Links from the past week

• What the Forest Remembers, by Jennifer Egan
  A short fiction piece that bundles from the past to the present, and then into the future. The story moves along, and suddenly brings you elsewhere – I like the little surprise. An ode to the power of fiction.





• What Really Happens When Workers Are Given a Flexible Hybrid Schedule?
  Interesting to read about different experiences / preferences. Reams (observations? predictions?) were written but I had thought it was too early to generalise, and by now, the consensus is flexibility because there are just too many different preferences/ needs/ seasons in life to cater for. I believe that a policy which recommends (and not mandate) 2 days in the office makes sense for now. I don’t believe that a fully remote workplace does well where the work requires some form of apprenticeship but insisting on too much face-time seems wrong too. Maybe when management of the workplace is fully under the province of millennials will we truly create a different order.





• China’s Reform Generation Adapts to Life in the Middle Class
  Peter Hessler catches up with his former students. 20 years, and a few stories about those who had grown up in China’s countryside and entered teaching college in the 90s.





• The Economist touches on why Apple is in the media game:
  “None of the markets is a big prize for the world’s most valuable firm. The entire global recorded music industry had sales of $22bn in 2020, less than Apple made just from selling iPads. In about a month Apple generates as much revenue as Netflix makes in a year.
  
  Apple’s renewed interest in media is best explained by the transformation in the company’s scale, which radically changes the calculation of which side-projects are worthwhile. … In 2021 Apple tv+’s estimated content budget represented 0.6% of company revenues.
  
  … Streaming subscriptions may not lock people in as strongly as iTunes purchases did, but Apple’s various services still sink “meat hooks” into customers, making them spend more time with their devices and making it a bit more inconvenient to leave Apple’s ecosystem.”





• Here’s a very neat image showing the mean risk of infection in different mask-wearing combinations, where ‘inf’ or ‘i’ refers to what the infectious is wearing, and ‘sus’ or ‘s’ refers to what the counter-party/ susceptible person is wearing.
  
  
  
  The research article can be found here. The FFP2 masks this study mentions ought to be similar in standards to a N95 or KN95. (3M has a table comparing the various mask standards.)
  [h/t Derek Powazek]

• An economic history of restaurants
  “Nor were they destinations predominantly for the well-heeled. Before the use of coal became widespread in England in the 17th century, preparing food at home involved spending a lot on wood or peat. Professional kitchens, by contrast, benefited from economies of scale in energy consumption and so could provide meals at a lower cost than people could themselves. Today dining out is seen as an indulgence, but it was the cheapest way to eat for most of human history.”
  
  An interesting titbit (no, I don’t spell it as tidbit) and a reminder that things change and change.



• Singapore and its history of adjusting its clock is captured in this piece titled “Why is Singapore in the “Wrong” Time Zone?”
  
  I wondered about whether it would be better or worse if 7 pm were 7.30 pm instead. Does it matter to me/ my brain/ my body if I see more light than I see now when the clock says 7 pm? Don’t we just adapt?



• In the works for years, a suicide machine will soon be tested in Switzerland
  If you had asked me, when I was a young(er), more idealistic 20-year-old, whether assisted suicide will be legalised in 20 years, I may not have been able to imagine that this is still something to fight for.



• I’ve Accidentally Become A Strava Stalker
  Strava stalking is a thing.



• The Beatles: Get Back and the Arrogant, Tragic Genius of Paul McCartney’s Leadership
  Who knows what really went on, but I imagine that fame and fortune is a great distorter of reality. Is Paul the only one who comes out looking good? We sang along, and made playlists on Spotify.



• Because of Loh Kean Yew, Singapore is very interested in badminton these days. I have not been keeping track and so had to go find out more about the ranking system and the World Tour concept. I loved looking at the BWF statutes.