Random links

Finding China's missing girls
A very interesting figure - showing how parents may have been delaying registering their girls with the state rather than aborting them.
10 Questions for Shadi Hamid (the author of Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam Is Reshaping the World and Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East)
This strikes me as a particularly good question: "What specific belief is one which you hold as likely correct, but which you would prefer not be correct?"
Arctic Ice Management
"We show that where appropriate devices are employed, it is possible to increase ice thickness above natural levels, by about 1 m over the course of the winter. We examine the effects this has in the Arctic climate, concluding that deployment over 10% of the Arctic, especially where ice survival is marginal, could more than reverse current trends of ice loss in the Arctic, using existing industrial capacity. We propose that winter ice thickening by wind-powered pumps be considered and assessed as part of a multi-pronged strategy for restoring sea ice and arresting the strongest feedbacks in the climate system."
Photography Has A Surprising Psychological Benefit, Large Study Finds
My takeaway is that this might help focus your attention a bit, but it's not worth getting nitpicky about equipment (or torturing your friends by sharing an endless stream of photos).