January 2 Links: "2015"
First, I apologize (again!) to anyone who actually noticed that I'd gone on something like a month-long hiatus for most of December -- I had a lot of finals, and let this thing fall by the wayside. But welcome back, because here we go again, in a new year, with new tweaks in the linkwrap formatting. (Like them? Hate them? I'm still tinkering, so do feel free to comment!)
First, you should totally check out Scott Alexander's 12/14 linkwrap at Slate Star Codex; it's got:
- Werewolves (and the President of Argentina)
- Nuclear rocket engines
- Gender bias in maritime disasters ("Women and children first!" a myth?)
- A new cure for Alzheimers
- ...and so much more.
Okay, okay, real links from me. The Economist explains why so many Koreans are named 'Kim'.
It's got a lot to do with the country's feudal history (there was a time when surnames were only allowed for nobility, but could be 'bought' by rich tradesmen...), and similar effects seem to explain why so many Vietnamese people are named Nguyen.
Speaking of demography, the US Census Bureau announces plans to collect less information about births, divorces, and marriages, because...I don't actually know. Writes Justin Wolfers in the New York Times:
[Due to these changes, w]e will not even know whether marriage and divorce rates are rising or falling. For all the talk of evidence-based policy, the result will be that important debates on issues including family law, welfare reform, same-sex marriage and the rise of nontraditional families will proceed in a