Not everyone cares how they look. But if you’re going to use a skin cream to reduce wrinkles or blemishes, at least review the medical literature and then get one with retinol (and also sunscreen…

Modern speed-reading app for iPad that costs under $10. I’ve gotten a 40% boost in reading speed (339wpm -> 473wpm) over the past month. Speed reading software is so much better now than it…

Double Dynamo for iPhone and iPad New N-Back game for iOS launching today. 67% off for early adoptors. Actually looks fun to play. And of course this was written by a Less Wronger. See…

At premiere of film about his life, physicist says it’s theoretically possible to copy brain on to computer to provide life after death. Correct. See on www.theguardian.com

Why does public conflict over societal risks persist in the face of compelling and widely accessible scientific evidence? “Where reliance on low-effort heuristic reasoning suggested an inference that was affirming of their political outlooks,…

“Economists’ consensus estimate is that open borders would roughly double world GDP, enough to virtually eliminate global poverty.” (Clemens 2011) Of course 2x world GDP *could* eliminate global poverty. But is there any evidence…

US policy makers must have created awesome bioterrorism protection for us in the last decade, given how it’s a lurking Great Filter AND an insanely popular issue with voters. Nope. Policy makers haven’t even…

Bioterrorism and the Fermi Paradox 1) Space travel requires very large populations (for the wealth)2) With reasonably powerful computers (to engineer precise enough rockets)3) [2] implies the ability to rapidly reverse-engineer the populations’ genetics4)…

47% of jobs susceptible to computerization in next 10-20 years. Methodology is more sophisticated than I would have expected. Props to Oxford for the interesting study. And thanks for the news that my career…

What if we could enhance our vision without need for any device at all? What if all we needed was a pill?  WWII-era naval experiment hints that humans can expand their vision into the…

A terrifying psychological horror game inspired by the developer’s battle with mental illness. Explore nightmares! Branching narrative! Cathartic — Programming a psychological horror game called ‘Neverending Nightmares’ inspired by the mental illness you suffer…

Berkeley — one of a handful of cities irrational enough to ban nuclear energy. I mean, nuclear energy only makes up 70% of the non-CO2 emitting electricity in the US. Let’s ban it! The…

Empty your inbox, fast – With an empty inbox, you know everything is under control. No nasty surprises. Never forget to do anything – Turn your emails into tasks with deadlines, then be guided to…

For a while I’ve been considering the costs of putting together large numbers of people.  The cost scales roughly linearly, but sometimes it’s difficult to remember that.  Putting together a mediocre presentation for 3…

“Everyone should take the flu seriously and get the vaccine,” says van Amerongen. “The shots are a safe, inexpensive way to prevent getting sick.” New flu vaccine is available. I got a shot for…

On Sunday, September 29, we’re running a special one-day workshop geared to programmers. From 10am-7pm you’ll be learning some of the techniques that our alumni in your field have found most useful. We’ll be…

Researchers found that in addition to the benefits of recirculation settings, exposures are lower in newer cars, at slower speeds and on arterial roads, where pollutant concentrations are lower than on freeways. According to…

Shadow is an innovative alarm clock that helps you record and remember your dreams. New dream journaling app is about to launch. See on discovershadow.com

Boomerang for Gmail is a plugin for Firefox and Chrome that lets you schedule sending and receiving emails, helping you reach Inbox Zen. This is how I stop worrying about email. See on www.boomeranggmail.com

Let’s quickly figure out if you, the reader, are a Gen Y Protagonist & Special Yuppie.  The Gen Y part is easy—you have to have been born sometime between the late 1970s and the…