99+1 good news
+ Conflicts to watch, Online Gurus, Trend defying milllennials (#423)
Welcome to what is indeed the 13th year since I started this newsletter. It's been a long journey and I enjoy it as much as ever. I hope you do, too. (If you're newish here, you might want to check out the archive with more than 2000 gems from all corners of the web).
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1. 99 Good News Stories You Probably Didn't Hear About in 2022
I'm always a bit wary of such collections of good news. Too often, they cherry-pick a few good news that pale in the larger context. Not this one. Even though it's a long list, most of the good news are substantial, and indeed a good reminder that the lens through which we look at the world matters. So why not start the new year by reminding ourselves that 2022 wasn't quite as bad as we probably remember it?
Future Crunch
2. 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2023
Just as we should not forget about the good things that are happening in the world, we should obviously not be mislead by them. 2023 begins with many wars, conflicts and tensions that deserve our attention. Russia's war in Ukraine continues to be the number one conflict to watch, but it's important to reminded that around the world, there are other wars and conflicts with the potential for further escalation.
3. The New Gurus
An excellent new podcast series by the BBC on the rise of online gurus. No matter what you're drawn to — how to be healthier, how to be more productive, how to get rich — you'll find someone ready to provide recipes for success. And these gurus are drawing huge audiences, not least by pitting themselves against whatever they perceive as the mainstream.
4. What we learned from books this year
This is condensed wisdom condensed again. Throughout the year, Charter publishes excellent briefings with the key insights from non-fiction books. In this roundup, they present «some of the most interesting and important things we took away from them.»
Kevin J. Delaney
5. What's happening with Millennials?
Most generations follow a similar trend: The older people get, the more conservative they become on average (the on average is important, because one of the reasons for the trend is literal survivorship bias: Wealthier people live longer and they tend to be more conservative, thus skewing the average). Interestingly, Millennials so far refuse to follow the trend. First reported by the Financial Times for UK and US, but the trend is very similar for lots of countries — with some notable exceptions.
What else?
- As I'm writing the first newsletter of 2023, a good reminder that not everyone is currently in the year 2023.
- Took me a moment, but then it's brilliant. Defending a castle, the M.C. Escher way.
- Not all heroes wear capes: Jessica Wade wrote more than 1000 Wikipedia bios for unknown women scientists.
- The «subway map» of a truly walkable city.
- Multiple timezones, all in the same clock.
- I know close to nothing about freestyle rap, but this guy's skills seem slightly above average.
- In case you missed it: Weekly Filet Best of 2022.
Thanks for reading. I wish you a nice weekend and hope to see you again next Friday!
— David 👋
