Newmark's Door

Some Redditors hate on the Mercator Projection.

There has been a lot research and discussion on harmful cognitive biases. While I would quibble that these four points are "biases" in the same sense, the discussion is an interesting defense of some common instincts.

Good advice: be really darn careful with your vital information.

What a world. People can actually debate this.

Against the Oxford comma. For the Oxford comma.

(Regular readers of this blog will note that your humble blogger is very much in favor of the Oxford comma.)

A summary of John Cochrane's 15 writing tips aimed at Ph.D. students although they apply to pretty much everyone. These two are especially good:

1. Scarcity: “As economists, we teach our students about scarcity. As authors, we should remember that time is a scarce resource. That means taking out all of the easily ignored details and stressing the big ideas.” 

. . . 

11. Responsibility: “Much bad writing comes down to trying to avoid responsibility for what you’re saying.”

Article makes a good case for the devil's advocate.

Dang, Nature can be cruel.

$24 + lots of time at healthy annual rate of return gives a huge amount: "The price return on Minuit’s legendary purchase looks to have been between 6.5% and 7% [per year]."

Well, if it the finding is correct, it might shake up the conventional wisdom. But I'm not sure it's right.

As usual with these lists, I think some parents need to have their heads examined.