9 posts tagged with economics.
Displaying 1 through 9 of 9. Subscribe:
Book: The Color of Wealth
The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide
Book: Weapons of Math Destruction
We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives—where we go to school, whether we can get a job or a loan, how much we pay for health insurance—are being made not by humans, but by machines. In theory, this should lead to greater fairness: Everyone is judged according to the same rules.
But as mathematician and data scientist Cathy O’Neil reveals, the mathematical models being used today are unregulated and uncontestable, even when they’re wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination—propping up the lucky, punishing the downtrodden, and undermining our democracy in the process. Welcome to the dark side of Big Data.
Book: The Botanist and the Vintner
In the mid-1860s, grapevines in southeastern France inexplicably began to wither and die. Jules-Émile Planchon, a botanist from Montpellier, was sent to investigate. He discovered that the vine roots were covered in microscopic yellow insects. What they were and where they had come from was a mystery. The infestation advanced with the relentlessness of an invading army and within a few years had spread across Europe, from Portugal to the Crimea. The wine industry was on the brink of disaster. The French government offered a prize of three hundred thousand gold francs for a remedy. Planchon believed he had the answer and set out to prove it.
Gripping and intoxicating, The Botanist and the Vintner brings to life one of the most significant, though little-known, events in the history of wine.
Book: The Revenge of Analog
A funny thing happened on the way to the digital utopia. We've begun to fall back in love with the very analog goods and ideas the tech gurus insisted that we no longer needed. Businesses that once looked outdated, from film photography to brick-and-mortar retail, are now springing with new life. Notebooks, records, and stationery have become cool again. Behold the Revenge of Analog. [more inside]
The Great Beast That is the Global Economy
Wondering if anyone is watching this Amazon Prime documentary show. Hosted by the lovely and talented Kal Penn (Kumar of Harold and, former Obama admin advisor) and written by the author of The Big Short. Good range of topics from money laundering to our dependence on rubber, and a plethora of guest appearances in amusing skits. I would love to have the hive mind help me fangirl over the fun bits and grouse about questions that are raised but not satisfactorily addressed.
Book: Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner?
A funny, clever, and thought-provoking examination of the myth of the "economic man" and its impact on the global economy
How do you get your dinner? That is the basic question of economics. When economist and philosopher Adam Smith proclaimed that all our actions were motivated by self-interest, he used the example of the baker and the butcher as he laid the foundations for 'economic man.' He argued that the baker and butcher didn't give bread and meat out of the goodness of their hearts. It's an ironic point of view coming from a bachelor who lived with his mother for most of his life ― a woman who cooked his dinner every night. [more inside]
Book: Sapiens
From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”
From IndieBound.org.
Movie: Hell or High Water
Two brothers (Chris Pine, Ben Foster) rob small-town banks in Texas. Two Rangers (Jeff Bridges, Gil Birmingham) pursue them. [more inside]
Podcast: NPR: Planet Money Podcast: #647: Hard Work Is Irrelevant
Patty McCord helped create a workplace at Netflix that runs more like a professional sports team than a family. If you're not up to scratch, you're off the team. Is this the future of work?
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