September Links

A running list of great essays, papers, and videos I've seen this month.

An interactive tutorial on the game theory of trust: The Evolution of Trust by Nicky Case.

On Monday the 24th, Sir Michael Atiyah will give a 45 minute talk at The Heidelberg Laureate Forum. According to the talk's abstract, he will present a "simple proof" of the Riemann Hypothesis -- one of the oldest and most important unsolved problems in Mathematics. The discovery of such a proof, especially from someone so old (Atiyah is 89), would be earth-shaking. See this article for more on Atiyah. A notable quote is: "I've got all the medals I need. What could I lose? So that's why I'm prepared to take a gamble that a young researcher wouldn't be prepared to take ... If I make a mess of it now, people will say, "All right, he was a good mathematician, but at the end of his life he lost his marbles." The community has reacted with encouragement but mostly with polite skepticism. We'll find out soon enough.

In memory of the late senator's passing, Rolling Stone republished a remarkable story from John McCain's 2000 primary bid. The inimitable David Foster Wallace on John McCain: 'The Weasel, Twelve Monkeys and the Shrub'

Friday the 21st's Google Doodle honors the 51st anniversary of the filming of the first episode of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." Here's a great piece about the man and his legacy: Can You Say... Hero? Fred Rogers has been doing the same small good thing for a very long time...