The Weekend Edition

Meet our soulmates in New York City in this black-and-white photo essay by Adam Pape for the New Yorker, with text by Alexandra Schwartz: New York City’s Graveyard Shift.

Your parents want to move to a smaller place — so congratulations, that glass-topped table with a massive reclining frog as the base? It’s yours now… “Economists have long talked about the great transfer of wealth that is under way from the baby boomers to Generation X and millennials. Less noticed is the great transfer of tchotchkes, mementos, lawn ornaments, curio cabinets and faded family heirlooms that are now causing friction and subterfuge in families. And baby boomers who are paring down are also fending off their own parents’ stuff.” We love both stories we’ve linked here, but hope we speak for everyone who lives in a different city / country / continent than their parents: We envy you your problem.

That’s okay, you can pay us back anytime in the next 2,129 years: Three Greek municipalities managed to get ministers to sign off on an agreement allowing them to debts owed to the state and social security funds sometime in the next 2,129 years, Ekathimerini reports. “The Municipality of Maroussi, northern Athens, will pay off its debts of [EUR 56 mn] in 1,991 months, or about 166 years. The City of Piraeus has debts of [EUR 10 mn] that it will pay back in 152 months, or about 13 years. And the Municipality of Fyli, northwestern Attica, will pay back [EUR 469 mn] in 24,546 months, or some 2,129 years.”

We have about 1,000 years and then we’re outta here, so we’re betting both Maroussi and Fyli can safely worry about things other than when they’ll repay their debt.Stephen Hawking thinks we have less than a thousand years to colonize another planet, or it’s game over for humans. The theoretical physicist said we have maybe a thousand years to find a new home and “escape beyond our fragile planet.” Is he worried about climate change? Yes, but also “a sudden nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus, or the rising threat of artificial intelligence,” the Daily Mail reports, picking up on a piece in the Telegraph on a lecture Hawking gave at the Oxford Union earlier this week. Hawking, we’ll remind you, is also more than a little ambivalent on our current bête noir: artificial intelligence, which he’s said will be either the worst or best thing ever to have happened to humanity.

“Crisis” in The Netherlands: The Netherlands is facing a “crisis” different from any of those faced by different countries across the world: it’s prisons are too empty. The country “is actually short of people to lock up. In the past few years 19 prisons have closed down and more are slated for closure next year,” according to a report by The BBC. The decrease in incarceration rates is partly to “blame,” so is improved “screening at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, which resulted in an explosion in the numbers of drug mules caught carrying [narcotics]” as well as a judicial shift towards alternatives to incarceration like community service, fines, and electronic tagging.

What to do with near-empty prisons? The Netherlands is “importing” convicts from Belgium and Norway (which is known for its cushy prisons itself) to serve time there. Why is this viewed as crisis, then? It’s resulting in budget cuts for law enforcement, which, in return, is stretching Dutch police too thin and making crime harder to report. “The police are overwhelmed and can’t handle their work load,” Madeleine Van Toorenburg, a former prison governor and now the opposition Christian Democratic Appeal party’s spokeswoman on criminal justice, says. There are also vested interests. A prison guards’ representative says his colleagues are “angry and a little bit depressed” as young people are reluctant to join the prison service now. “There is no future in it any more — you never know when your prison will be closed,” he says. You can also listen to the documentary on which the report is based (runtime 26:29).

The tech bubble didn’t explode this year, but next year… If you’re a geek (or recently attended most any MBA school in the US of A) you’ll recall that around this time last year, stories began appearing declaring that the apocalypse had begun and would accelerate this year. The “unicorn era” was declared over this past spring, but the nuclear mushroom clouds left behind by exploding unicorns never really materialized. Bloomberg BusinessWeek has the best argument we’ve read lately for what’s likely in the cards:

“There are a whole bunch of businesses that are good, not great, but they’ve raised money as if they were great,” the magazine writes. “Earlier this year, One Kings Lane, the online home goods retailer once worth almost USD 1 bn, sold itself to Bed Bath & Beyond, one of the companies it was supposed to displace, for just USD 12 mn. Jawbone, the maker of sleek wearable fitness hardware once seen as a threat to Apple’s, has seen its value fall 50 percent.” Read The Tech Bubble Didn’t Burst This Year. Just Wait

When doing the right thing means destroying a company — and going against you 90-plus-year-old grandfather. Longtime readers will remember we have covered with considerable interest the allegations of skullduggery at Theranos, the blood-testing startup run by a CEO who styled herself after Steve Jobs, but who is now alleged to have been making things up out of whole cloth. John Carreyou from the Wall Street Journal broke the story and has owned it since, earning the loathing of Theranos employees, who at one point in the saga gathered at corporate headquarters to chant, “F— Y–, Carreyou. F— Y–, Carreyou.” Carreyou is back this week with the story of one of the whistleblowers who broke open the case — none other than Tyler Shultz, the grandson of former US Secretary of State George Shultz, who himself just happens to be a member of Theranos’ board. Read: Theranos Whistleblower Shook the Company—and His Family.

