York

☆ This Sweet-Tart Roasted Salmon Is Ready in No Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Melissa Clark | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It’s easy to forget that rhubarb is a vegetable. Much of the time, you’ll find it buried, like a fruit, under an avalanche of sugar baked into a pie, crumble or cake, or maybe simmered into a compote. With a bracing acidity reminiscent of citrus or pomegranate and no pesky seeds, it lends brightness and tang to all sorts of savory dishes. It also adds body, cooking down into a thick sauce with a soft, pulpy texture much like tomato (an actual fruit), though sharper and pinker. Think vinegar, but with precision and finesse.

Persons: pinker

☆ Opinion | Why Trump Won’t Let Go of His Dream of Domination
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Thomas B. Edsall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Once early humans had developed spears, Haidt continues,anyone could kill a bullying alpha male. Anything that suggests the aggressive, controlling behavior of an alpha male (or female) can trigger this form of righteous anger, which is sometimes called reactance. In democracies, voters, on average, favor the taller candidate and often crave a “strong leader." They might ostracize him (the alpha male) but mostly they assassinate him. As far as “coercive alpha males" go, Trump is a bully, as demonstrated by his treatment both of competitors for the nomination in 2016 and of Gov.

☆ The Power of a Good Neighborhood
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Susan Pinker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Illustration: Thomas WalentaPsychologist Susan Pinker explores new discoveries in the science of human nature. Read previous columns here. Sociologists have long known that growing up surrounded by poverty is corrosive for a child’s life chances. The 2020 book “The Origins of You: How Childhood Shapes Later Life,” written by a team of four developmental psychologists, showed that children who grow up in disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to remain antisocial and badly behaved when they get older, while their peers in better neighborhoods mature and stop acting out. This is especially true of boys.

☆ Exercise Can Be the Best Antidepressant
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Susan Pinker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Psychologist Susan Pinker explores new discoveries in the science of human nature. Read previous columns here. One of the highlights of my pandemic workweek was the Zoom workout I did with a dozen fellow swimmers once we lost access to our pool. Most aspects of my life were upended, but the 7:45 a.m. home exercise session was a constant: a warm-up, two sets of resistance exercises designed by our loyal coach, then stretching and gabbing. None of us wanted to give up this routine when restrictions eased, and we’re still at it.

☆ Stop complaining, says billionaire investor Charlie Munger: 'Everybody's five times better off than they used to be'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Billionaire Charlie Munger thinks we should all be a lot happier. During that annual meeting, Munger complained that envy is a driving factor for too many people today. In 2019, Munger downplayed the effects of wealth and income inequality, and claimed that the politicians who were "screaming about it are idiots." At the Daily Journal's annual meeting this year, he added that most people's concerns over wealth inequality and criticisms of the extremely wealthy were "motivated" by envy. Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletterDon't miss: Billionaire investor Charlie Munger: ‘The world is not driven by greed, it’s driven by envy’

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