Some are complimenting the latest installment in the Call of Duty franchise for the realistic basis upon which its future war storyline is built. It won’t happen writes J. Dana Stuster:

• In the game the US launches a cyber-attack against China. China retaliates by halting exports of rare-earth minerals. The US attacks because it needs those minerals for use in gadgets.
• However while China might produce 95% of the world’s rare-earth metals today, it controls only half of the globe’s supply, and the US could develop and draw upon those resources instead.
• Moreover in history there is little precedent of wars being fought over “absolute scarcities”. The price of rare-earth metals might rise but the United States is unlikely to go to war because of that.
• Finally the game (which started production around 2011) has David Petraeus as secretary of defense. In light of recent developments this seems fairly unlikely.

Read more about why the term “rare-earth metal” is misleading, how much of the stuff we have, and what 1971 can teach us, over here.

Source: Foreign Policy

Cell phones have transformed prostitution…and thus the fight against AIDS in India writes Gardiner Harris:

• India’s fight against AIDS has been remarkable. It is in part due to efforts funded by the World Bank and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Instead of broadcasting safe-sex messages that encouraged the use of condoms across India, anti-AIDS campaigners targeted certain districts where prostitution was common. This targeted resources where they were most needed and limited the spread of AIDS.
• However this was only possible because prostitutes were located in certain districts. Now they find their clients through mobile phones, and thus prostitution has become decentralized.
• Prostitutes are less likely to use protection when they’re operating outside of brothels and this will likely impede the fight against AIDS.
• Moreover with the anonymity offered by mobile phones, more men are interested in hiring prostitutes.

Read more about the decline of a prostitution district that has survived more than five centuries, and what the future might hold for India over here.

Source: The Times of India

Gadgetose took a look at what it costs to run the entire internet:

• It takes 1.5% of the world’s electricity supply to keep the internet running.
• This is equivalent to the annual output of 30 nuclear power plants.
• This would mean an energy bill of $8.5 billion – equivalent to Google’s profits in 2011.

Find out how much data the internet produces every hour, and the growth of internet usage in the full inforgraphic over here.

Source: Gadgetose

Via: Design You Trust

About a year ago Stu Maschwitz tore apart the commonly accepted notions of watching movies on televisions. He pointed out that:

• These days TVs aren’t designed to show movies in the best quality possible. Rather they are designed to look attractive on the showroom floor, and to stand out amidst the hundreds of other televisions on display.
• To do this television makers will turn up the brightness and turn down yellow colours to accentuate the blues, because yellow is associated with ageing.
• While these settings might stand out on the display room floor, they are not at all how movies are meant to be watched.
• These days you can get 120Hz and 240Hz televisions instead of the standard 60Hz ones. This is both good and bad.
• On the plus side 120 and 240 are multiples of 24, which is what movies natively uset. 60 Hz televisions show certain frames for a fraction of a second longer than other frames to make the 24 to 60 transition. 120 and 240 Hz televisions don’t have to do that.
• However 120Hz and 240Hz televisions often come with a motion smoothening feature that make movies look less artificial. This is not how movies were intended to be watched; part of their appeal is that they create a dream world and motion smoothening removes that effect.

Read more about why plasma televisions are superior to LCD ones, how you can fix your television to display movies in the right way, and other points about watching movies on televisions in the correct way over here.

Source: Prolost

Via: Kottke

Dishwasher sales are projected to decline in the near-future. Why? Lily Kuo answered:

• In the US there was a surge in the sale of dishwashers during the 2007 financial crisis. People had less money and so they ate at home more, making the dishwasher a more cherished appliance.
• Since then however things have gotten better and people are eating out again.
• Manufacturers can’t even look to developing countries to prop up demand. Indians rich enough to afford a dishwasher opt to hire maids to do the dishes for them.
• Other BRIC countries would rather spend their incomes on televisions and laptops rather than dishwashers.
• More developed countries such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan have a trend of kitchens too small for a dishwasher and a culture of eating out.
• It’s not all doom and gloom. Markets in Norway, Turkey, and Eastern Europe seem poised to increase their demand for the appliance.

Read some of the specific numbers described above, the ‘dream market’ for dishwashers, and the funny uses that Americans have found for their dishwashers over here.

Source: Quartz

The last surviving members of two of the most prominent ninja clans have decided that they won’t be taking on any protégés. This means that we’ll soon see the last ninjas pass away. Mariko Oi had the opportunity to sit with them and discuss their fading art. Highlights include:

• Ninja missions were so secret that there are few official documents that detail their adventures. Instead their methods were passed from one generation to the next through word of mouth.
• Ninjas rarely fought. Their tactics were focused on surveillance and espionage. Actual fights were a last resort and were looked down upon.
• They used bamboo water floats that allowed them to cross bodies of water in a walking motion.
• Instead of wearing pure black – which stands out in the night – ninjas preferred to dye their clothes a deep navy blue to better blend in with their surroundings
• Being a Ninja was a part-time job. Ninjas spent most of their time at mundane day jobs such as farming.

Read other myths about Ninjas, what the last ninjas do with their free time, and “western ninja-inspired nonsense” over here.

Source: BBC

The Economist looked at the economics of pirate negotiations:

• Government intervention can alter incentives. After Spain paid $1.2 million for a fishing boat, it set a new price floor which every subsequent pirate expected.
• Both parties are interested in a speedy resolution and ransom payment. The pirates don’t want to spend too many days guarding the boat and feeding the crew. The ship owners don’t want their goods to spoil, or for the ship to remain inactive.
• During negotiations pirates also pretend to be more sophisticated than they really are, and ship-owners pretend to be poorer in an attempt to strengthen bargaining positions.
• The number of ships taken by pirates might be declining, but the average value of each ransom payout has increased.

Read more about how things have changed in pirate negotiations since the 1500s and the background of the study over here.

Source: The Economist

China’s communist party is composed of over 83 million people – more than the population of all but fifteen countries. Leslie Hook took a look at what it takes to get into the organization:

• Entry into the Chinese Communist Party is in part, done by invitation. The top students are asked to join and declining the invitation isn’t really an option.
• It is also possible to apply to join – but only if you have the right connections in the party.
• In 1956 rules were changed so that foreigners could no longer join the party. This put an end to odd quirks such as an American and a New Zealander joining the party of China’s ruling government.
• At the party’s annual Congress a delegation “from” Taiwan is always present – even though none of the people in the delegation live in Taiwan.

Read more about communist parties in Hong Kong, and the party’s attempt to expand diversity over here.

Source: Financial Times