to Career Past Now

Funny laws and unlikely examples of best practices in compliance. New fields of study that apply principles of hard sciences to economics and policy gives rise to. Crises in economics and technology that are making law more accessible. Gender biases in the practice of law. Essential but light economics reading.

© 2020 Tanay and Sach

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Film quote, presumed under Fair Use: The voice of Gregory Peck from To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Atticus Finch addresses the jury on the obvious inequalities in the US justice system.

Coins icon by ultimatearm.

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Links:

The Origin of Left and Right in Politics 

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2014/02/the-great-debate-by-yuval-levin-review/

‘Things’ used to be laws!

https://www.etymonline.com/word/thing

As other countries of the world banned plastic, Michigan went another way. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/30/yes-this-is-real-michigan-just-banned-banning-plastic-bags/

You might have broken the law when you had that drink last night. 

https://www.bloombergquint.com/law-and-policy/in-maharashtra-serving-liquor-at-home-can-get-you-arrested-heres-how-to-avoid-that

Liability vigilance! British construction firms caution Indian municipalities about bridges they built during the Raj. 

https://www.mid-day.com/articles/bridge-on-mumbai-goa-highway-too-old-uk-government-had-warned-state-government-in-2013/17495198

Peter Turchin predicted that civilization might collapse in 2020! 

https://www.nature.com/articles/463608a

An example of Econophysics

http://www.pnas.org/content/106/26/10570

Paul Romer and Jean Tirole on the problems in their discipline 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/19/its-time-to-junk-the-flawed-economic-models-that-make-the-world-a-dangerous-place 

The 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics was shared between two economists who disagree on a fundamental question in their discipline.

https://hbr.org/2013/10/what-the-great-fama-shiller-debate-has-taught-us

Even at the Supreme Court, women lawyers get interrupted far more than male counterparts. 

https://psmag.com/social-justice/female-lawyers-are-interrupted-more-frequently

Ditto the justices!

https://hbr.org/2017/04/female-supreme-court-justices-are-interrupted-more-by-male-justices-and-advocates

A GitHub repository of the entire German code of law, uploaded by a German citizen 

https://github.com/bundestag/gesetze

Book recommendations:

The Undercover Economist : https://www.amazon.in/Undercover-Economist-Tim-Harford/dp/0349119856

Economics Rules: https://www.amazon.in/Economics-Rules-Rights-Wrongs-Science/dp/0393246418

Core-Econ: https://www.core-econ.org/

Are scientists fallible? Is science? Contributions of forgotten scientists of the past and of #WomeninScience in the future. The funny side of science and engineering. Some of the challenges facing how science progresses and some of the new projects trying to address them. Profiles of labs knitting the future and stories from scientists at work.

© 2020 Tanay and Sach

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Film quote, presumed under Fair Use: Voices of Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern from Jurassic Park (1992). Dr. Ian Malcolm and Dr. Ellie Sattler on a  tour of the island, musing aloud their thoughts on humans toying with nature.

Telescope icon by icongeek26.

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Links:

Steam-power is 2000 years old

https://www.britannica.com/technology/aeolipile

‘Algorithms’ come from Uzbekistan

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/91544/how-algorithm-got-its-name

Iraqis were among the first scientists in today’s sense

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7810846.stm

When they blew smoke up you to save you from drowning

https://gizmodo.com/blowing-smoke-up-your-ass-used-to-be-literal-1578620709

Stonehenge building not such a mystery

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/05/23/stonehenge-wasnt-so-hard-to-build-after-all-archaeologists-disco/

The real housewives of the Enlightenment

https://www.nature.com/scitable/forums/women-in-science/ever-heard-of-marie-anne-lavoisier-58817208/

https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Library-and-Information-Services/Exhibitions/Women-and-Geology/Mary-Buckland

Some of Newton’s more dubious thoughts

https://listverse.com/2018/07/26/10-strange-stories-from-isaac-newtons-descent-into-madness/

Some of Einstein's more dubious thoughts

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/world/einstein-travel-diaries.html

Trying to avoid all GMO food? Might be harder than you thought.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/05/05/404198552/natural-gmo-sweet-potato-genetically-modified-8-000-years-ago

Who’s paying for this research?

https://listverse.com/2019/01/18/10-ridiculously-elaborate-scientific-studies-no-one-asked-for/

When not to trust experts

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/unknown-unknowns-the-problem-of-hypocognition/

Responses to crises in science publication

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-017-07325-2

Goodbye to animal testing!

