This week’s best bits from around the web.
WORK
– Proof that you should get a life
– William McPherson has a Pulitzer Prize and no money. He isn’t wretched-of-the-earth poor, but he’s poor
WORLD
– American intelligence and torture: A hard pill to swallow
– Oil gluts, late-1970s style
– Falling Gas Prices Are Fantastic. Unless You’re Tesla
– Uber Just Landed Another Billion Dollars. It’s Not Going Anywhere
– The War of the Words: Amazon’s war with publishing giant Hachette over e-book pricing has earned it a black eye in the media
PEOPLE
– The woman who shot Andy Warhol
SCIENCE
– Snake in the grass: Animals and viruses practise deception, fast and slow, in ways that help us understand human predators and scammers
SOCIETY
– Trial by fire: From fire-walking to the ice-bucket challenge, ritual pain and suffering forge intense social bonds
– Super excited: Does relentless enthusiasm really help the world, or should generation TED learn to take a more sceptical view?
TECHNOLOGY
– Colin Furze: Inside the Mind of an Inventor
– It’s official: Instagram is bigger than Twitter
– Why Kids Won’t Quit Technology