Daily Picks

Tuesday, 25 August 2026

15 new posts
The Conversation
Society & IdeasThe Conversation

Lactose intolerance is actually the human norm – but racism, the US government and business interests have made it into a condition

TL;DR

Lactose intolerance is actually the human norm, yet it was framed as a defect by scientific and commercial interests, reflecting nutritional imperialism and racial bias.

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Works in Progress
Science & HealthWorks in Progress

The kill switch for harmful genes

TL;DR

Through siRNA technology, humans can precisely switch off specific disease-causing genes, which may usher in a new era of treating many intractable diseases.

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Quanta Magazine
Science & HealthQuanta MagazineConor Feehly

A New Framework for How the Brain Compresses Our Noisy World

TL;DR

The brain does not passively receive the world and file it away; it actively projects categories onto the world based on the body's immediate energetic needs.

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acx
Economics & PolicyacxScott Alexander

Re: Re: Re: Pritchard On Liberal Happiness

TL;DR

Even if income affects happiness, the effect is smaller than intuition suggests, but that doesn't mean income is irrelevant.

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Pluralistic
Life & WorkPluralisticCory Doctorow

Pluralistic: How Canada can help Americans and defeat America (23 Aug 2026)

TL;DR

Canada can counter Trump's tariffs by legalizing the breaking of American tech products, building digital sovereignty while striking back.

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404 Media
Life & Work404 MediaSamantha Cole

The Man Behind the Anti-Flock Darth Vader Mask Wants to Know: 'When Will This End?'

TL;DR

A frustrated activist turned a local surveillance protest into a global event by showing up to City Council as Darth Vader.

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Of Dollars And Data
InvestingOf Dollars And DataNick Maggiulli

Why I Was Wrong to Be Bearish on U.S. Stocks

TL;DR

The author admits his bearish call on U.S. stocks a year ago was wrong, and reflects on overfitting market signals, ignoring data corrections, and forgetting to respect the base rate that stocks tend to rise.

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Rest of World
Economics & PolicyRest of WorldLex Zhao

America’s immigration policy is driving away future AI leaders

TL;DR

By tightening immigration, the U.S. is pushing top AI talent toward competitors like China, and the resulting brain drain will erode its AI leadership.

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Nautilus
Life & WorkNautilusJake Currie

Doctors May Ignore Your Messages If They’re Not Well-Written

TL;DR

The more formal and polished your message to your doctor, the more likely you are to get a reply — and that hides an unfair gatekeeping problem.

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Lenny's Newsletter
Life & WorkLenny's NewsletterCliff Maxwell

How to figure out your next career move

TL;DR

Facing AI's uncertainty, instead of climbing the traditional career ladder, define your own 'progress' and find a path that truly fits you.

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The Conversation
Society & IdeasThe Conversation

The United States’ human rights practices are taking a nosedive

TL;DR

New data shows the United States' civil and political rights performance deteriorated dramatically in 2025, with record declines on multiple measures.

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JSTOR Daily
Science & HealthJSTOR DailyLivia Gershon

Not All Boredom Is the Same

TL;DR

Boredom has two distinct causes—lack of meaning and a mismatch of attention—and only treating the right one actually relieves it.

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RogerEbert.com
Society & IdeasRogerEbert.comPeter Sobczynski

Sheer Force of Ambition: David Kittredge on “Exorcist II” and “Boorman and the Devil”

TL;DR

Exorcist II is not a bad movie but a bold experiment made with enormous ambition and resources, whose failure and value both stem from that risk, and it deserves reappraisal.

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Klement on Investing
Business & ProductKlement on InvestingJoachim Klement

Knowledge and experience are what count

TL;DR

Whether an analyst becomes a star doesn't depend on forecast accuracy; it's their knowledge and how interestingly they convey it that investors reward.

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404 Media
Society & Ideas404 MediaMadeleine O'Neill

How a Network of Volunteers Is Liberating Critical Court Records for Everyone

TL;DR

A 2007 court rule makes tens of thousands of habeas corpus petitions in immigration cases inaccessible online, and a volunteer project with 400 members is fighting back by fetching and uploading the records themselves.

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