Interesting
Reads – 2019-03-06
Contents
Articles
- 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2019, curated by Bill Gates
- 24 Lessons From Warren Buffett’s Annual Letters To Shareholders
- The Internet Is Broken. Here’s Who Can Fix It.
- The U.S. National Academies Reports on the Prospects for Quantum Computing
- Numbers of Zeros in a Million, Billion, Trillion, and More
- 39 Books to Improve your Decision Making Skills
- How to Kill Mosquitoes: What Works and What Doesn't
- One man’s two-decade quest to suck greenhouse gas out of the sky
- Facebook Has Behaved Like 'Digital Gangsters,' U.K. Parliament Report Says
- Leaders To Learn From 2019: Recognizing Excellence in School District Leadership
- Bonus: What Do We Know About Deathbed Visions?
Events /
Announcements
- ORSI, Chennai: Prof.TR Natesan Endowment Lecture on 8th March 2019 at IIT Madras
- SETS: Free Seminar on Trends in Cyber Security
- ACM India Summer Schools 2019 at Seven locations
- SETS Certificate Course on Advanced Network Security
- CDAC: Hands-On Courses On Data Science
- WiFi Knowledge Summit on 5th Apr 2019 at Bangalore
- ICIETET'19: Fourth International Conference on Innovative & Emerging Trends in Engineering and Technology during 17-18, Apr 2019 at PIT Chennai
- Call For Papers: IEEE TENCON 2019 at Kochi during 17-19 Oct 2019
- Matsumae International Foundation of Japan. Scholarship for PhD scholars
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Mohan
========================================================
Articles
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2019, curated by Bill Gates
I was honored when MIT Technology Review invited me
to be the first guest curator of its 10 Breakthrough Technologies. Narrowing
down the list was difficult. I wanted to choose things that not only will
create headlines in 2019 but captured this moment in technological
history—which got me thinking about how innovation has evolved over time.
24
Lessons From Warren Buffett’s Annual Letters To Shareholders
Each
year, Warren Buffett writes an open letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.
Over the last 40 years, these letters have become an annual required read
across the investing world, providing insight into how Buffett and his team
think about everything from investment strategy to stock ownership to company
culture, and more.
At
the age of 26, Nebraska stockbroker and school teacher named Warren Buffett
took his “retirement fund” of $174,000 and decided to start his own investment
business.
Two
decades later, he was a billionaire.
Today,
the “Oracle of Omaha’s” net worth is almost $83B — making him the third
wealthiest person in the world, after Jeff Bezos (another CEO known for his
shareholder letters) and Bill Gates.
The Internet Is Broken.
Here’s Who Can Fix It.
Not so long ago, as the internet
emerged from the dial-up era and corporations were just beginning to monetize
it, many writers argued that broadband would usher us into a new digital
“utopia.” In 1996, John Perry Barlow, the founder of the nonprofit Electronic
Frontier Foundation, wrote a Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace
about the new ethics of the internet.
According to Barlow, a brave new online
world that “all may enter without privilege or prejudice accorded by race,
economic power, military force, or station of birth” was on its way. This new
frontier would be “more humane and fair than the world your governments have
made before” and lead us to collective enlightenment.
That didn’t quite happen.
The
U.S. National Academies Reports on the Prospects for Quantum Computing
In
November, IEEE Spectrum published an expert-written feature titled, “The Case
Against Quantum Computing.” In it, the author, Mikhail Dyakonov, defended his
view that practical general-purpose quantum computers would not be built
anytime in the foreseeable future. As you might expect at this time of great enthusiasm
for quantum computing, the article ruffled more than a few feathers.
As it turns out, while that article was
being prepared, a committee of experts assembled by the U.S. National Academies
of Science, Engineering and Medicine had been grappling with the very same
question: When will quantum computers mature into something of practical
commercial value? More fully, the task before the committee was to provide “an
independent assessment of the feasibility and implications of creating a
functional quantum computer capable of addressing real-world problems. . . .”
In particular, the committee was to estimate “the time and resources required,
and how to assess the probability of success.”
That committee released its 205-page
report to the public recently and is available for free download.
Numbers
of Zeros in a Million, Billion, Trillion, and More
If
you have ever wondered what number comes after a trillion, read on. For
example, do you know how many zeros there are in a vigintillion? Someday you
may need to know this for science or math class. Then again, you might just
want to impress a friend or teacher.
39
Books to Improve your Decision Making Skills
Who
can you ask for book recommendations on decision making? At Re:Think Decision
Making, I (author of the post) asked a crowd that one former ivy league
professor called “the best public crowd he’s ever seen” what they would
recommend reading. These people are paid to make decisions for a living and
want to find every edge they can.
