The Art of Explanation

1. The Art of Explanation

Few people have mastered the art of explaining better than the BBC's Ros Atkins. Thankfully, he is now sharing what he knows in a book. And to be clear, this is a book for everyone. Atkins defines explanation in very broad terms: Whenever you try to get a message across, you are explaining. Often, we don't realise we are, and that's part of the problem. Whether you're interviewing for a job, giving a presentation, talking to a friend, or simply writing an email. One of the best books I've read in recent years (and I've read a couple).

14th SEPTEMBER 2023

Order now:

2. How much can Duolingo teach us

You've cursed him without knowing him: Luis von Ahn has invented those annoying tests to prove you're a human: «Select all images of traffic lights». That was a while ago — he went on to create the most successful app to learn new languages. To him, these two inventions are based on the same idea. This is one of many fascinating things you'll learn in this excellent profile.

How Much Can Duolingo Teach Us?

The company’s founder, Luis von Ahn, believes that artificial intelligence is going to make computers better teachers than humans.

The New YorkerCondé Nast

3. ​​How Much Discomfort Is the Whole World Worth?

With the whole world at stake, we need to find «common ground with a broad spectrum of people, many of whom we would never otherwise interact with [...] to create movements, rather than clubhouses, we need to engage with people with whom we do not fully identify and may even dislike»

How Much Discomfort Is the Whole World Worth? - Boston Review

Movement building requires a culture of listening—not mastery of the right language.

Boston ReviewKelly Hayes

4. We were never supposed to see our own faces this much

I never really thought about it this way, but it makes a lot of sense: Modern technology, especially video calling, makes us look at our own faces way more than we're comfortable with. I wished it went a bit deeper still, but it's a thought-provoking piece nonetheless.

We were never supposed to see our own faces this much

From mirrors to Zoom calls and TikToks, we are constantly faced with our own reflections – and it is completely changing the way we conceive of ourselves

Dazed DigitalLola Christina Alao

5. Ground Truth

How are borders created? Like, really?

In West Africa, the Inexorable Progress of a Newly Defined Border

When Cameroon and Nigeria finally agreed upon their border, it was only the beginning.

Atlas ObscuraJen Banbury

What else?

• A little anecdote about my daughter and how she sees technology that I can't get out of my mind.
• Not to sound like Buzzfeed, but number 2...wow: Winners of the Nature Photographer of the Year 2023.
• That's a beautiful poster: All 422 species of Hummingbirds, illustrated. (422?! I had no idea)
• Nice and simple: Scale of sports fields and courts in comparison.
• What do you want to be when you grow up? Said no one ever: AirBnB's head of party pooping.
• «Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else.» — David Foster Wallace

The Future of...Sports

Future courts glow bright,
AI refs fair and precise—
Human spirit fights.

A gem from the archive

«It has been a long time since anyone knew anything.» – that’s how I misread the first sentence of this story. Guess it’s not totally wrong, either, but this is the story of the last man who «knew everything».

The last man who knew everything

It hardly seems likely that the life of an obscure Anglican clergyman should recommend itself to the attention of a modern biographer. But Sabine Baring-Gould happens to have been the last man who knew everything.

The WeekMatthew Walther

Thanks for reading. I wish you a nice weekend and hope to see you again next Friday!

— David 👋