Dovi’s Digest Volume 68
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hi all! Welcome to Volume 68 of Dovi’s Digest.
Most people have an innate and subconscious sense of survival. Millions of years of evolution, as well as learned behaviour from our ancestors, allow us to not have to think about breathing or how to dodge flying objects by instinct (some successfully, some not so successfully). We even have “gut feels” about certain places, where our lizard brains are telling us to be careful. Yet the more we’ve evolved, the less likely we are to listen to those parts of us that have been honed for many many generations. We override feelings, we tell ourselves it will be fine and not to worry. This can be as diverse as being confident driving in dangerous conditions or prevailing over our body telling us to stop partying and go to sleep. It’s all part of human nature. No matter what though, there is always something going on in the back of our mind, assessing conditions, playing out scenarios.
Despite this, most of us have got ourselves into situations where we’ve no real exit plan. One where we’ve gone with the flow, and suddenly find ourselves out of our comfort zones, out of our depth, and out of ideas. Sometimes it’s being stranded at someone’s house with no way to get home, sometimes the realisation hits when we’ve already climbed a mountain, and are now trying to get down (remember, the summit is only halfway!).
In this week’s headline article, there is a story that probably puts all our “should’ve known” stories to shame. In 2018, a baggage handler stole a plane from one of the biggest airports in North America, got it airborne, and then realised he couldn’t land it. It’s a hell of a ride, literally.
Last week my intro was about AI, and how it’s going to kill us all. I neglected to mention that if the robots don’t first. Here’s Boston Dynamics latest video of their Atlas robot doing parkour. Its simultaneously amazing and terrifying.
To try temper that, here’s an article and video about robots playing soccer, which shows they also dive.
In addition, we have (among others) hardware that may rewire our brain, how sugar ACTUALLY rewires our brain, why hyperlinks are blue, and a story about the Sopranos of Berlin. I hope you enjoy them all.
There was ONE correct answer to last week’s brainteaser, well done to Kevin Levy!! The answer and this week’s riddle are below.
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming,
Have a great week,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
The Sky Thief
How did Beebo Russell — a goofy, God-fearing baggage handler — steal a passenger plane from the Seattle-Tacoma airport and end up alone in a cockpit, with no plan to come down?
Can a $110 Million Helmet Unlock the Secrets of the Mind?
Bryan Johnson, who made a fortune in online payment processing, has spent a lot of it building hardware meant to radically expand science’s understanding of the brain’s aging and effects on the body.
Water, Water Everywhere
Rare meteorites show how the earth got its life-giving water.
The Revival of Stoicism
Everyone from Silicon Valley billionaires to self-help enthusiasts is repurposing Stoicism for our modern age, with results that are good, bad, and highly indifferent.
What Happens To Your Brain When You Give Up Sugar
Having high levels of the sweet stuff in your diet is known to be bad for your health, but cutting it out can also be difficult, particularly as it can trigger a range of unpleasant symptoms.
Why Are Hyperlinks Blue?
Every week they show up in this newsletter, a nicely bolded title with a blue underline. But after reading this, I find myself consumed by the question, WHY are links blue? WHO decided to make them blue? WHEN was this decision made, and HOW has this decision made such a lasting impact?
The Dresden Job
When a rash of sensational museum robberies stunned Europe, police zeroed in on a fearsome crime family—and a flashy new generation of young outlaws. Joshua Hammer unravels the case of a billion-dollar jewel heist and the race to catch a brutally audacious band of thieves.
Quote of the Week:
“I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.” Michael Scott (Steve Carrel), The Office
Facts of the Week:
To stop postmen loitering in alehouses, they were given smart uniforms.
Posting a letter from London to Edinburgh in 1818 cost as much as the average daily wage.
Postage was originally paid by the person receiving the letter, not the sender.
In 1909, two suffragettes posted themselves to 10 Downing Street to try to get an audience with the Prime Minister.
The crowd that greeted Tony Blair when he first entered Downing Street had to be bused in.
The winning tree in the annual competition of the British Christmas Tree Growers Association is displayed outside number 10, and the runner goes inside.
Artificial Christmas trees are less environmentally friendly than real ones unless you use one for more than 20 years.
There's only one person in the UK called Mr Baubles.
There are 16 people in England with the surname Grinch.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Can you decipher this phrase?
O_er_t_o_
Last week’s Brainteaser and answer:
Fill the grid with the numbers from 1 to 4 such that no number appears more than once in each row or column, and that the numbers in each of the two regions add to the same sum.
Answer: