Category Archives: This Week I Learned

Aussie sea snails travel 5,000 miles to China’s dining tables. An obituary of Darrell Winfield, Marlboro Man.

Driverless mining trucks in Western Australia. A somewhat long-winded but nonetheless interesting article on passwords. McDonalds in India: cultural and culinary exchange. 3D printing clothes at home.

Passing off McNuggets (successfully) as haute causine. The signature skills of big cities, based on LinkedIn data. Some interesting highlights – did you know that entertainment pips finance in London? Goldfish trivia. Wildlife Photographers of the Year.

Breaking a drought of non-fiction reading, I’ve started on Francis’ Fukuyama’s The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution (2011). This is part 1 of his history of the evolution of government – the second volume (released … Continue reading →

If there’s one theme this week, it’s innovation –  MacGyver-style “doing more with less” (lamps made from a bottle of water); amusing gimmickry (giant soft toys + cafe = win); and the biases that, depressingly, extend to funding innovation. Read … Continue reading →

I’m reading Ian Morris’ War: What Is It Good For?, a big-picture world history with a rather startling thesis. However, as with Morris’ earlier book, the excellent Why The West Rules — For Now, the real highlight isn’t the thesis … Continue reading →

From time to time I see old articles doing the rounds, and one of them is the remarkable story of the only woman to serve in the French Foreign Legion. On a related note, consider this meal. Starter: Deer terrine. … Continue reading →

I have just one link this week, but it’s a good one — about the geographic origin of notable Americans (as defined by Wikipedia). Enjoy!

Well, I’m updating this less frequently than I thought I would, but the bright side is that gives me time to cherry-pick the very best links! Today’s crop are all great:   Here is an excellent interview with Bill Gates, … Continue reading →

And we’re back! Some great stories have come through since my last update:   Japan’s ageing society is well known — this is how it copes. Great look at some of the individuals behind the numbers, from a retired headmaster … Continue reading →