Things I’ve been reading: 27th December 2020

December 27, 2020 Reading

The Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News and Analysis

Ad Coronavirus An EMT pauses while loading a stretcher back into an ambulance after dropping off a patient at a coronavirus field hospital operated by Care New England in Cranston, R.I.
48358 words
https://www.washingtonpost.com/

What are Liberating Structures?

Liberating Structures are a selection of 33 alternative structures for facilitating meetings and conversations, curated by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless.
1273 words
https://medium.com/@reimaginaire/what-are-liberating-structures-de6f6d14c2c8

Something Weird Happened to Men 7,000 Years Ago, And We Finally Know Why

Around 7,000 years ago – all the way back in the Neolithic – something really peculiar happened to human genetic diversity.
765 words
https://www.sciencealert.com/neolithic-y-chromosome-bottleneck-warring-patrilineal-clans

Harmonious Working Patterns?

Rewriting the story of human collaboration! (Pt 2. — Analog) Life is music, you don’t go to a concert to hear the last crash cymbal and leave, you go for the experience and enjoy a dance or you’ve missed the point¹.
1052 words
https://medium.com/@joshafairhead/harmonious-working-patterns-2788d1523106

This is How a Society Dies

When I ask my European friends to describe us — Americans, Brits, who I’ll call Anglo-Americans in this essay — they shake their heads gently. And over and over, three themes emerge. They say we’re a little thoughtless. They say we’re selfish and arrogant.
2317 words
https://eand.co/this-is-how-a-society-dies-35bdc3c0b854

Having Kids

Before I had kids, I was afraid of having kids. Up to that point I felt about kids the way the young Augustine felt about living virtuously. I’d have been sad to think I’d never have children. But did I want them now? No.
1524 words
https://www.paulgraham.com/kids.html

Could Air-Conditioning Fix Climate Change?

Researchers proposed a carbon-neutral “synthetic oil well” on every rooftop.
1288 words
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/could-air-conditioning-fix-climate-change

If Hong Kong had enacted national security laws on its own, Beijing wouldn’t be stepping in

Countries everywhere have laws protecting national security, and the duty of citizens to safeguard their country’s interests is generally acknowledged. National security, moreover, is of such importance that it is invariably legislated for by national parliaments.
1024 words
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3086440/if-hong-kong-had-enacted-national-security-laws-its-own-beijing

Pentagon War Game Includes Scenario for Military Response to Domestic Gen Z Rebellion

In the face of protests composed largely of young people, the presence of America’s military on the streets of major cities has been a controversial development. But this isn’t the first time that Generation Z — those born after 1996 — has popped up on the Pentagon’s radar.
905 words
https://theintercept.com/2020/06/05/pentagon-war-game-gen-z/

The Post-Pandemic Social Contract

While many recent proposals for reforming capitalism would substantially change the way our economies operate, they do not fundamentally alter the narrative about how market economies should work; nor do they represent a radical departure for economic policy.
1029 words
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/new-social-contract-must-target-good-job-creation-by-dani-rodrik-and-stefanie-stantcheva-2020-06

Is There Still Room for Debate?

In the last couple of weeks, as the purges of alleged racists have intensified in every sphere, and as so many corporations, associations, and all manner of civic institutions have openly pledged allegiance to anti-racism, with all the workshops, books, and lectures that come with it, I’m reminded
2789 words
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/andrew-sullivan-is-there-still-room-for-debate.html

Holly Jean Buck: How to Decolonize the Atmosphere

Carbon removal is a fundamental part of our decarbonization and decolonization efforts. Holly Jean Buck offers a blueprint of an international Green New Deal that redresses the colonial imprint of First World nations’ carbon emissions. Authors Holly Jean Buck Published 22.06.
60 words
https://progressive.international/blueprint/46253391-5b3d-4e68-bd3f-d53dc54180fd-holly-jean-buck-how-to-decolonize-the-atmosphere/en

Virtual activists

Passionate Gen Zers are finding ways to host protests in the digital world. As the strain of the pandemic curbed mass gatherings, community events and other meeting occasions of the public, protestors began finding new ways to continue their demonstrations in the digital world.
676 words
https://intelligence.wundermanthompson.com/2020/06/virtual-activists/

Green investing has shortcomings

THE FINANCIAL industry reflects society, but it can change society, too. One question is the role it might play in decarbonising the economy.
657 words
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/06/20/green-investing-has-shortcomings

The Female Narcissist

As a seasoned therapist in NYC specializing in treating survivors of complex trauma and a subset of relational trauma known as narcissistic abuse syndrome, I encounter men and women who enter treatment baffled by the damage incurred by a female narcissist. Being certified in Dr.
1570 words
https://medium.com/invisible-illness/the-female-narcissist-15571f905bf

COVID-19 Is Transmitted Through Aerosols. We Have Enough Evidence, Now It Is Time to Act

Many months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the coronavirus is still spreading uncontrolled through the U.S. Public health authorities including the U.S.
2217 words
https://time.com/5883081/covid-19-transmitted-aerosols/

Bill Gates’ nuclear venture plans reactor to complement solar, wind power boom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A nuclear energy venture founded by Bill Gates said Thursday it hopes to build small advanced nuclear power stations that can store electricity to supplement grids increasingly supplied by intermittent sources like solar and wind power.
479 words
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclearpower-terrapower-idUSKBN25N2U8

What’s causing climate change, in 10 charts

Different ways of looking at the problem. With heat waves, wildfires, intense hurricanes, and other extreme weather events in the headlines, the ravages of climate change have become undeniable and unavoidable. Who or what is responsible for this?
1136 words
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/21428525/climate-change-west-coast-fires-cause-charts