Deep-Sea Fish, Google Earth Fractals, and the DYI Astronaut: Lux Recommends #181
Welcome to Lux Recommends #181, this week’s edition of what we at Lux are reading and thinking about (want to receive this by email? Sign up here).
Articles
How Fish May See Color in the Deep Ocean’s Darkness: “Fish that have never known sunshine could be able to see the world in shades of blue and green we can’t even imagine.” — Adam K
The Frankfurt Kitchen Changed How We Cook — and Live: ‘There are “dream kitchens,” and then there’s the Frankfurt Kitchen, designed by architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky in 1926.’ — Sam
A Magician Explains Why We See What’s Not There: “Our brain is constantly picturing what the future should be.” — Lux Recommends reader Mert Hilmi Iseri
Australia Prints $1.6 Billion of Currency With a Typo — Adam K
Movie-Prop Cash Is Fooling Cashiers: “The strange psychology of why so many people fail to notice obviously counterfeit money” — Sam
For a Split Second, a Quantum Computer Made History Go Backward — Adam K
Let’s Farm Chestnuts Again: “The American chestnut tree almost disappeared during the 20th century. Bringing it back could provide a new staple crop — and help the planet.” — Sam
And Mars in the Gobi Desert — Sam
Books
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi: “John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce―and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.” Feels like Heinlein’s Starship Troopers crossed with Haldeman’s The Forever War. — Sam
Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology by Kentaro Toyama: “Even in an age of amazing technology, social progress depends on human changes that gadgets can’t deliver.” — Lux Recommends reader Steve Sprieser
Movies
Altered States: bold 1980 sci-fi film about exploring consciousness, hallucinogenic drugs, sensory deprivation, and ultimately our own humanity. — Zack
Talks
Going to Space to Benefit Earth, from Jeff Bezos — Sam
Videos
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