Economist: “Is the decline of reading making politics dumber? As people read less they think less clearly, scholars fear…There will be other losses from a reading decline. Few engines of social mobility are more effective than reading: just ask the Scottish shepherds. Rich children may do it more, but reading is an egalitarian invention. No one—not your nanny, not your tutor, your friends or your posh school—can impel you to devour a book except you. Reading is not merely a tool: it is also one of life’s great pleasures, as Dickens knew well. As Joe, the kind blacksmith in “Great Expectations”, says: “Give me a good book…and sit me down afore a good fire, and I ask no better.” Once people forget that, things really will feel bleak.”
WSJ: “At its most basic level, much like eBay, livestreaming lets anyone sell. Sellers stream videos on their phone, tablet or computer via apps like Tilt or Whatnot. In real time, they talk viewers through items they’re selling from the intimacy of their bedroom or a high-production set. Shoppers get answers to their questions in a live-chat before bidding on an item in an auction or committing to a purchase. In the more corporate version, big brands like Poshmark, Amazon and eBay itself now all offer livestream shopping, often with “known quantity” hosts.”
Arnold Kling on reading with AI: “Reading a non-fiction book from cover-to-cover is not efficient. I used to say that I read books “from the outside in.” I look at the book flap to find out about the author, who wrote the blurbs, and the subject matter of the book. Then I read the introduction and conclusion in order to get the main ideas. If I have read something by a different author that seems relevant, I look for that author in the index, and I head to those pages… I start by asking the AI to summarize the key themes of the book. For each theme that the AI lists, I stop and try to put it into my own words. I test my understanding by feeding my words into the AI, in order get confirmation that my interpretation is correct. Another way that I ensure understanding is to suggest possible examples or ask the AI to provide examples.”
Bloomberg: “India’s four-year-old mission to develop a local semiconductor industry is gaining momentum, suggests government data. To date, there are 10 semiconductor projects; $18 billion in investment commitments; subsidies of over $7 allocated; 23 chip design projects sanctioned; a new semiconductor-led technical education curriculum, and over 60,000 students under various training programs.”
