Sunday Assorted Links: Chess Rankings, US Interest Costs, and More
Key Takeaways
- •Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand now regards 19-year-old Praggnanandhaa as the world's number one chess player.
- •US annual interest expense reached a record 18.5% of federal revenue, exceeding the 1991 peak of 18.4% and more than quadrupling over four years.
- •Political interference at the Census Bureau risks damaging the entire US statistical system, including economic indicators and federal funding formulas.
- •Elena Ferrante's identity remains unconfirmed, with one author maintaining the pseudonymous writer is a husband-and-wife team.
- •An essay examines British philosopher and science fiction author Olaf Stapledon, whose works depict civilizational histories across cosmic timescales.
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Vishy Anand now considers Praggnanandhaa the number one player in the chess world. Anand, the five-time world champion from India, ranking 19-year-old compatriot Praggnanandhaa at the top reflects how quickly the teenage grandmaster has risen among the world elite. Link
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Do children grow continuously, or in fits and starts? A long-standing question in pediatric research, since measurement noise makes it hard to distinguish true growth spurts from smooth accumulation. Link
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It remains the author's view that Elena Ferrante is a husband-and-wife team. Ferrante's true identity has never been confirmed; the pseudonymous Italian author has published through editor Sandro Ferri's firm, which is the basis of much of the speculation. Link
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An essay on Olaf Stapledon, the British philosopher and science fiction writer whose works such as Star Maker and Last and First Men survey civilizational histories on cosmic timescales. Link
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"US annual interest expense is up to a record 18.5% of federal government revenue. This is officially above the previous record of 18.4% set in 1991. This percentage has more than QUADRUPLED over the last 4 years as interest expenditures on public debt skyrocketed." The 1991 peak followed the high-interest-rate environment of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Link
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Statistical meddling at the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau's data underpin not just the decennial count but economic indicators and federal funding formulas, so interference there has effects across the broader US statistical system. Link
