Best of Twitter: Creators of the Future, In Support of Imitation, Microbiome, and more...
Best of Twitter: Creators of the Future, In Support of Imitation, Microbiome, and more...
This is my weekly list of the most interesting tweets I found—with a little commentary from me.
Is computer science the only degree worth studying for?
Software is eating the world. If you’re not familiar with this phrase or don’t really understand what exactly it means, read the linked article.
The inner tweet above is interpreting this phrase to mean that computer science is the only subject worth studying because all other disciplines will be eaten by it. Or at least, programmers will rule the world and others will simply exist to help the programmers. So more and more people are rushing to major in computer science.
The outer tweet is more interesting and points out that probably the opposite might be true. Programming might get commoditized, just like reading and writing. Don’t forget that before the renaissance, reading and writing were advanced skills that only a few people learnt. So, the more sensible course might be to say that take up whatever discipline you’re interested in, and the good colleges will teach you the programming and/or software tools needed to do well in that discipline. The only extra advice would be: if you have electives, take the ones that are heavy on programming/tools.
What do you think?
Visualizing battles
My first reaction to this tweet was: This is such a cool visualization. In one glance I can see interesting patterns. Take a look. Think about the map and the point made in the tweet.
Do you notice any problems?
As this tweet points out, the visualization isn’t of all the battles in history. It is a visualization of the records that they had access to. The map just shows which areas have more recorded data and which areas have less recorded data (as accessed by the map creator). That’s all.
People assume that if a conclusion is based on data then it must be true. But they forget that the data itself can have lots of problems.
The celebrity isn’t dumb: You don’t have the complete information
I had written a full article about this point: “If Kabil Sibal is such an idiot, how come you’re not the prime minister” (this was during Congress rule; replace Kapil Sibal with whichever leader you think is an idiot.)
Creators and art of the future
Technology always enables new forms of creation and art.
And this is why that’s important. People learn by watching the experts do it:
Also see: MeghanPlays who makes millions streaming herself playing Roblox, and Kat Norton ($) who makes 6-figures posting excel tips on social media. (Last two links via the excellent Exponential View newsletter.)
Innovation is overrated
Copying is not necessarily bad. If you want a serious detailed long read about why imitation might be better for business than innovation, check out this ribbonfarm post: Down with Innovation, Up with Imitation.
Twitter is great. Also, Twitter sucks.
Which Twitter are you in? The beautiful village or the giant sinkhole? Here are tips on how to live in the village without falling into the sinkhole.
Quote of the Week
I wonder how many people this describes.
New to Some
This section contains tweets where there’s an interesting concept that many might know but it would be new to at least some people. Last week the New to Some had an image of an airplane with red dots. If you didn’t understand it, click here for the detailed explanation.
This tweet is a joke. But do you understand what is it talking about? You should find out more about our gut microbiome (the microbes living in our stomach and intestines, and who play a very important role in our digestion and immunity).