Issue #5 · November 30th, 2015 · View in your browser

1. A dream of secular utopia in ISIS' backyard

In northern Syria, you will find a narrow piece of land inhabited by 4.6m Kurds named Rojava. The extraordinary thing is that although it is close to ISIS-controlled territory, the politics are radically different. In Rojava, leaders are women, direct democracy is enforced and there’s a coed university called the Mesopotamiam Social Sciences Academy. Wes Enzina, a journalist with the New York Times Magazine went there for a week help teach free speech to people who were not used to it. “A free people has to have freedom of speech” said a Kurdish graduate named Yasin Duman to the Times’ journalist. I am surprised this has not been more widely publicised. 

+ Slate: American leftists need to pay more attention to Rojava

• Aeon Video : Dramatic agency: interactive media can help bridge the gap between radically different perspectives

2. The consumer isn't a moron

We live in a million-billion stats world. People share millions of photos on Snapchat, like billions of posts on Facebook and send an absurd number of emails every single day. We are near “content shock”—the idea that soon, producing more content will be uneconomical. It's a new struggle for brands. They can't seem to be able to engage customers anymore. What should brands do? In an enlightening essay, Ali Mese shares his ideas. Basically, it's about finding your “tribe”. It's about getting only one thousand true fans who will follow you anywhere and buy everything you make. 

+ Karl Sharro : Only the affluent can afford to be anti-consumerist

3. Goering on War

During the Nuremberg trials, Gustave Gilbert, a respected psychologist, was given access to all the prisoners. During an interview, Gilbert told Hermann Goering that people are not thankful for war. After replying “Why, of course, the people don't want war”, the chief of the Nazi army made a bone-chilling declaration that unfortunately rings true to this day: “[...] the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”

We have to ask ourselves why today, pacifists are seen as extremists and those who wage war as moderate. 

• Vox : Economists tested 7 welfare programs to see if they made people lazy. They didn't. 

• Literally Unbelievable: Stories by The Onion believed to be true by people on Facebook

4. The motion of a wave

And to conclude, waves. Wave motion at the surface of water is made up of small circular motions of parcels of water. (If the image does not animate, click here.)

*Thanks, 

Ulysse*