Ever wish someone would read the entire Internet and give you a list of the best articles? Well, you're welcome! The best of the Web this week includes a map of American state stereotypes, an article about how the ancient Greeks would have dealt with Obamacare, a look at a startup with a surprising approach to helping young entrepreneurs get funding, and four simple steps to avoid getting hacked. Enjoy!
Arts and Culture
Why Are Americans So ... / Reena DiResta / No Upside
"A map of American state stereotypes, generated by Google autocomplete."(via Varina)
Hear, All Ye People; Hearken O Earth / Errol Morris / The New York Times
Brilliant: Errol Morris runs an experiment on Times readers to test whether our perceptions of the truth can be affected by fonts.
Call Me Maybe — Carly Rae Jepsen (Chatroulette Version) / Steve Kardynal / YouTube
Just when you thought you were getting sick of "Call Me Maybe," this comes along ...
Write Your Own Academic Sentence / Writing Program / University of Chicago
You're just four clicks away from writing like a PhD! Sample sentence: "The construction of post-capitalist hegemony is, and yet is not, the poetics of the gendered body."
Politics and World Affairs
Fussbudget / Ryan Lizza / New Yorker
Meet Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's new running mate, in this in-depth profile from earlier this year.
Top Ten Differences Between White Terrorists And Others / Juan Cole / Informed Comment
Sadly relevant after last week's massacre at a Sikh temple. Number 6: "White terrorists are random events, like tornadoes. Other terrorists are long-running conspiracies."
What Pericles Would Say About Obamacare / Paul Woodruff / Oxford University Press Blog
Democracy, the ancient Greek way: "Imagine a council of 500 citizens chosen at random ... with no worries about reelection to find a solution to our health care problem."
Romney's Side Course Of Culture / Ta-Nehisi Coates / The New York Times
As usual, Coates manages to be both interesting and original where others are dull and predictable; be sure to click through to Ron Swanson's Pyramid of Greatness. (via Charley)
Addressing Poverty In Schools / Joe Nocera / New York Times
Can even good teachers make a difference when their students' lives are defined by poverty? One organization is trying to equip schools to deal with poverty head on, with promising results. (via Bo)
Business and Economics
New Crowdfunding Twist: Invest In A College Grad / Christina DesMarais / Inc
A new startup, Upstart, allows young entrepreneurs to raise capital by selling a share of their future earnings.
Japan Inc. Tests A New Survival Skill: English / Chico Harlan / The Washington Post
A Japanese billionaire worried about competitiveness decides his 6,000 employees need to speak English—and gives them two years to learn it, or face demotions.
No More Growth Miracles / Dani Rodrik / Project Syndicate
Argues that gains from rapid industrialization — which drove the growth of China, India, and others — will be more difficult to come by, and that future gains will have to come from improved institutions and governance.
Why Investors Should Avoid Hedge Funds / Felix Salmon / Reuters
Ouch: "If all the money that's ever been invested in hedge funds had been put in Treasury bills instead, the results would have been twice as good."
Science and Technology
How Not To Get Hacked / Farhad Manjoo / Slate
The crazy story of how a writer for Wired got hacked, and four simple steps you should take to safeguard your digital life; if you haven't done these yet, you're being reckless.
The Art Of The Passive-Aggressive Redesign / Russell Brandom / BuzzFeed
Fun roundup of unsolicited redesigns of popular websites, including Amazon, American Airlines, IMDB, and Wikipedia.
Back To The (Far-Fetched) Future / The New York Times
An enjoyable look back at predictions from 1964 on what New York would look like in 2000, with some fun graphs and a lovely tribute to the city by its then-mayor.
"'I have read and agree to the Terms' is the biggest lie on the web. We aim to fix that," declares a new site that summarizes and rates different companies' terms of service.
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