In its third year, the Wuzhen World Internet Conference remains an anomaly: A convocation of the world’s biggest tech companies in a rustic tourist village, organized by the world’s most sophisticated internet censorship bureau, the Cyberspace Administration of China, writes Eva Dou for the Wall Street Journal. Despite a new sweeping Chinese cybersecurity law, the conference was attended by Big Tech players including Facebook, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, and Tesla Motors. China’s President Xi Jinping said his country would work to uphold “cyber sovereignty,” the idea that countries have absolute control over their corners of the internet. With President-elect Donald Trump promising high tariffs for Chinese imports, and internet regulation growing tighter in China with laws requiring security reviews for IT equipment supporting critical sectors, this year’s conference shrinking from last year’s is perhaps a reflection of growing skepticism that the Chinese and U.S. visions will converge.

Samsung Electronics have agreed to acquire US-based auto-tech manufacturer Harman International Industries for USD 8 bn, its latest attempt to branch out beyond smartphones in the wake of the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, writes Jonathan Cheng for the Wall Street Journal. The transaction is the largest in Samsung’s history, with the company saying they would pay USD 112 per share at a 28% premium over Harman’s closing price last Friday. While Harman’s name is usually associated with premium audio equipment, roughly 65% of the firm’s USD 7 bn in revenues actually came from supplying components and developing software for auto manufacturers. Harman’s automotive-focused products include navigation systems, infotainment, telematics and driver-assistance technologies, write the Trevis Team for Forbes.

…Software and electronics are playing an increasing role in the automobile industry, with automotive electronics estimated to account for upwards of 30% of a modern vehicle’s cost. The market for automotive electronics is projected to grow to over USD 100 bn by 2025, according to Samsung. Tech giants seem to be approaching the market in different ways. Firms such as Apple and Google appear to be betting big on building connected and self-driving car platforms that they could license out to automotive firms, Samsung’s initial focus is more hardware-oriented. This could prove to be a less risky, yet lucrative bet in the near term.

If you’ve ever been fascinated by shipwrecks, read this piece by the New York Times. The bottom line: “Archaeologists have found more than 40 vessels in the Black Sea, some more than a millennium old, shedding light on early empires and trade routes.” That is all.

Are you shopping at Ikea this weekend? Odds are good we’re headed in that direction to acquire a Christmas tree for the resident nine-year-old. “In some cases, Ikea’s famously affordable pieces get dramatically cheaper year after year. In others, prices creep up. In some cases, products disappear entirely. They’ll sometimes reduce prices in the United States and make them go up in Canada, which makes even Canadians mad.” Read The Weird Economics Of Ikea on FiveThirtyEight.

How are you spending your day? Tim Urban’s Wait But Why has us thinking about useless meetings, time spent community and more facetime with family and the colleagues at work who make our days better. His “100 Blocks a Day” is short and to the point — and might just change who and what you spend your time with.

And while you’re thinking of how you spend time, go read the Guardian’s slightly tongue-in-cheek Don’t floss, peel veg or wash your jeans: 40 things you can stop doing right now

How Game Theory is improving apps that help you find someone with whom to spend time (we can’t use the common term for this because of the algorithms that govern deliverability…). Game theory is so amazing. And if you are a single millennial these days, it just got so much better. It is no secret that relationship apps, have become a cesspool. The harassment of the street simply is transferred online. Even on Tinder, when it is all about the meaningless hookup, women often get an avalanche of crass, unoriginal, and uninspired messages from the throngs of dudes that outnumber them in population ( 60% men to 40% women, according to the Economists’ 1843 Magazine) on relationship apps-sphere and the attempts. And therein lies the problem. The market is so skewed in favor (or in this case against) the women, creating a classing game theory dilemma where users acting in their (narrow) self-interest over-exploit a shared resource and therefore harm the common good. To use a dispassionate term: overfishing.

[hookup] apps have begun to adapt, and creating incentives to shift behavior. Coffee Meets Bagel is addressing the torrent of harassing cat-calls by allowing for only one match per day, essentially forcing the users to put some thought into their target partner and put some thought into what they say so as to not risk wasting their one chance. Bumble is turning the table and only allowing women – the under represented group – to make the first move. To this, we say: RIP John Nash. You truly deserved that Nobel Prize.

Metallica, The Roots, and Jimmy Fallon playing Enter Sandman on their appearance on Fallon’s The Tonight Show using classroom instruments. Lars Ulrich is banging on some Fisher Price drums, but there is no Kirk Hammett solo. Metallica’s new album “Hardwired … To Self-Destruct,” their first since 2008’s Death Magnetic and the 2011 collaboration with Lou Reed, is being released today. The album is produced by Greg Fidelman, along with James Hetfield and Ulrich (runtime 02:42).