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190122-how-bodies-on-a-chip-can-transform-animal-welfare

Insects inspire the best robots

https://www.technologyreview.com/f/613886/robot-bee-solar-powered-flying-drones/

Why Russia has more women in science than common in the West

https://qz.com/1746284/socialist-countries-employ-more-women-in-math-and-science/

Story Collider podcast

http://StoryCollider.org

One of the best Twitter handles in Science

https://www.statnews.com/2019/04/15/in-mice-twitter-account-hype-science-reporting/

Astrobiology with Neil De Grasse Tyson and Richard Dawkins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RExQFZzHXQ

Profile of Berkeley rock star scientist Dr. Jennifer Doudna

https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/jennifer-doudna

One of the cooler labs out there

https://media.mit.edu

Though the modern computer and internet are relatively recent inventions, the importance of maintaining data and the power that comes with it was not lost on our ancestors. A surprising source of inspiration for the creation of the world-wide web. On a lighter note, how petroleum jelly is essential for internet access and on a sombre one, how the internet is changing for the better and the worse.

© 2020 Tanay and Sach

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TV quote, presumed under Fair Use: The voice of Thomas Middleditch from Silicon Valley. Richard Hendricks gives an impassioned testimony to the US Congress.

Computer icon from Smashicons.

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Links:

First, erratum: earliest programmable device was an Iraqi flute in 9th century, not a French loom in the 18th.

http://historymesh.com/object/automatic-flute-player/

One of the very first demographic databases:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30725-X/fulltext

Florence Nightingale was a data wiz!

https://understandinguncertainty.org/coxcombs

The map that the other John Snow’s made against a mortal threat:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/mar/15/john-snow-cholera-map

The link from British colonisation of India to the loom that inspired computers, A PhD dissertation at Maastricht University:

https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/4083287/c5295.pdf 

Petroleum jelly protects your face and deep sea cables!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve810FHZ1CQ

The looming Balkanization of the internet:

https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/05/24/239073/trumps-feud-with-huawei-and-china-could-lead-to-the-balkanization-of-tech/

The decentralised internet from HBO’s Silicon Valley might soon be a reality.

https://www.wired.com/2017/06/pied-pipers-new-internet-isnt-just-possible-almost/

The computer game that runs more websites than a (specific) country:

https://www.cnet.com/news/north-korea-accidentally-allows-international-access-to-its-28-websites/

Counterpoint to the Target story in our Marketing episode. Tesco sets an example:

https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/05/17/239101/grocery-bills-can-predict-diabetes-rates-by-neighborhood/

Blockchain and sex:

https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2018/08/30/the-promise-of-the-blockchain-technology

Progress in translating the language of the brain (recognising faces):

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-we-save-face-researchers-crack-the-brains-facial-recognition-code/

Your child’s ‘external hard disk’ at the office could be ‘alive’!

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dna-data-storage-is-closer-than-you-think/

Full circle from jacquard looms... knitting is like coding:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/17/science/math-physics-knitting-matsumoto.html

Tips to incorporate sound into UI, UX design projects:

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2019/05/future-design-voice-prototypes/

Profile of Dr. Barbara McGillivray, a computational linguist:

https://www.mmll.cam.ac.uk/bm517

Who’s the greatest musician (/painter/actor/writer) of all time? Hard numbers. 

https://www.pantheon.media.mit.edu

The idea of delicacy varies, but is the range wider across time or across geography today? You’ll find it hard to decide when you hear of some popular foods in history and abroad. And where are creative chefs looking for inspiration with ingredients and recipes? New kinds of experiences in dining, the impact of technology on hospitality, and of course, advances in sustainability of the industry.

