Probability of Asteroid Impact

The Economist had a fascinating chart yesterday, comparing the probabilities of various types of death. It shows the extremely low probability that you might die because of an asteroid strike and probabilities of other causes of death.  This chart was printed before the meteor strike in Russia!

Google Maps Covers North Korea

At the end of January, Google unveiled a new more detailed map of North Korea including detailed features like monuments, landmarks, and prison camps.  Assembled with the help of citizen cartographers it's a great leap forward in open information availability about this secretive nation.  The Washington Post did a great job of presenting the difference visually in this article.  Play with the slider for some real fun.

National Geographic published a comparison between their own map and Google's, in their article advising caution about maps created by amateurs.  Of course the comparison between the Google and National Geographic maps is not totally fair, because Google's detail is only revealed when you zoom in.  So what do you think is the value of having this information out there, even if there are some inaccuracies?  Do you think that the act of publishing will yield a deluge of feedback to improve the maps?

TED Moves to Vancouver

There was blockbuster news this week with the announcement of TED's move to Vancouver with TED Active in Whistler, at least for the next two years.  The choice of Vancouver is not all that surprising when you think about it.  Chris Anderson, TED's owner and curator, has a place in Whistler, so he's clearly familiar with the area.  Also, TED's logistics are managed by Vancouver-based Procreative Design Works, owned by sisters Janet and Katherine McCartney.

Of course, there is more behind it than convenience.  At the 2012 conference, there was quite a buzz of discontent: the conference was too big, it was getting somewhat impersonal, the seats were dreadfully uncomfortable (when the program run 8:30-6:30 for four days and you've paid that much to be there, a back ache is really irritating), the conference was dividing into two classes of citizens, those who'd paid the regular (stiff) price, and patrons, who'd paid double and got in before the doors opened, and got all the best seats.  In short, old-timers who'd been to Monterey were yearning for the old locale.  And for the first time in my memory, the 2013 conference was not sold out by the time the 2012 conference got under way.  Because you usually have to confirm for the next conference before the previous one begins, it creates a long lag time for feedback about abating demand for the TED team.

Clearly, on the 30th anniversary next year, TED is working to overcome that softening of demand.  The conference will have 200 fewer paid attendees, addressing one of the currents of discontent and incidentally creating fewer seats to fill.

Vancouver is well known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the convention centre, as you can see on the right, is new and gorgeous.  Moreover, they're building (with support from Vancouver apparently) a custom-designed-for-talk theatre to "maximize the impact of talks, permitting multiple configurations for sitting, listening and connecting with the speaker".  This could add destination pizazz.  Long Beach is not exactly gorgeous as Monterey was.  Chris says they're also inviting back the 100 best TED speakers of all time, which sounds pretty darned exciting.  Apparently we're going to be able to vote for who those 100 are.  I skipped TED 2013, but I think I'll be back for 2014.  I wonder how many others will be like me.

This is considered a major coup for Vancouver, as described in this Vancouver Sun article.  A senior Vice President of Canadian Tourism was summoned to Vancouver to participate in the talks and the agreement was kept under tight wraps until announcement day.   The deal is for two years.  I'm sure  the city will be fighting to keep the conference there beyond the two years.

The Killing

If you get a chance to watch the TV series The Killing (Forbrydelsen in Danish), take it.  But make sure you have time to spare, because this series will have you glued to the screen.  Whatever the hour, you'll want to watch 'just one more episode'.  Even if you watched the American version of The Killing, watch the Danish original: it's better than the American one in every way.  And the ending is different.

I loved the stoical detective Sarah Lund and her obsessive tenacity in tracking down killers, sacrificing her career and personal life in the process.  The Killing has plenty of plot twists and political intrigue, and strong character development of the detectives, the family and the victim.  The actress playing Sarah Lund, Sofie Grabo, had built her career on playing highly emotional characters, so this distant, uncommunicative, emotionless detective was a departure for her.  In the extra interview on the DVD, Grabo described how she came to portray this cool and distant character and how she was involved throughout the development of the series.   The writers kept the culprit and plot twists from the actors, which they felt enhanced their performances.

Bonus:  By the end of two seasons of The Killing, I actually was starting to understand a bit of Danish and felt an almost irresistible urge to say tak instead of thank you.