How the other half lives.
Yawn. Good morning, sleepy-heads! I know it’s early, but I’m here once again to share some interesting articles about mastering your money — and your life! Are you ready?
Secrets of the MIT poker course. [Mental Floss] — “Poker, I realize, is a skill in the way language is a skill. It’s a set of rules under a structure of infinite nuance and variance. Professionals separate themselves from the pack with an ingrained understanding of these nuances — smart decisions, made instinctively. I couldn’t expect to learn a language in two weeks, and poker would be no different.”
Inside the wild world of government auctions. [The Hustle] — “Once an item falls out of use, organizations running the gamut from state colleges to law enforcement to the Environmental Protection Agency auction it off to the public. And sometimes, an extraordinary item ends up in the hands of someone like [you].” Wanna buy a lighthouse? A helicopter? An ambulance? Government auctions might be your best bet!
Drivers of high-cost cars are less likely to yield to pedestrians. [Journal of Transport & Health] — “Two naturalistic experiments examined if upper-class individuals behaved more unethically while driving. They found that upper-class individuals (as indicated by vehicle status – make, age, and appearance) were more likely to violate California state law and cut drivers off at a 4-way intersection. In a separate study they also found that upper-class individuals were more likely to violate California state law and cut pedestrians off at a marked intersection.”
Jacob Riis, the photographer who showed “how the other half lives”. [My Modern Met] — “In 1890, Riis compiled his photographs into a book, How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York. Featuring never-before-seen photos supplemented by blunt and unsettling descriptions, the treatise opened New Yorkers’ eyes to the harsh realities of their city’s slums. Since its publication, the book has been consistently credited as a key catalyst for social reform.”
Reading this (and looking at the photos), I was reminded of Betty Smith’s excellent novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Smith’s story covers events between 1900 and 1918 while Riis’ photos are from the 1880s. Despite the time difference, they’re depicting the same sort of life in the same location. I think it’d be interesting to see a version of Smith’s book illustrated with Riis’ photos.
That’s it for this Thursday! I’ll be back tomorrow to usher you into the weekend…