Thought provocation

Gary Taubes
The (Political) Science of Salt

Don Kates and Gary Mauser
Would banning firearms reduce murder and suicide?

Steven Pinker
In defense of dangerous ideas
A history of violence
Subsequent TED|talk: A brief history of violence

Ross Kemp On Gangs - El Salvador:
Parts 2,3,4,5 (jaw dropping scene at ~3:20),6

You Are What You Grow

An interesting article in the NY Times Magazine by Michael Pollan, exploring the politics of farming and its affect on our food supply and costs.
A provocative figure from Drewknowski and Darmon,

The economics of obesity: dietary energy density and energy cost (2005).
Related information from the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy.

Sunday round-up

Ruminations on tough issues by smart people.

A history of violence by Stephen Pinker. [First published in The New Republic, 031907]
Gun control isn't the answer by James Q. Wilson. [LA Times Op-Ed, 042007]

A economist's view on saving the world by Bjorn Lomborg, who heads the Copenhagen Consensus. [TED talk]


The paradox of choice by Barry Schwartz. [TED talk]