The most efficient way to destroy the universe: Forget nukes and supervolcanoes, what’s more likely to rip the universe apart with greater speed and efficiency is Vacuum Decay. The process of particles going from a high-energy state to a low-energy state reaching their vacuum state applies to all physics with the exception of the Higgs Field, writes Philip Perry for Big Think. The Higgs Field exists in an unstable state of false vacuum, meaning it could spark off at any moment at the speed of light in an infinitely expanding sphere destroying everything at an atomic level. Watch it explained here with optimistic nihilism by Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell here. (Run time 5:58)

DOCUMENTARY OF THE WEEK: ESPN’s 30 for 30 Small Potatoes Who Killed the USFL: We’re not going to open a debate about the name of a sport that makes no sense, or plug something only North Americans will like. So why a documentary on American Football? If ever there was a metaphor of how Donald Trump might run the US, it has to be this. We’ve all heard of Trump University and his bankruptcies. But not many have spoken about his brief entry into sports and how Trump almost single-handedly killed a football league that had the potential to compete and outshine the NFL.

In the early ‘80s a group of businessmen decided to launch an alternative league in the spring (football is played in the fall). With new teams popping up, major new player signings, advertising money, endorsements and TV agreements, the United States Football League was formed as an upstart league that was slowly outshining the unconquerable National Football League. Then came Trump — whose ego wanted him to be a sports team owner. Since he apparently could not be part of the premier league, he settled for the USFL. Trump then proceeded to bully the nascent league to directly challenge the NFL by moving it to the fall season from the spring. And so ended what was dubbed the “fun” football league. Look for Trump’s interviews, where he the topic clearly hits a sore spot with the businessman who dismissed his whole foray as “small potatoes”. It is the failure he doesn’t want to talk about. You can watch the full documentary here (runtime: 1:01:39).

Kissinger’s view: The Economist’s editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes and BBC director of news James Harding attempted to dissect what a Trump presidency would mean for US international relations in an interview with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Kissinger says: “the immediate task, that I see … is not to force Trump to live up to everything he has said during the campaign, but to give him an opportunity to look at it from a broader point of view and not necessarily pre-judge everything … in terms of rhetoric that may be more geared towards the elections,” to which Beddoes asks if it is too simple to assume Trump will just be “different” in office? Kissinger seemingly sees eye-to-eye with Trump on many issues, including US intervention internationally, on which he still insists that his view is that removing a central authority in any country is more likely to lead to civil war than democracy, in reference to Syria. He adds that domestic debates can’t continue to be about “absolutes, in which absolute good confronts absolute evil.” Kissinger is arguably one of the most influential diplomats of his era and possibly one of the most divisive, with The New Yorker’s Jon Lee Anderson recently arguing that the former secretary of state “has shown little in the way of a conscience. And because of that, it seems highly likely, history will not easily absolve him” (runtime 31:20).

The virtues of being messy: Tim Harford tell Russ Roberts on the EconTalk podcast that disorder is powerful. Harford argues we have a weakness for order and neat solutions causing us to miss opportunities to find happiness or success with messier, more disorderly processes and solutions. Harford retells stories ranging from jazz musicians, business ventures, and even Nobel laureate Harry Markowitz’s stock and bond portfolio allocation to say that “tidiness” is just overrated. Harford is plugging his new book on the show, aptly titled “Messy” (runtime 01:12:32).

The most-clicked stories in Enterprise in the past week were:

• CIB’s new spending limits when using credit or debit cards abroad (CIB, pdf)
• Run, baby iguana, run (BBC, video)
• Injaz Egypt (website)
• Hadary climbs the goalpost after Egypt beats Ghana in World Cup qualifier (Youtube) (tie)
• Goal recap in Egypt vs. Ghana World Cup qualifier (Youtube) (tie)
• Revisiting why incompetents think they’re awesome (Ars Technica)

Uber took its self-driving truck on its first delivery run last month. The cargo: 50,000 cans of beer. Perhaps its unceremonious and non-glamorous first cargo delivery is symbolic of the truck’s status in the auto-tech world. While not as headline grabbing as other pieces we’ve run on automaton self-driving vehicles, these trucks might hit the market sooner, because of how much more practical they are and how much they are in need. Once upon a time, truck drivers held a valued — albeit underpaid — position in the global economy. So much so that the teamsters union propelled Jimmy Hoffa to one of the most powerful men in the America. But low wages have created a massive shortfall in drivers in an industry which hauls 70% of freight in the US — about 10.5 bn tonnes annually, according to Wired. The American Trucking Association pegs the shortfall at 48,000 drivers, and says it could hit 175,000 by 2024.

Beyond filling the gap, Long, overnight night hauls does not a safer highway make. Proponents of the technology argue that with 400,0000 trucks crashing each year, killing about 4,000 people, self-driving trucks will be a godsend. But drivers will remain a crucial part of the industry. Self-driving trucks will only remain on highways, with drivers required to take control in cities. They will also be there to supervise signing and making sure everything is smooth on the road in a manner similar to pilots managing their autopilot. If you’ve ever driven the Sokhna road at night, this technology may not be as scary as some of other Skynet stuff we’ve run.