Longform links: instant fakes

Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. Wherever possible, free links for premium sites are used. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at why China is focused on robotics. Quote of the Day "(F)akes, counterfeits and frauds that would have taken considerable effort to create just a few years ago can now be churned out pretty much instantly." (Justin Elliott) Books - Mary Childs talks with Liaquat Ahamed, author of "1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World." (youtube.com) - Five insights from Michael Pollack's new book, "Sidewalk Nation: The Life and Law of America’s Most Overlooked Resource." (nextbigideaclub.com) - An excerpt from "The World: A Family History of Humanity," by Simon Sebag. (theatlantic.com) - An excerpt from "Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist" by Christof Koch. (thereader.mitpress.mit.edu) - David Epstein talks with Austin Kleon, author of "Don’t Call It Art: 10 Ways to Create Like a Kid Again." (davidepstein.substack.com) Technology - Just how close are we to getting humanoid robots? (newyorker.com) - Why we need to distinguish between people and bots online. (noemamag.com) - Inventing the bar code was straightforward. Implementing was a lot harder. (quartr.com) - Spinning up fake websites, and the like, is now trivial and can easily trip up Google. (propublica.org) Defense - Why a tungsten mine is reopening in Australia. (bloomberg.com) - JP Morgan ($JPM) wants to be a defense industry player. (wsj.com) Crime and punishment - How Scotland successfully targeted high levels of violence. (bbc.com) - The state of Florida is executing prisoners at a rapid rate. (propublica.org) Science - How our understanding of continental drift came to be. (worksinprogress.co) - Five insights from Ijeoma Uchegbu's new book, "Chain Reaction: How Chemistry Shapes Us and Our World." (nextbigideaclub.com)