Assorted links

1. Ross Douthat on Andrew Sullivan.

2. What are the weirdest languages in the world?

3. Cengage files for bankruptcy protection.

4. Which English language curse word does Merkel use in public without hesitation or blow back?

5. Where are the missing 90-year-olds?

6. Digital manufacturing is more important than 3-D printing.

7. Robin Hanson disagrees with me and advocates betting on beliefs.  On my side of the debate I claim a long history of successful science, corporate innovation, journalism, and also commentary of many kinds, mostly not based on personal small bets, sometimes banning them, and relying on various other forms of personal stakes in ideas, and passing various market tests repeatedly.  I don’t see comparable evidence on the other side of this debate, which I interpret as a preference for witnessing comeuppance for its own sake (read Robin’s framing or Alex’s repeated use of the mood-affiliated word “bullshit” to describe both scientific communication and reporting).  The quest for comeuppance is a misallocation of personal resources.