© 2020 Tanay and Sach

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Film quote: the voices of Helen Mirren and Om Puri from The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014). Star chef neighbours spar over cultural differences in the defining good cuisine.

Dish icon from Pause08.

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Links:

The very first dinner party

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19376-tortoise-banquet-remains-of-the-oldest-feast-found/

A very presidential club with a nearly-extinct menu

https://www.saveur.com/history-of-turtle-soup-hunting/

Popular foods once weren’t

https://www.history.com/news/once-forbidden-foods

Ketchup was once a medicine

https://www.fastcompany.com/1673352/how-500-years-of-weird-condiment-history-designed-the-heinz-ketchup-bottle

In Japan, chillies first went into socks

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2015/07/17/food/history-vegetable-hated-japanese-children/

‘Hawaiian’ pizza?

http://time.com/4814056/hawaiian-pizza-pineapple-sam-panopoulos-death/

World’s cheapest Michelin-starred meal

https://www.businessinsider.in/RANKED-The-50-cheapest-Michelin-starred-meals-in-the-world/articleshow/66005549.cms

Experiential dining: Ukraine style

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/world/city-tied-to-masochism-finds-link-painful-sure-but-some-like-it.html

Zero-tolerance coffee

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190402-these-coffee-snobs-ban-milk-and-sugar

Entomophagy is the future!

https://guides.loc.gov/entomophagy/internet-resources

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/whats-stopping-us-from-eating-insects/

Paradigm-challenging foods: China

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-urine-eggs/urine-soaked-eggs-a-spring-taste-treat-in-china-city-idUSBRE82S0EE20120329

Paradigm-challenging foods: France (Foie gras is not their cruelest dish.)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/11101187/Ortolans-could-Frances-cruellest-food-be-back-on-the-menu.html

How green is your cafe? A paper cup grown on trees!

https://www.dezeen.com/2018/07/31/creme-creates-sustainable-plastic-cup-alternative-from-gourds/

Brazilian chef bringing indigious foods to fine dining tables

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/world/daring-fare-from-the-amazons-mouth-to-yours.html

Foraging for fine dining

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-Y6cJvIQwY 

Fighting unhealthy eating at the restaurant itself

https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0224

A business promoting Home chefs

https://www.authenticook.com/

What was that very first ad for? What medium saw the first product placement? A look at some funny fails since the Mad Men era and archaic mores once seen in ads. Challenges in the content industries and emerging opportunities for them in voice and video. Marketing trends from China and beyond.

© 2020 Tanay and Sach

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TV quote, presumed under Fair Use: Voice of John Hamm from Mad Men. Don Draper expounds his advertising philosophy.

Advertising icon by Eucalyp.

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Links:

What was the oldest ad for?

https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/murals-pompeiis-brothel-showcase-sex-lives-ancient-romans/ 

Spam in the 15th century

https://medievalbooks.nl/2014/12/05/medieval-spam-the-oldest-advertisements-for-books/ 

Subliminal advertising is as old as professional advertising firms!

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30878843

History of product placement in films

https://www.fastcompany.com/3044049/why-you-bought-those-reeses-pieces-a-history-of-product-placement-in-movies

Flights that barred women!

https://theweek.com/speedreads/557710/united-airlines-used-offer-menonly-flights

The don’ts of advertising

https://hbr.org/2012/03/bad-reviews-can-boost-sales-heres-why

Rockstar pioneers in marketing strategy. No literally.

https://www.businessinsider.com/marketing-tips-from-the-grateful-dead-2010-8

Extreme consumer-needs prediction by Target

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/#3f6b49a26668

Chinese liquor company’s content-based strategy

https://hbr.org/2019/05/what-western-marketers-can-learn-from-china

Product placement or content-based marketing? Rap and beer:

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/breaking-ad-when-hip-hop-first-went-corporate/390930/

BBC’s new voice service:

https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/bbc-news-audio-versions-articles-newfronts-1203200130/

Smart Assistants and their conflict of interest:

https://slate.com/technology/2019/05/alexa-amazon-voice-assistant-conflict-interest-regulation.html

