Quote of the day
In finance, there is a concept called intrinsic value. An asset’s value is essentially driven by the (discounted) value of the future cash that asset will generate. A diamond is a depreciating asset masquerading as an investment. Diamonds are not an investment. The market for them is not liquid, and diamonds are not fungible.
~PRICEONOMICS, Everything Is Bullshit: The greatest scams on Earth revealed
HEALTH
Homeopathy doesn’t work. Why are we still buying it?, Big Think | Tweet
Last week, when a large-scale study on the inefficiency of homeopathic medicine was published, proponents of this ‘natural medicine’ threw up their arms in disbelief. Who was sponsoring this study? Big Pharma? How could we deny the brilliance of rainforests and gardens when corporations are shoving synthetic drugs down our throat?
→The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload
THE BRAIN
At what age does your brain peak?, Pacific Standard | Tweet
Intellectual abilities don’t all follow the same trends as we age, according to new research.
→The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
FOOD
Does organic food taste as virtuous if it goes mass market?, WSJ | Tweet
Coke, General Mills, Kellogg woo consumers loyal to higher-priced organic food.
CAREERS
What will you create to make the world awesome?, HBR | Tweet
When you get to a place in life where you’re questioning what the work you are doing — all the hours you’re spending — are ultimately adding up to, you need a process for evaluating what matters most to you.
→Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
DESIGN
Learning to design is learning to see, an adventure that gets more and more captivating the further you go. A love letter to my profession.
ECONOMICS
Diamonds are bullshit, Priceonomics | Tweet
American males enter adulthood through a peculiar rite of passage – they spend most of their savings on a shiny piece of rock. They could invest the money in assets that will compound over time and someday provide a nest egg. Instead, they trade that money for a diamond ring, which isn’t much of an asset at all. As soon as you leave the jeweler with a diamond, it loses over 50% of its value.
→Everything Is Bullshit: The greatest scams on Earth revealed
TECHNOLOGY
You’re distracted. This professor can help, The Chronicle Of Higher Education | Tweet
To complete her homework assignment, Meran Hill needed total concentration. The University of Washington senior shut the blinds in her studio apartment. She turned off the music. She took a few deep breaths.Then she plunged into the task: Spend 15 minutes doing e-mail. Only e-mail, and nothing else.
→Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other
→Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World
STARTUPS
13 Things you think your startup needs but it really doesn’t, Fast Company | Tweet
You can leave these nonessentials off your startup shopping list.
→Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
WRITING
Character talents and skills: Talking with the dead, Writers Helping Writers | Tweet
As writers, we want to make our characters as unique and interesting as possible. One way to do this is to give your character a special skill or talent that sets him apart from other people.
→The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Attributes 
An inside look at Law and Lawyers: 5 tips for authors, Live Write Thrive | Tweet
The Old Bard tapped into something primal about fiction: we lawyers are a very entertaining bunch. This is especially true in the United States, given our unique devotion to the jury system. I have been a trial attorney for a long time, running the gamut from handling murder cases to dealing with defendants who were arrested for spitting on the sidewalk, and everything in between.