Links I liked

  1. A fantastic This American Life podcast on propaganda
  2. “Your Farts Can Prevent Cancer And Are Good For People Around You”
  3. Jerry Seinfeld interviews President Obama. My favorite question: which world leaders are batshit crazy and why?
  4. “This paper is an attempt to broaden the standard economic discourse by importing insights into human behavior not just from psychology, but also from sociology and anthropology.”
  5. This Japanese book store stocks only one book at a time
  6. A woman correctly detected 11 out of 12 subjects in a Parkinson’s study using her sense of smell, but 8 months later the one extra she believed had Parkinson’s was diagnosed with the disease, making her 12/12
  7. For people who do a lot of short and long haul flights (like me), and occasionally rent cars, my new travel tip might be to pay $450 a year for this credit card: free airline lounge access, and never pay for car insurance. Probably pays for itself in free meals and insurance. And a little TLC on those 20 hour odysseys. Any advice?

7 Responses

  1. Amex Platinum is worth it if you’re a mercenary flier – i.e. always look for cheapest fares and don’t have sufficient loyalty to one airline or network. It includes a Priority Pass membership but the extra perks (car rental status, travel / events / concierge) are worth the price differential.

  2. On #7, it depends on what airline you fly. If Delta (or if you fly through the small but growing number of airports with Centurion lounges), then it could be a good move. If you fly American (or United), there are other cards that offer comparable or better benefits. (E.g., if you fly AA, then the Citi Prestige probably strictly dominates). For international travelers, especially to airports in Africa or East/South Asia, the priority pass membership is nice, since it applies a lot of places outside the U.S.