Reads: Depression, Miami Flooding & More
A wrap on some of the interesting reads from across the Web over the last few months...
The Really Big One - New Yorker
Kathryn Schulz's illuminating and timely article about how an impending earthquake along the San Andreas fault lines will spin doom for the US Northwest. For an imaginative heads up, watch San Andreas, the movie!
The Siege of Miami - New Yorker
It was heartening to see nations of the world unite at Paris climate change conference last month, calling for a decisive action on curbing global warming to less than 2 degrees-Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, while also agreeing to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible. Ours still being a fossil-fuel reliant world, would this agreement finally signal a new start? Whatever may be the case, melting ice caps (Greenland) and rising sea levels (Marshall Islands) are the new reality. Further case in point, Florida. And who better than Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction, to put the point across?
What ISIS Really Wants - The Atlantic
Islamic State has become a force to reckon, especially in the aftermath of the recent Paris terror attacks, even surpassing al-Qaeda in notoriety when the latter was at its peak. But who really are the people behind ISIS? And what is the rationale behind their savage idealogy? Is it just to establish an Islamic Caliphate?
The Silicon Valley Suicides - The Atlantic
America's Silicon Valley is home to the world's brightest minds, not only those working for tech giants like Google, but children themselves, who are trained at elite public schools in the neighborhood in order to become the next-generation Silicon Valley revolutionaries. But is this competitive, mad dash to pursue excellence having a psychological side effect?
Nato's Bombs Fall Like Confetti, Not Containing Conflict But Spreading it - The Guardian
Fighting fire with fire only results in more fire, rather than dousing it. And the US, having found itself at war with several nations in the name of "War on Terror" ever since the 9/11 attacks, has only succeeded in pushing itself further into the bloody quagmire, rather than pulling away from it. The only question is when all of this is going to end.
The Drone Papers - The Intercept
Published by Glenn Greenwald-led The Intercept, the eye-opening series details US government's drone assassination program in Yemen and Somalia, the various shortfalls in intelligence, and about how "the military labels unidentified people it kills in targeted strikes as "enemies killed in action", although victims may be family members or associates of actual targets – or may just have been nearby, or mistakenly targeted." Disquieting is putting it mildly!
Untangling the Overlapping Conflicts in the Syrian War - The New York Times
The Syrian war, which began as a wave of Arab Spring uprising to overthrow the Assad-led oppressive regime four years ago, has become so convoluted a mini-world war of sorts, it's difficult to get a grip on who is fighting whom and for what reason (to dethrone Assad or fight ISIS, US is involved in both capacities). Thankfully, New York Times has a handy infographic.
English is Not Normal - Aeon
English is the language of the world, but is also a language that has taken a turn for the weird. For instance, it's the only one among all Indo-European languages that doesn't assign genders to nouns. Having learnt Hindi and later French, I have always wondered why is this the case! But I assure you, the oddity doesn't stop here.
I bought an iPhone because I'm not as sad as I used to be - The Verge
Hands down one of the best pieces I've read on The Verge, not only for its personal touch, but also in telling how technology can be a blessing, in helping us reach out to the ones we love at any time. I for one have never been an app-y person. I try out a lot of them, sure, but for the most time, my phone is a blank slate, just there, devoid of notifications, and running on apps it came pre-installed with. The web browser (Chrome, if it's Android, Safari, if on iOS) is my only window to the world and I use it extensively like you can never imagine. I am not on any social network either (unless you count Google+!). Which is why I could relate to this touching article on several levels. Technology can be good, but it can also be addictive* in a wrong way. I am not sure if my need to extricate myself from the overwhelming online social life was the motivating factor behind me quitting Facebook and Twitter years ago, but nevertheless it's a decision I've chosen to stick by no matter what.
*Can Internet be addictive, and if so, should it be regulated like casinos and drugs? Read more about it here (courtesy, Aeon).
Still craving more reads, catch Longform's Best Reads of 2015.
The Really Big One - New Yorker
Kathryn Schulz's illuminating and timely article about how an impending earthquake along the San Andreas fault lines will spin doom for the US Northwest. For an imaginative heads up, watch San Andreas, the movie!
The Siege of Miami - New Yorker
It was heartening to see nations of the world unite at Paris climate change conference last month, calling for a decisive action on curbing global warming to less than 2 degrees-Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, while also agreeing to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible. Ours still being a fossil-fuel reliant world, would this agreement finally signal a new start? Whatever may be the case, melting ice caps (Greenland) and rising sea levels (Marshall Islands) are the new reality. Further case in point, Florida. And who better than Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction, to put the point across?
What ISIS Really Wants - The Atlantic
Islamic State has become a force to reckon, especially in the aftermath of the recent Paris terror attacks, even surpassing al-Qaeda in notoriety when the latter was at its peak. But who really are the people behind ISIS? And what is the rationale behind their savage idealogy? Is it just to establish an Islamic Caliphate?
The Silicon Valley Suicides - The Atlantic
America's Silicon Valley is home to the world's brightest minds, not only those working for tech giants like Google, but children themselves, who are trained at elite public schools in the neighborhood in order to become the next-generation Silicon Valley revolutionaries. But is this competitive, mad dash to pursue excellence having a psychological side effect?
Nato's Bombs Fall Like Confetti, Not Containing Conflict But Spreading it - The Guardian
Fighting fire with fire only results in more fire, rather than dousing it. And the US, having found itself at war with several nations in the name of "War on Terror" ever since the 9/11 attacks, has only succeeded in pushing itself further into the bloody quagmire, rather than pulling away from it. The only question is when all of this is going to end.
The Drone Papers - The Intercept
Published by Glenn Greenwald-led The Intercept, the eye-opening series details US government's drone assassination program in Yemen and Somalia, the various shortfalls in intelligence, and about how "the military labels unidentified people it kills in targeted strikes as "enemies killed in action", although victims may be family members or associates of actual targets – or may just have been nearby, or mistakenly targeted." Disquieting is putting it mildly!
Untangling the Overlapping Conflicts in the Syrian War - The New York Times
The Syrian war, which began as a wave of Arab Spring uprising to overthrow the Assad-led oppressive regime four years ago, has become so convoluted a mini-world war of sorts, it's difficult to get a grip on who is fighting whom and for what reason (to dethrone Assad or fight ISIS, US is involved in both capacities). Thankfully, New York Times has a handy infographic.
English is Not Normal - Aeon
English is the language of the world, but is also a language that has taken a turn for the weird. For instance, it's the only one among all Indo-European languages that doesn't assign genders to nouns. Having learnt Hindi and later French, I have always wondered why is this the case! But I assure you, the oddity doesn't stop here.
I bought an iPhone because I'm not as sad as I used to be - The Verge
Hands down one of the best pieces I've read on The Verge, not only for its personal touch, but also in telling how technology can be a blessing, in helping us reach out to the ones we love at any time. I for one have never been an app-y person. I try out a lot of them, sure, but for the most time, my phone is a blank slate, just there, devoid of notifications, and running on apps it came pre-installed with. The web browser (Chrome, if it's Android, Safari, if on iOS) is my only window to the world and I use it extensively like you can never imagine. I am not on any social network either (unless you count Google+!). Which is why I could relate to this touching article on several levels. Technology can be good, but it can also be addictive* in a wrong way. I am not sure if my need to extricate myself from the overwhelming online social life was the motivating factor behind me quitting Facebook and Twitter years ago, but nevertheless it's a decision I've chosen to stick by no matter what.
*Can Internet be addictive, and if so, should it be regulated like casinos and drugs? Read more about it here (courtesy, Aeon).
Still craving more reads, catch Longform's Best Reads of 2015.
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