Advertisers among the least trusted:

https://news.gallup.com/poll/224639/nurses-keep-healthy-lead-honest-ethical-profession.aspx

The company with pans for billboards in space:

https://startrocket.me/

Gamification examples

https://medium.com/the-red-fish/7-inspirational-examples-of-gamification-in-experiential-marketing-839b9099a144 

ASMR in commercials!

https://www.cmo.com.au/article/657953/asmr-flash-marketing-pan-something-more/

A wide range of activities has qualified as entertainment through history. And we mean wide. Among those we still enjoy, meta-analyses help explain just what works in this sphere today, and why. Pioneers using technology for innovations that challenge long-held biases, and literally change the way we consume entertainment.

© 2020 Tanay and Sach

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TV quote, presumed under Fair Use: Voices of Julie Kavner and  Nancy Cartwright from The Simpsons. Marge supports Bart's new foray into showbiz. 

Oscar statuette icon from Freepik.

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Links:

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The Hungarian predecessor of the modern rockstar: Franz Liszt

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/lisztomania-19th-century-pop-phenomenon-made-beatlemania-look/

Primer on the Kuleshov Effect, with clips

https://nofilmschool.com/Kuleshov-effect-definition

1991, the year when pop music changed, and the Shazam effect

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2015/05/1991-the-most-important-year-in-music/392642/

Netflix algorithms that customize catalogues

https://netflixtechblog.com/ava-the-art-and-science-of-image-discovery-at-netflix-a442f163af6

John Plant’s Primitive Technology channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAL3JXZSzSm8AlZyD3nQdBA/featured

Why Pokemon Go is so addictive

https://www.wired.com/2016/07/psychology-pokemon-go-gets-inside-brain/

Father surprised disabled son had forged close bonds in online game worlds

https://www.bbc.com/news/disability-47064773

The Makings of a Successful Film

https://phys.org/news/2017-11-explores-movie-successful.html

The Evolutionary family tree of Stories

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0078871

Examples from crowdsourced lexicons to help analyze film scripts (or fictional plots)

https://www.standoutbooks.com/lampshade/

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlotArmor

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Redshirt

“Bisexual lighting”

https://www.vulture.com/2018/02/janelle-mone-steps-into-her-bisexual-lighting.html

Is there a colour palette common to successful films?

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/26/colour-grading-orange-teal-hollywood

Never mind The Voice, music criticism is not as objective as you hoped

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/08/16/1221454110?sid=b8b25559-54b1-481c-9c2d-e6226ae1a4e7

Daniel Radcliffe’s nifty trick to get the paparazzi off his back

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/501844/daniel-radcliffes-clever-trick-evading-paparazzi

Ava Berkofsky, DP correcting decades-long bias in camera and lighting technology

https://www.mic.com/articles/184244/keeping-insecure-lit-hbo-cinematographer-ava-berkofsky-on-properly-lighting-black-faces#.shzAu6F49

AI-authored Harry Potter fan fiction (animated version)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-uDnlGJRdk

Shimon, the marimba-playing robot who can improvise

https://qz.com/689827/moogfest-shimon-music-robot/

Sport has long been one of humankind’s favourite pastimes, but for just how long? From a rather high-stakes Mayan football game to when the Olympics doubled up as an exhibition of surprising range of talents. Some of the thorniest questions in sport and how nuanced data analysis may answer at least a few.

© 2020 Tanay and Sach

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Film quote, presumed under Fair Use: Voices of Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt from Moneyball (2011). Peter Brand makes his pitch to Billy Beane for a new way of drafting a team. 

Basketball icon from Smashicons.

