ei Individual Digest 19th March- guest edited by Debbi Evans, Libertine

19 Mar 14 | ei Individual Digest



	An individual take on ideas from the knowledge networking business Editorial Intelligence

Wednesday 19th March 2014 (UK edition)

Debbi Evans, Founder, Libertine. A lifestyle brand for thinking women.


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Bright Ideas

Spritz

There is too much information out there, we all know that. But it’s been a long time since someone tried to rework the tools we have to absorb it. Enter Spritz, a new ‘text streaming’ service from the US which claims to allow you to take in up to 600 words per minute by arranging those words according to their ‘Optimal Recognition Point’ and flashing them in front of your eyes one at a time. There have been a few cynics, but we think it works quite well.

Ideas Island

Swedish creativity author Fredrik Härén is offering a week’s free stay on one of his three private islands to frustrated creatives who need space to work on their ideas. While it sounds too good to be true, that really is the only condition of ‘Ideas Island’. Härén and his team also suggest a donation to charity as a condition of your stay.

Spider Silk

According to German company AMSilk, spider silk will be commercialised by the end of 2015. The VC-backed company have managed to express silk protein from the DNA of a European garden cross spider, which in turn will generate 20 different silk grades from four silk varieties. “It’s a double-digit million-dollar market for spider silk,” says MD Thorsten Leiner. In the short term, the silk will be used to coat breast implants and reduce the risk of adverse reaction; longer term, the company are considering capsules for drug delivery.


	Twitter – who to follow

@kimkierkegaard – The philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard mashed with the tweets and observations of Kim Kardashian.

@fakescience – Facts, schmacts! Ben Goldacre would be proud.

@vice_is_hip – What is troubling about this parody of the hipster media company is it’s very difficult to tell it from the real thing.

@yokohnono – Issues such gems as “if you stand far away enough from a city, it looks like you can pick it up and keep it in your hat”

@IDS_MP – The most entertaining thing about the Iain Duncan Smith spoof account is perhaps how many people think it’s real, and respond accordingly


	4 things to do


1.	Thrill to the best in contemporary acrobatics, as madcap French troupe La Meute open the 2014 CircusFest at London’s Roundhouse theatre.

2.	Encode a lively message in a simple bouquet of flowers at Cryptofloricon.com, a new London service inspired by the Victorian language of flowers which “makes it easier to say difficult things” to friends or loved ones.

3.	Listen to the new Steinway & Sons piano in a series of intimate concerts held at Sheridan & Co in Marylebone. The free recitals will be given throughout the day and evening to celebrate the company’s 160th anniversary.

4.	Feast at the Bookish Banquet; a Dutch supper club run by an ex-Ottolenghi chef which takes its inspiration from great works of fiction.


	3 Books to read

The Humans

Matt Haig

It’s been compared to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time for the detached, otherworldly tone of the (alien) narrator but contains some quite moving insights about the human condition, all the more powerful for the simplicity with which they are expressed.

Mrs Hemingway

Naomi Wood

A beautifully written novel which gives voice to the great writer’s four equally brilliant wives, taking pieces of their biographies and correspondence as inspiration.

The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets

Simon Singh

Did you know that several writers on the iconic animation series have mathematics phDs from world-leading universities? Singh does a great job of sharing his enthusiasm for the subject, and reveals the hidden maths gags in several famous episodes.