Welcome to the first Not the News-letter, and thanks for signing up!
This week:
Three great reads (short + medium + long)
Two Netflix streaming recommendations
Two recipes to try when you’re home because…well, let’s not talk about why
But first:
Thank you to all the Excelers doing awesome work in the hackathon. We’re looking forward to providing more digital content in the coming days
Please join us for a virtual group meditation on Sunday, March 22nd at 12pm EST. Register here. You will receive a zoom link upon registration
Be a part of the new digital home for Excel alumni: Excel Community. Signing up with your LinkedIn info. is super quick and easy
Feel free to share with any Excel friends who might be interested!
What to Read
Short read: Who tips their Uber drivers?
From the University of Chicago: An economics professor used data from 40 million Uber trips to figure out how many people tip Uber drivers, how often they do, and who those people tend to be. Tons of interesting stuff in here, including:
Uber customers tip on roughly 16% of rides. Those who do tip add an average of $3.11, about 26% of their fare.
However, the paper also found that nearly 60% of ride-share customers never tip, while only about 1% always tip.
Also, riders with five-star ratings tip twice as often, and 14% more, than riders with 4.75 stars. I wonder where that correlation comes from…
Medium read: The college president who simply won’t raise tuition
This one will especially resonate with Americans and Israelis who’ve done a degree in the U.S.
From The Atlantic: Purdue University has frozen tuition at less than $10,000 for seven straight years. Purdue thinks the increase in enrollment as a result has brought in $100 million.
“I always say it’s easier to explain what we didn’t do,” [Purdue’s president said]. “We didn’t try to get more money from the state. We didn’t shift from full-time faculty and fill the ranks with cheaper, part-time adjunct faculty. We haven’t driven up our percentage of international or out-of-state students,” who pay more than in-staters. Each of these measures has been taken up by other public universities, even as most have increased their in-state tuition.
This one’s on the long side of a “medium read,” but it’s an interesting look at how affordable public college education can still be achieved.
Long read: Can fashion defeat surveillance AI?
From The New Yorker: With facial recognition and other surveillance tech advancing rapidly, some at the intersection of art and science are designing streetwear to fool the cameras that track us.
“How can you mediate that to appear one way to the machines and another way to people? How can you ride the fine line between appearing avant-garde and appearing invisible?” … [But] any attempt to evade the system may only make it stronger, because the machine just keeps learning. And, with deep learning, it keeps learning faster.
Spoiler: Anti-surveillance fashion has a long way to go.
What to Stream
“Abstract: The Art of Design” (Netflix)
It’s like “Chef’s Table,” but with designers instead of chefs. Each episode profiles a designer in a different field, from architecture to costume design to photography. You get a sense of their creative processes and personal histories.
Recommended episodes:
S1 E1: Illustration
S2 E2: Bio-architecture (with the Israeli Neri Oxman)
S2 E5: Digital Product Design (with Instagram’s Head of Design)
S2 E6: Typeface Design
“Cheer” (Netflix)
You might be thinking, “Wait, you’re really telling me to watch a docuseries about a college cheerleading team?” And that’s exactly what I’m telling you.
Elite cheerleaders are incredible athletes, and the show weaves the tension of athletes trying to push the limits of their sport with the cheerleaders’ incredible stories of overcoming hardship. It doesn’t have a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes for nothing.
What to Cook
Healthy(ish) breakfast sandwiches
Gluten-free chocolate-tahini brownies
Thanks for reading!
We’ll be back in your inboxes next Thursday. Feel free to reach out with questions or feedback. Stay safe and healthy!
—Charlie, Meital & the North American Board