David Remnick | New Yorker | 12 December 2011 Superb, and superbly readable, account of Russia under Putin. Captures cynicism, corruption and violence of the state; its historical underpinnings; and growing discontent following latest parliamentary elections Comments Anonymous | You Are Not So Smart | 14 December 2011 Superb essay on money, happiness. "No matter how you turn it, the science says once your basic needs are taken care of, money and other rewards don't make you happier." If you think differently, you're deluding yourself. Here's why Comments Christopher Buckley | New Yorker | 16 December 2011 Personal recollections of the brilliant essayist and debater by one of his best friends. "Lunch began at 1pm and ended at 11.30pm. At about nine o'clock, he said, 'Should we order more food?'" Comments Om Malik | Gigaom | 13 December 2011 "In my life I have met many smart people — Jeff Bezos, Andy Bechtolsheim, Larry Page, Andy Grove, Sergey Brin, Vinod Khosla and Bret Taylor. D'Aloisio belongs with them, I am convinced." This is the story of a remarkable 16 year old Comments Joseph Stiglitz | Vanity Fair | 11 December 2011 "Even when we repair the banking system, we'll still be in deep trouble—because we were already in deep trouble. That seeming golden age of 2007 was far from a paradise." Here's why, and what we can learn from the Great Depression Comments Sharon Begley | Newsweek | 12 December 2011 "After four decades of largely unfulfilled hopes, scientists have hit on a potential cure that few thought possible a few years ago: Vaccines." Much still to prove but early clinical trials show promising, if variable, results Comments Adam Curtis | BBC | 8 December 2011 Another terrifically enjoyable piece by documentary maker, illustrated with video clips. Tells story of "geezer capitalism" through rise and fall of gangster-turned-businessman, George Walker. Sardonic humour much in evidence Comments Andrew Gelman & Kaiser Fung | American Scientist | 13 December 2011 The book sold 4 million copies. Impressive for a statistics-themed work. A sequel followed, an NYT column, even a film. But something's gone awry: The Freakonomics duo have started to mislead us with erroneous, speculative claims Comments | 
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