THE MAGIC OF THAT WIFFLE BALL SOUND

IF YOU READ NO FURTHER... :

- The Magic of That Wiffle Ball Sound (NYT) "If you could hit a Wiffle ball, you could hit anything. No other earthly object moves like a Wiffle ball. When thrown correctly, it seems to defy the laws of modern physics: It is like a knuckleball in a hurricane."

BUSINESS:

- Trying to Solve the L.E.D. Quandary (New Yorker) "That quandary, in short: companies are making a good thing—light-emitting-diode bulbs that conserve energy and last for years—but they can’t make money in the long run from products that rarely need replacing."

CULTURE:

- Letter of Complaint: Cards Against Humanity (NYT)

HEALTH:

- Why Are So Many Men Not Working? They’re in Pain (Bloomberg) "He even found some support for the theory that improvements in video games have made leisure more attractive as an alternative to work to this demographic."

- How Back Pain Took Over the World (The Atlantic)

NEWS:

- U.S. Says Russia Directed Hacks to Influence Elections (NYT) "'We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities,' the statement said." and The open US accusation of hacking by Russia signals a war of nerves not seen since the Cold War (Quartz)

- North Korea is ‘racing towards the nuclear finish line’ (WaPo) "Kim Jong Un has ordered 49 missile tests in the almost five years since he took over, including 21 this year. He has also presided over three nuclear tests, two of them in 2016. By contrast, North Korea conducted 26 missile tests and two nuclear tests in the 18 years that Kim Jong Il was leader."

- Younger adults prefer to get their news in text, not video, according to new data from Pew Research (Nieman Lab) "The lack of unhindered enthusiasm among young people for watching news online is probably sobering for digital publishers, many of which are eyeing video as a way to escape their reliance on display advertising, which seems in irrevocable decline. 'So far, the growth around online video news seems to be largely driven by technology, platforms, and publishers rather than by strong consumer demand.'"

- A rare look inside Huma Abedin’s relationship with Hillary Clinton (WaPo)

TECHNOLOGY:

- This is what an A.I.-powered future looks like (VentureBeat) "The artificial intelligence industry is projected to grow to $70 billion by 2020 from just $8.2 billion in 2013 according to Bank of America." and The only difference between the next generation of smartphones will be their AI assistants (Quartz) and Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen explains how AI will change the world (Vox) and All That New Google Hardware? It's a Trojan Horse for AI (Wired)

- Porn Sites Aren't Secure, But That May Be About to Change (Wired)

- Google Translate is getting really, really accurate (WaPo)

- Where Top Talent In The Tech Industry Will Likely Work Next (Fast Company)

BOTTOM OF THE NEWS:

- Just One Out of Five Millennials Has Tasted a Big Mac (Fortune)

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