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Links:

Essays, Poetry and Glee singing competitions in the Olympics:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-the-olympics-gave-out-medals-for-art-6878965/

Strychnine used as energy drink in the 1904 Olympics marathon

https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2016/jul/21/the-cocktail-of-poison-and-brandy-that-led-to-olympic-gold-strychnine

Some of earliest balls games were played in Mesoamerica

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/soccer-world-cup-origins-mesoamerica-ball-games-archaeology-science/ 

China’s investments in sports 

https://thebastion.co.in/politics-and/sports/the-dragons-growing-might-chinas-big-bet-on-sports/

Why Egypt produces so many squash champions

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/why-egypt-crushes-at-squash/383062/

Origin of the word ‘badminton’

https://scroll.in/video/830040/watch-the-time-when-badminton-was-called-poona

Tennis was close to being called ‘sphairistike’

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/d4437526-3b92-32f4-89a6-bd3c29f296f0

Weightlifting and wrestling hold a special place in Iran

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/the-ancient-roots-of-irans-wrestling-and-weightlifting-olympic-dominance/260919/

Usain Bolt’s fastest 100m run, which is not in the record books

https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/bolt-runs-1435-sec-for-150m-covers-50m-150m-i

Contrary to sexist stereotypes, women are no worse than men, at least in track and field events

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/08/we-thought-female-athletes-were-catching-up-to-men-but-theyre-not/260927/

Tricky legal, ethical questions like those regarding intersex athletes present emerging career options

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47640359

David Epstein’s The Sports Gene

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/22/sports-gene-david-epstein-review

Automated Strike zones in baseball

https://events.sporttechie.com/soti-2019

Publicly listing English football clubs was not a very successful experiment in the 1990s

https://www.economist.com/game-theory/2012/07/12/if-at-first-you-dont-succeed

The diet and lifestyle of a professional e-sports team

https://www.businessinsider.in/Heres-what-life-is-like-in-the-cramped-gaming-house-where-5-guys-live-together-and-earn-amazing-money-by-playing-video-games/articleshow/47164755.cms

Andy Dinh, founder of Team SoloMid

https://www.forbesindia.com/article/cross-border/andy-dinh-the-derek-jeter-of-esports/51647/1

Master’s in Sports History at De Montfort University (DMU)

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/mar/17/ball-watching-through-the-ages-studying-the-history-of-sport

Sports for Development:

Project Khel - https://projectkhel.org/

Dribble Academy - https://pradyutvoleti.com/dribble-academy/

1 Million Hockey Legs - http://onemillionhockeylegssocialprojects.com/

Not just ultra futuristic designs, but also the diversity of old architecture across India. Surprising ancient building materials and reasons for their longevity and cutting edge (ancient) materials. How long do architects intend a design for? If their work lasts 2000 years, it will be put to some creative uses. Why not get creative at the beginning and apply some VR, AR and LIDAR on your next work!

© 2020 Tanay and Sach 

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Film quote, presumed under Fair Use: Voices of Cameron Diaz and Matt Dillon from There's Something About Mary (1998). He claims to be an architect; she takes him to an exhibit as a surprise! 

Golden Gate bridge icon by mynamepong. 

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Links: 

On the mysteries of Roman concrete 

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/07/why-modern-mortar-crumbles-roman-concrete-lasts-millennia 

‘Subtractive building’ (rock temples of India) 

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/in-cave-16-the-kailasa-temple/article24604281.ece 

World’s earliest construction was not for housing but for religion! 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2011/06/gobeki-tepe/ 

Traditional disaster-proof architecture in India 

https://thediplomat.com/2018/08/the-earthquake-proof-huts-of-kutch/ 

NASA looked at Henry VIII’s armour for inspiration! 

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/blog/audio/2009/apr/01/henry-viii 

Modular homes 

https://www.americaninno.com/austin/austin-startup/home-stretch-kasita-has-a-new-ceo-and-plans-to-expand/ 

Container Architecture 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/shipping-container-homes-460309 

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/gallery/2017/apr/23/shipping-container-architecture-in-pictures 

Wooden skyscrapers! 

https://www.wired.com/2017/05/wood-skyscrapers/ 

Additive ‘temples’ 

https://www.fastcompany.com/90109358/this-is-the-most-complex-architectural-structure-in-history 

Casa Brutale 

http://inhabitat.com/crazy-home-carved-into-a-coastal-cliff-has-a-swimming-pool-roof/ 

Eiji Nakatsu’s birds and trains 

https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/10/19/how-one-engineers-birdwatching-made-japans-bullet-train-better