So
when I (author) asked them what books on decision making influenced them, you
can bet they had a lot to say.
Here’s
the list in no particular order:
How to Kill Mosquitoes: What Works and What
Doesn't
Mosquitoes bite, suck your blood, and leave you with
itchy bumps and possibly a horrible infection. Mosquito-borne pathogens include
malaria, West Nile virus, Zika virus, Chikungunya virus, and dengue.
While you might fantasize about living in a
mosquito-free world, eradicating them would actually be disastrous for the
environment. Adult mosquitoes are food for other insects, birds, and bats,
while larval mosquitoes support aquatic ecosystems. The best we can hope for is
to limit their ability to transmit disease, repel them, and kill them within
the confines of our yards and homes.
Mosquito-killing products bring in the big bucks, so
it should come as no surprise that there is a wealth of misinformation out
there. Before you get sucked into buying a product that simply won't work, get
educated about what does and does not kill these blood-sucking pests.
Related
Post: 16 Fascinating Facts About Mosquitoes
One
man’s two-decade quest to suck greenhouse gas out of the sky
The
big metal container in Klaus Lackner’s lab doesn’t look like it could save the
planet. It mostly closely resembles a dumpster – which it sort of is.
As
Lackner looks on, hands in the pockets of his pressed khakis, the machine
begins to transform. Three mattress-shaped metal frames rise from the guts of
the receptacle, unfolding like an accordion as they stretch toward the ceiling.
Each
frame contains hundreds of white polymer strips filled with resins that bind
with carbon dioxide molecules. The strips form a kind of sail, designed to
snatch the greenhouse gas out of the air as wind blows through the contraption.
Facebook
Has Behaved Like 'Digital Gangsters,' U.K. Parliament Report Says
A
new report from British lawmakers on how social media is used to spread
disinformation finds that Facebook and other big tech companies are failing
their users and dodging accountability.
"The
guiding principle of the 'move fast and break things' culture often seems to be
that it is better to apologise than ask permission," said Damian Collins,
chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that drafted the
report. "We need a radical shift in the balance of power between the
platforms and the people. The age of inadequate self regulation must come to an
end."
The
108-page report is often scathing on Facebook's practices and corporate
conduct.
Leaders To Learn From 2019: Recognizing Excellence in School
District Leadership
Each year, Education Week identifies some of the
nation’s most exceptional school district leaders in its Leaders To Learn From
report and shines a spotlight on their extraordinary impact on the success of
educators and students. We are excited to reveal our 2019 honorees. These
leading-edge district leaders seized on smart ideas, executed them skillfully,
and are seeing promising results for students and schools.
Bonus: What Do We Know About
Deathbed Visions?
Close to the moment of death, apparitions of
deceased friends and loved ones appear to escort the dying to the other side.
Such deathbed visions are not just the stuff of stories and movies. They are,
in fact, more common than you might think and are surprisingly similar across
nationalities, religions, and cultures. Instances of these unexplained visions
have been recorded throughout history and stand as one of the most compelling
proofs of life after death.
Events /
Announcements
ORSI, Chennai:
Prof.TR Natesan Endowment Lecture on 8th March 2019 at IIT Madras
ORSI,
Chennai Chapter is organizing Prof.TR Natesan Endowment Lecture on "A
Short Survey on Game Theory" on 8th March 2019 from 4.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
at Department of Management Studies, IITM.
More
details at http://orsichennai.com/reg.jpg
SETS: Free
Seminar on Trends in Cyber Security
SETS
(society for Electronic Transactions and Security is organising free seminar on
Cyber Security with a focus on state-of-the-art technologies like Artificial
Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT) from 4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.
on 8th and also on 9th Mar 2019 at SETS, Chennai. For registration, pl. visit https://www.setsindia.in/scs
ACM India Summer
Schools 2019 at Seven locations
ACM
India is pleased to announce ACM India Summer Schools 2019 after the highly
successful summer schools held last two years. These schools are targeted at
pre-final year undergraduate or masters students. In exceptional cases, PhD
students or students in other years may also be considered.
This
year, seven (7) summer schools are planned. The duration of these courses will
be 2/3 weeks.
While
ACM student membership is NOT a must,
students are encouraged to join ACM as student members.
BE
(CSE, IT), MCA and MSc (CS) students are eligible to apply.
Application
deadline is 14th Mar 2019
For
more details regarding the courses, venue, online application process, please
visit http://india.acm.org/summer-schools-2019.html
SETS Certificate
Course on Advanced Network Security
SETS
initiated an Advanced Cyber Security Education & Training School (ACSETS)
to impart e-Security Training in niche areas where SETS has its strengths in
order to develop skill sets among stakeholders: Working Professionals, Teaching
Faculty, Researchers, Students (UG, PG in different streams of Engineering
& Sciences). Developing quality manpower in various domains relating to cybersecurity
is vital from the national perspective. ACSETS will take up advanced training
in the areas of expertise of SETS. Keeping in view the growing needs of cyber
security professionals, SETS is launching a six weeks certification programme
titled “SETS Certificate on Advanced Network Security (SCANS)”.
