Category Archives: This Week I Learned

This Week I Learned: Falconry Edition

Another round of interesting trivia this week: Did you know there are more SIM cards in Africa than in North America? This article is a bit hyperbolic, but provides a good overview nonetheless. And here is an interesting piece on … Continue reading

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This Week I Learned – Genetic Memories & Sheep-Shearing Edition

Nothing earth-shattering this week, but some interesting trivia! A study has found that “behaviour can be affected by events in previous generations which have been passed on through a form of genetic memory”. Interesting stuff, worth the quick read. When … Continue reading

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This Week I Learned: Higher Education Edition

This week’s centrepiece is an analysis (free registration required) with the sobering title, “Graduate data reveal England’s lost and indebted generation“. Two staistics say it all: “The latest class is earning 12% less than their pre-crash counterparts at the same … Continue reading

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This Week I Learned: Lawyers, Pirates, and Musical Elephants Edition

No real unifying theme this week, but some interesting trivia!   To start with, have a look at these charts showing the bifurcation of starting salaries for lawyers in the US. Striking, isn’t it? The accompanying article is here. The … Continue reading

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This Week I Learned – Robotic Dairy Farming, the Reincarnation of Steel, EULAs, And More

One of my pet themes on this blog is innovation, and this week’s standout is a 15-minute TV segment from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (with accompanying transcript) on how dairy farmers are deploying robots, automating their processes, and collecting data … Continue reading

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This Week I Learned: Self-Driving Cars Edition

Self-driving cars have been gathering momentum in the news lately. Last month Nissan announced it would be ready to bring them to the market by 2020, and more recently, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk stated that in the next three … Continue reading

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This Week I Learned – 19 September 2013

Some very interesting articles this week. The highlight is this piece from Bloomberg about elderly Germans finding it more affordable to move to Polish nursing homes. It’s both poignant and thought-provoking; I recommend you give it a look. Still in … Continue reading

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This Week I Learned – 14 September 2013

  The use and misuse of statistics – do left-handed people really die young? Did you know that between 1730 and 1850, the average height of British soldiers actually fell? It seems the Industrial Revolution took a long time to … Continue reading

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This Week I Learned – 8 September 2013

Here is an interesting piece on the geopolitical implications of increased American energy production; worth the free registration. Great podcast discussion of one of the most fascinating women in antiquity, Queen Zenobia of Palmyra. Very good article on robots in … Continue reading

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This Week I Learned #12 – 31 August 2013

An interesting and thought-provoking piece on the automation of work, then and now. Well worth the free registration. David Landes, economic historian, has died. I wrote about one of his (excellent) books here; and here is a great excerpt from … Continue reading

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