5 Intriguing Things
Hello from Chicago. I want to apologize for the attenuation of the newsletter this week. These days have been the busiest of my life. Next week, I promise at least one special edition.
1. Fascinating data presentation on race and mortgages.
"The volume of lending overall and to different racial and ethnic groups fluctuated greatly over the course of the boom and bust, according to records released under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. African American and Hispanic borrowers took out a greater share of mortgages as housing prices neared their peak, arguably the worst time to take out a loan. Then, as prices began to drop and buying a home became more affordable, tightened credit standards left many from these same communities unable to obtain or refinance a loan. From 2005 to 2012, the share of loans made to African American and Hispanic households dropped from 23 percent to just 12 percent." (urban.org)
2. It may be hard to get excited about a payments company, but Stripe is everywhere these days.
"For Stripe, the Facebook partnership is the latest in a string of deals it has cut with some of the biggest names in technology. The San Francisco-based, 150-person startup has now established serious payments partnerships with Apple, Twitter, Facebook and Chinese digital payments service Alipay — all in the last year." (recode.net)
"Evolv, like Entelo, believes its data can dispel the biases of things like gut feeling to provide better assessments for industries looking for talented, diverse hires. But the company says it strives to avoid replicating similar, data-based prejudices by tweaking its 'scoring algorithm' to ensure it doesn't unintentionally discriminate against certain groups. For example, Evolv's data indicates that workers who live farther away from the office are more likely to quit. But that data is discarded from its 'secret sauce' because it could have an adverse impact of ignoring certain socioeconomic communities, which are often geographically stratified, said Michael Housman, the company's chief analytics officer." (nationaljournal.com)
4. On the emotional power and intellectual struggle over dioramas representing indigenous people.
"But what also disappears with the people and scenes behind the glass? 'Dioramas are a very, very powerful mode of representation,' says Raymond Silverman, director of museum studies at the University of Michigan. Dioramas are fully realized, crafted worlds. They’re full of details, rendered in 3-D better than any movie. 'They force one to look closely, especially in miniature, Silverman says. 'Imagine an entire village scene in 100 cubic inches.' Dioramas draw viewers in, inviting them to look for the exact same things that people seek in any new situation. Who’s talking to whom? What are they doing there? Who do I think could be my friend? At their best, dioramas are like time travel. And some say there might just be a way to replace them, responsibly, before they are as lost as the worlds they claimed to portray." (theappendix.net)
5. If you must know what Ello is, this is a good place to start.
"That description alone places Ello squarely in our current technological moment—as flawlessly Fall, 2014 as Infosec Taylor Swift—even if the surge in popularity is primal shrug that some of us want out. Facebook is a utility and no one wants to hang out in a ConEd plant. Facebook alienated drag queens and the LGBT community with its real name policy, making Ello look like a crisp, new fuck you." (gawker.com)
+ And just to be clear: No, you don't have to know about it.
Today's 1957 American English Language Tip
Oh no! I'm traveling and I forgot my dictionary. Tips will return soon.
Tightened Credit