The
course is designed to provide in-depth exposure to Cyber Security technologies
and tools and to train the candidates to secure networks and systems from the
ever-widening cyber-attack surface. It provides an insight on challenges faced
in securing real world network systems and defense mechanisms. Also, candidates
get acquainted with the use of tools to prevent attacks, identify anomalies and
safeguard networks with various techniques and solutions.
The
course is open for
- Candidates who completed their Engineering (BE/ B.Tech or Higher Qualification) in thestreams of ECE/ CSE/ EEE/ EIE/ IT/ and MCA, M.Sc (Electronics, Computer science, Information Science, IT)
- Candidates who are pursuing 3rd year/4th year Engineering (BE/ B.Tech) in the streams of ECE/CSE/ EEE/ EIE/ IT/ and 2nd year MCA students (during their vacation)
- Diploma / Science graduates with exposure to programming and cyber security.
- Working professionals who are keen on developing/ enhancing their cyber security skills.
The
course duration is Six weeks full-time (Monday-Friday from 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.
) with equal emphasis on theory and practical.
Last
date to apply online is 15th Mar 2019
For
details visit https://www.setsindia.in/scans
CDAC: Hands-On Courses On Data Science
We are living in a Data Age. Data is
being continuously generated and consumed in various formats, and sizes from a
number of varied sources. This data can be a big asset if stored, processed and
analysed efficiently in real time with the help of intelligent algorithms.
There is a growing interest to utilize such data for the improvement of
business, health, education, society, etc.
There are many ways to process and
analyse such data spanning techniques like data visualisation, text analysis,
predictions and recommendations etc. Applications of these techniques can give
companies and organisations valuable insights leading to competitive advantage,
efficient service delivery and above all customer satisfaction. And so the demand
for skilled resources in these fields is growing day by day.
With this view, CDAC, Mumbai is
announcing three short-term courses in Data Science and Machine Learning.
More details at http://kbcs.in/datascience/courses/index.html
WiFi Knowledge Summit on 5th Apr 2019 at Bangalore
The 6th WiFi Knowledge Summit will be
held in Bangalore on April 5th 2019. The aim of this event is to bring together
industry professionals, researchers, policy makers and members of the academia
for sharing technical, business, regulatory and policy perspectives relating to
WiFi. In previous events, we have seen good participation from OEMs, telecom
operators, Internet service providers, govt officials etc.
The theme of this year’s event will
be Enterprise and Campus WiFi. The tentative list of topics is as follows:
More about the Summit at http://www.wifi-ks.org
ICIETET'19: Fourth International Conference on Innovative & Emerging
Trends in Engineering and Technology during 17-18, Apr 2019 at PIT Chennai
The Fourth International Conference
on Innovative & Emerging Trends in Engineering and Technology (ICIETET'19) is being held at Panimalar Institute
of Technology, Chennai during 17-18, Apr
2019.
The
conference focus themes include: Computing And Networking /
Communication; Technological
Advancements In Mechanical Engineering; Recent Trends In Power Electronics And
Power System; and Recent Trends In Communication.
More details at http://www.pit.ac.in/icietet/
Call For Papers: IEEE TENCON 2019 at Kochi during 17-19 Oct 2019
TENCON is the flagship premier
international technical conference of IEEE Region 10. The Theme for TENCON 2019
is "Technology, Knowledge, and Society", and it will be held during
17th to 20th October, 2019 at Hotel Grand Hyatt, Bolgatty, Kochi, Kerala.
Paper submission deadline: 29th
Apr 2019
More at http://www.tencon2019.org
Matsumae International Foundation of Japan. Scholarship for PhD scholars
Matsumae International Foundation
(MIF), Japan announces its 2020 Research Fellowship Program for PhD Scholars for
a period of from three to six months and the number of fellowships is about 20.
Field of research include: Natural Science, Engineering and Medicine.
For details visit http://www.mif-japan.org/fellowship/announcement/?hl=en
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Feedback
We
will be pleased to have your feedback on the “Interesting Reads” posts being
sent once in five days.
Pl.
share the links of any interesting things you come across so that we can
include them in these email posts.
Also,
pl. share the email ids of your colleagues, friends, peers and contacts, if you
want them to be included in the google group to get regular posts.
Pl.
send all your communications to hrmohan.ieee@gmail.com
With
regards
HR
Mohan
