Beyond Euclid #228

Hello from Beyond Euclid 228. A few hours after I hit publish, the World Cup final begins. I’ll be honest, my heart is with Argentina. Not for any deep reason. If Argentina wins, the story is just better. Messi, one more time, going after the thing he already won. We love stories like that here. This issue is full of them, actually. A recorder I fell in love with and couldn’t afford. A dentistry professor who spent forty years teaching teeth while secretly X-raying flowers. A phone game whose players built a map that now guides military drones. Nobody plans these stories. That’s why they’re good or bad.

Now the part I always find hard to say, so I’ll say it simply. This letter is free and weekly, and I write it after the kids are asleep. But free only describes your side. Every issue takes me real hours. I read a lot, keep a little, check everything, and cut it down so it’s worth your few minutes. What keeps those hours possible is reader support, and right now a very small group of yo…