First Derivative [35]
The Family That Built an Empire of Pain
The north wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a vast, airy enclosure featuring a banked wall of glass and the Temple of Dendur, a sandstone monument that was constructed beside the Nile two millennia ago and transported to the Met, brick by…
Maddening, frustrating, truly disgusting. Harboring gain while spreading pain all while being socially acclaimed—TK
Over the summer of 2011, the water in Lake Michigan turned crystal clear. Shafts of angled light lit the lake bed, like searchlights from a U.F.O.; later, old sunken ships came into view from above. Pleasure was soon replaced by panic: lakes are…
The Issue That Could Lose the Next Election for Democrats
I don't believe it's disputable at this point that the most potent issue behind the rise of the far right in America and Europe is mass immigration. It's a core reason that Trump is now president; it's why the AfD is now the third-biggest party in…
As always, excellent stuff from AS—TK
Big data meets Big Brother as China moves to rate its citizens
On June 14, 2014, the State Council of China published an ominous-sounding document called 'Planning Outline for the Construction of a Social Credit System'. In the way of Chinese policy documents, it was a lengthy and rather dry affair, but it…
Red is the new Black Mirror—TK
Democrats are taking a hard line on immigration - from the left
Democrats are not here to compromise on immigration. Don't be fooled by the much-trumpeted “deal” that President Donald Trump reportedly struck with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi…
great analysis of immigration policy over the past 10 years and the political calculus for Democrats. Referenced in the Sullivan piece—TK
Why Are More American Teenagers Than Ever Suffering From Severe Anxiety?
The disintegration of Jake's life took him by surprise. It happened early in his junior year of high school, while he was taking three Advanced Placement classes, running on his school's cross-country team and traveling to Model United Nations…
'62 percent in 2016 from 50 percent in 2011 — of undergraduates reporting “overwhelming anxiety”
in the previous year.' huge, huge problem and one I've struggled with—TK
Inside Botox's Margin of Error
There's no easy way into Allergan 's Botox laboratories in Irvine, Calif. And once you're inside there's no quick way out. But first things first: Here's a waiver acknowledging that within 18 to 36 hours of entering the secured labs, you could…
The idea of creating a new universe in the lab is no joke
Physicists aren't often reprimanded for using risqué humour in their academic writings, but in 1991 that is exactly what happened to the cosmologist Andrei Linde at Stanford University. He had submitted a draft article entitled ‘Hard…
Trump's Executive Moves Have Strengthened Checks And Balances
Say what you will about Donald Trump — and there's plenty to say — he may be the first president in memory to actively limit his own branch's power. Though far from perfect, on immigration, on funding issues, on international…
Park Chan-wook, the Man Who Put Korean Cinema on the Map
WE'RE AT A BUSY noodle house in the South Korean city of Paju when Park Chan-wook removes two cameras and a digital music player from his bag and lays them…