Reading

Tyler Cowen reviews Mark Kleiman's book, "When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment," which discusses crime rates in the context of risk assessment.

Calculate your chances of dying: while we double our chances of dying every eight years, the actual likelihood of dying in the next year increases slowly with age.

via Freakonomics

Jason Kottke thinks this shot by Roger Federer at the US Open is the most ridiculous tennis shot ever.

TorrentFreak reports on a court decision against Serie A, the rise of manga piracy, and the impact of site blocking on pay TV subscriptions in Uruguay. via TorrentFreak

Alex Tabarrok of Marginal Revolution shares a historical anecdote about the Mulford Act of 1967, which banned carrying guns in public. via Marginal REVOLUTION

Tyler Cowen suggests readers check out the IMF's new blog and recall when its relevance was questioned.

Tyler Cowen reinterprets conservatism, framing it in his own terms across various topics like foreign policy and the role of government. via Marginal REVOLUTION

Psychologist Charles Snowdon and musician David Teie found that Tamarin monkeys respond to music specifically composed for them based on their calls.

via The source of this content is Marginal Revolution.

"Coordination Problem" appears to be a blog featuring posts and archives on economic topics, links to similar blogs, and books seemingly written by the blog owners.

via Coordination Problem.

Jason Kottke shares a piece by Errol Morris about photos of George W. Bush through interviews with three photographers and the stories behind their favorite images. via kottke.org

New research suggests that simply touching an item while shopping can lead to a sense of ownership, making you willing to pay more for it.

via The source of this content is Marginal Revolution.

This article uses a Burger King promotion as a jumping-off point to discuss the difficulty of valuing Facebook, ultimately concluding that its value is tied to its network effect and the increasing number of users and connections.