I got a job
I graduated
I chose my degree
Funny how much things change in 4 months - but fortunately these links posts are still here. I do distinctly remember how to copy and paste... difficult skill indeed. I'm also rebranding now - these won't be called links posts; instead I'll be calling them Stuff I Learnt Today ( it's a working title okay!)
1. This is an open google doc , started by a private consultant, for brainstorming ideas re: Cape Town running out of water. Many of the residents don't adhere to the water guidelines and Cape Town's suffering a bit of a free rider problem. I used to think that the free rider problem only existed in an economics textbook until the QLD drought a few years ago, when both my neighbours on either side had suspiciously spright looking gardens despite water restrictions. God forbid our water supply gets cut off before Deb's petunias do.
Jabs aside, much of the proposals argue the effectiveness of public information campaigns - I'm inclined to agree, because it addresses the FR problem. And the government's current method of slowly cutting off the water supply is only going to make citizens panic and hoard water. This happened in Brazil.
2. Interesting fact of the day: high infant mortality rates in remote Amazon tribes inadvertently incentivise "hands off parenting". The article says that babies are often not named until after their first birthday because parents don't want to get too attached. That's not the excuse my parents used. They said it was for personal development. (I'm joking. My mum is like the only consistent reader of my blog.)
3. Percentage of people in different countries who believe life is better vs worse.
Russia's polarised as expected. It's nice to see Vietnam up top (i'm Vietnamese by second generation - you're witnessing misplaced nationalism at its finest ) with 88% believing life is better vs. 4% thinking life is worse. I think it arguably gives further support to the Singapore model of governance - few civil freedoms, but a thriving economy nonetheless.
4. The birth of a baby panda in Tokyo Zoo - the first in five years - sent shares in local retailers surging.
But given the rareness of panda births, I would advise the Japanese government against relying too heavily on them as fiscal stimulus. (This is peak comedy you're witnessing.)
5. How will people work in the future? As shaped by Silicon Valley. It is interesting to think about what will happen to the humble cubicle in the future. Everything I've read so far has suggested that a majority of remedial tasks will be automated; leadership and social collaborative skills will be more valued. And maybe dancing, too:
The big idea championed by the industry is the concept of working in various spaces around an office rather than at a fixed workstation.
....
Last year LinkedIn, a professional social network, for example, opened a new building in San Francisco that is full of space set aside for networking, and that includes a “silent disco”, where people can dance to music with headphones on.
That's it for now. Yes, these new and improved posts come with new and improved levels of wit and humour. (Because that's exactly what a post about the Cape Town drought needs...) Having peak creativity hit at 1-2am in the morning has its ups and downs.
