How Enigma Worked
Nice explainer.
History
Did Odysseus Cause the Bronze Age Collapse?
Is there any truth in it? “Near the film’s climax, Penelope talks to Odysseus and finally realizes the truth—they are the Sea People. The ravaging horde destroying civilization is simply their triumphant warriors, returning home, having lost all sense of… Read More »Did Odysseus Cause the Bronze Age Collapse?
How Rivers Shaped States
Rivers matter. “If you think about it, the fact that Vietnam is made of two river deltas connected by a thin strip of coastal mountains makes it a very weird country” https://unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com/p/how-rivers-shaped-states
How Bread vs Rice Molded History
What we eat influences how our society works. “Crucially, this labor cannot be delayed—if you miss the planting window or harvest late, the crop is ruined. As a result, rice farmers developed reciprocal labor exchange: neighbors help each other transplant… Read More »How Bread vs Rice Molded History
The Succession Crisis That Tore England Apart
King is dead. Long live the king. “Both Stephen and Matilda had children, and this was another important factor in the struggle for the crown. Had either of them been childless it would have weakened their position considerably, because even… Read More »The Succession Crisis That Tore England Apart
Climate Caused the US Civil War
Freedom wins. “Nearly 90% of foreign immigrants settled in free states.” https://unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com/p/climate-caused-the-us-civil-war
Dubai
Turning weaknesses into strength. “Why did it work for Dubai? A big reason was that it was weak. That weakness was an asset, not a liability: The port was not huge, the Sheikh was not powerful, so if he tried… Read More »Dubai
Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later
It is easier to ask forgiveness than permission. And the energy is amazing.
Why We Didn’t Kill More Diseases?
Because we don’t care that much mostly.
Optimizing things in the USSR
And more like this. “To reduce the dimensionality of the problem, administrators would often track the total tonnage of a few broad classes of steel tubes in the models, rather than using a more detailed classification scheme. While their models… Read More »Optimizing things in the USSR