Why the best maps leave things out
A map that showed everything would be the size of the territory and just as hard to navigate. Usefulness is a matter of omission.
How tall is a mountain, exactly?
The number on the sign depends on where you decide the sea is. That turns out to be a surprisingly hard question.
TechnologyThe quiet usefulness of the humble spreadsheet
Forty years on, still the most used programming tool in the world, and the least respected.
CultureLunch, the most underrated meal
Breakfast has the science and dinner has the romance. Lunch has forty minutes and a desk. It deserves better.
ScienceBirds that commute
Not migration. The daily trip from roost to feeding ground, timed better than any train.
TechnologyIn praise of the off switch
The most useful feature on any device is the one that makes it stop. It is also the one most often removed.
CultureThe return of the board game evening
Three hours, one table, no screens. A pastime from the last century is quietly doing well in this one.
Casitoday is a daily digest: a handful of short pieces from science, technology and culture, chosen rather than collected. We leave most things out on purpose, like a good map.
It goes out by email each weekday morning to readers who asked for it, and it is written to be read before the first meeting.