More Links...

A few more things that have caught my attention:

• Here's a very large list of palindomes.
• Google gives come-hither to publishers and librarians and now has a new blog specifically for librarians.
• Trends in newspapers moving incorporating blogs into their websites.
• Make sure to visit the Wikipedia store! I'm thinking about getting this coffee mug.
• TCS Daily article on the benefits of a volatile economy. Excerpts: Yes, economic turbulence can yield a kind of psychic unease -- unease that's exploited for political gain. But that same turbulence is also the source of significant beneficent changes. If this is a War on the Middle Class, we should want a troop surge to keep it going... ...Job losses tend to be highly concentrated, making for good media fodder. Just last week an announcement came down that Sprint-Nextel is set to cut 5000 jobs. When was the last time you read about a firm creating 5000 jobs in one stroke? Job creation is more gradual than job loss by comparison, but over time there are more than enough jobs created, and better ones at that.
• Via The Speculist, Must-know Terms for the 21st-Century Intellectuals. Excerpt: First, I am trying to come up with a list of the most fundamental and crucial terms that are coming to define and will soon re-define the human condition, and that subsequently should be known by anyone who thinks of themselves as an intellectual. I admit that there's an elitist and even pompous aspect to this exercise, but the fact of the matter is that the zeitgeist is quickly changing. It's not enough anymore to be able to quote Dostoevsky, Freud and Darwin. This said, while my list of terms is 'required' knowledge, I am not suggesting that it is sufficient. My definition of an 'intellectual' also requires explanation. To me an intellectual in this context is an expert generalist -- a polymath or jack-of-all-trades who sees and understands the Big Picture both past, present and future. While I value and respect the work of specialists, they can be frustratingly out of touch with other disciplines and some of the more broader applications of science, technology and philosophy. Given the obvious truism that nobody can know everything, there is still great value in having individuals understand a diverse set of key principles.