an image recognition app that can "now" quickly copy-paste handwritten notes between devices.

the verge
(see: google)

a 19th-20th century author and poet. influenced by romanticism, namely the works of william wordsworth, he wrote many fine works. such works include tess of the d’urbervilles, far from the madding crowd, and several beautiful poems. (see: the darkling thrush)

i look at my phone for a text from /them/ way too often.

a country where there is no culture of resignation.

even in good economic times, farmers usually had only a little bit of extra goods to trade or sell after they had provided for their families they rarely had much actual money. so farm families had trouble paying their taxes. many, like captain daniel shays of massachusetts, had been paid for serving in the army, but the paper money was worthless because the government had no wealth which would give it value. in january 1787, shays and about 1,000 other farmers seized weapons from the springfield armory and closed courts so their property could not be sold off. shays' rebellion was easily put down, but it convinced many that a stronger government was needed to address the country's problems.

people refer to the 1830s as the period of "jacksonian democracy," but these terms refer more to the spirit of reform that swept jackson into office than to any democratic reforms that he created, jackson's own ideas of democracy were limited. he was, for example, a slave owner, and he designed the indian removal policy. the american people embraced him in large part because he was a self-made man who, like many of them, had settled in the frontier west.

became a cruel sport after the railroad system was established. the great herds were seen as hindrances to the settling of western lands. then, in 1871, a process was developed for tanning buffalo hides. tanning companies sent teams of hunters to kill the animals for the hides, leaving the meat to rot and threatening the survival of the plains indians, who relied on the herds for their livelihood.

a place where the best people of the world live.
warning: this statement is over-generalized.
(see: induction)

he has just become a free agent!

suspicious.

not gonna lie.

has become one of twitter's biggest shareholders (slightly bigger than 9% stake).

he championed abolishing the 15th amendment (the right of citizens of the united states to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude).

cristiano ronaldo is a portuguese soccer player who is considered one of the greatest players of all time. here are a few interesting facts and hidden stories about ronaldo:

– ronaldo was born on february 5, 1985, in funchal, madeira, portugal.
– he started his professional soccer career with sporting cp before moving to manchester united in 2003.
– ronaldo is the all-time leading scorer for the portuguese national team, and he has represented his country at three world cup tournaments.
– in 2009, he was awarded the ballon d'or, which is given to the world's best soccer player. he has won the award four times in total.
– in addition to his soccer career, ronaldo is also a successful entrepreneur and has endorsement deals with major brands such as nike, tag heuer, and herbalife.
– ronaldo is known for his philanthropy and has donated millions of dollars to charitable causes, including the construction of a children's hospital in his hometown of funchal.
– despite his many accomplishments, ronaldo has faced controversy and criticism, including accusations of tax evasion and allegations of sexual assault. he has denied these allegations.
– over the years, ronaldo has been linked to a number of women, but it is not clear how many of these relationships were serious or long-term. some of the women who have been rumored to be ronaldo's girlfriends include models irina shayk and gemma atkinson, as well as reality tv star kim kardashian. however, ronaldo has never publicly confirmed any of these relationships, and it is not known if he is currently in a relationship.

this book explains, to a large extent, why some societies thrive while others don’t—when combined with average intelligence levels. but why isn’t intelligence alone enough? let me break it down:

we’re all familiar with south and north korea. south korea is incredibly advanced, constantly innovating, producing high-tech goods, and getting wealthier by the day. the country’s per capita income is more than 20 times that of north korea. in fact, due to the poverty and hunger in the north, south koreans are taller and live longer than their northern neighbors. north korea, on the other hand, can’t even feed its people without foreign aid, let alone produce technology.

the reason behind all this is what acemoglu describes as “extractive” and “inclusive” institutions. south korea has inclusive institutions, while north korea is stuck with extractive ones. as a result, while the south is advancing into space, the north is struggling with famine.

but there’s an important point we need to consider: the average iq levels in these two countries. despite north korea’s backwardness and hardships, their average iq is pretty close to that of south koreans. in fact, south koreans have some of the highest average iq levels in the world.

so what does this mean? it means that even after 50+ years of oppressive extractive institutions, north koreans still have an average iq of around 105, just like their neighbors in the south. if north korea’s extractive institutions were to collapse tomorrow (say, north korea reunites with the south), north koreans would likely become just as wealthy, innovative, and successful as south koreans in a short period of time.

this is where the importance of north koreans’ iq comes in. the moment they break free from their extractive system, they have the potential to become one of the most advanced nations in the world. meanwhile, many countries in latin america or eastern europe that are governed by inclusive institutions haven’t reached south korea’s level of development. this is where the average intelligence of a society plays a role.

take brazil, for instance. despite having inclusive institutions like south korea, brazil’s average iq is around 90, not 105 like south korea. that’s why brazil isn’t able to reach the same level of development. so, while inclusive and extractive institutions are key factors in a nation’s growth, average intelligence levels are equally important.

this means that even if countries like brazil have inclusive institutions, they won’t reach south korea’s level of development unless their average iq rises to similar levels. on the other hand, since north korea has high average intelligence, the moment they switch from extractive to inclusive institutions, they’ll skyrocket to south korea’s level.

of course, establishing inclusive institutions requires a certain level of intelligence. the elites who run extractive systems never want to share power, so it’s up to the people to pressure the elites and force them to create inclusive institutions. but for that to happen, the population needs to be aware and capable of demanding change. while some countries in latin america have managed to do this, north koreans haven’t—likely because of east asia’s ultra-conservative, community-over-individual culture.

this conservative, non-individualistic culture stifles creativity in east asia. a simple example is the apple vs. samsung rivalry. apple, a product of western culture, innovates and changes the world, while samsung takes what apple creates and optimizes it. sure, samsung might beat apple with optimized products, but they’ll never make world-changing innovations like apple does. and that’s because of east asia’s conservative culture. could this be linked to genetics? maybe, but research in this area is still too new to draw any firm conclusions.
(see: daron acemoglu)