During the past several weeks, I have accumulated a short list of rather interesting stories/ videos. Links that I both do not want to lose, but also want to share with others. Why not post to a social networking site, like my favorite Reddit? Simple, these links have already graced the pages of those sites. So, here they are, in no particular order.

Wealth distribution in the United States

Bottom 90% of the population, holds roughly 12.2% of the investment assets (2007).

Is college worth it?

George Town research paper aggregates income data for people based on their level of education, and type of education. The summary page provides links to the detailed data for each field discussed.

Whiteboard animation on motivation

What motivates people to work harder at work? The common perception is pay a person more money, then they will work harder for you. This is true of mostly physical tasks, but it breaks down when cognitive abilities are utilized. The research shows you should pay someone just enough money, so they do not have to worry about money, and then incentivize them with other forms of reward. Such as recognition, autonomy, or difficult problems to work on. All of this is summarized with an amazing whiteboard animation. Well worth watching.

Parking ticket on an asteroid

A staked claim to an asteroid, and then mailed NASA a parking ticket for landing a craft on that asteroid. NASA refused to pay the ticket.

Science is fun ............ And more fun!

Gravity probe B was the smoothest object ever created by humans to date. Its purpose was to detect distortions (eddy currents) in the space-time field around the Earth, caused by the Earth’s spin, as predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity.

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