Slate has produced a series of articles examining what a society without cash will look like. Will Oremus looked at some of the consequences for beggars:

• Beggars make a fair amount of money, in the millions of dollars, through people who want to get rid of their loose change.
• Beggars can make use of mobile phone technologies that allow for the wireless transfer of funds. On the plus side people would be able to give more since they wouldn’t be limited to the change in their pocket. On the other hand people might be willing to give less if they’ll see it as a direct expense in their banking statements.
• It might also undermine the message of begging if beggars start waving around mobile phones while asking for money.
• This might lead to a future where beggars are given tangible goods instead of cash.

To read more about the amount of money you can make through begging, how charities such as UNICEF are adjusting to a cash-less society, and Denver’s surprising experiment, click here.

Source: Slate

The ECU recently instituted a dress code for chess tournaments. Anastasiya Karlovich went over some of the highlights of the new policy:

• The “cleavage rule” states that the second from the top button may be open.
• Miniskirts are no longer allowed.
• The people behind the rule point out that all sports have uniforms and chess was just joining those ranks. The problem was that people were showing up to tournaments in beach-wear.
• Hats are also no longer allowed.

To read some of the other rules, how the dress code compares to the one instituted in tennis, and some exceptions to the rules click here.

Source: Chessbase

Via: Marginal Revolution

In a wide ranging article that looks at the rising costs of law enforcement in the United States, Stephan Salisbury’s look at some of the examples of potential police excess stand out:

• One county in Texas has purchased a weapons capable drone.
• New York’s Police Department purchased submarines.
• Tampa is equipping its surveillance helicopters with digital video uplinks.
• Tampa also added an eight ton armored personnel carrier to its existing fleet of two tanks.

To see the dollar amounts that the United States has spent in developing security systems since 9/11, other examples of the technology being used to combat terrorist threats, and what this suggests about the United States, click here.

Source: Salon

A record 104 women made the 2012 Forbes billionaire list, although it continued to be dominated by men. Life Inc. took a look at some of the more colourful women that made the cut, including:

• Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs, who after the inheritance from her husband is estimated to be worth $9 billion.
• France has the richest European female billionaire in Liliane Bettencourt, worth $24 billion, mostly due to L’Oreal.
• India has the richest Asian female billionaire in Savitri Jindal, worth $20.9 billion, with her wealth coming from the steel industry.
• The richest women in the world is American Christy Walton, of Wal-Mart fame, worth $25.3 billion.

To read about the 30 year old who lost $12 billion (you thought your day was bad), the woman who turned $5,000 into $1 billion, and a woman who happens to be from Mars, click here.

Source: Life Inc.

Alexis Madrigal reports on a study done on the privacy policies that we all mindlessly agree to:

• The median length of the privacy policy of the 75 top websites is ~2,500 words.
• On average people read 250 words a minute.
• The average American is estimated to visit around 1500 websites a month.
• To read the privacy policy of all the websites you visit would require 76, 8-hour work days.
• Across the United States that’s 53.8 billion hours of reading time.
• This puts the opportunity cost of reading privacy policies at $781 billion – more than the GDP of Florida.

To read more details of the analysis, why this is probably an under-estimate, and what this tells us about the way we deal with privacy, click here.

Source: The Atlantic

Via: Marginal Revolution

Centives reserves the right to distribute information about the third toenail of your left foot. If you do not have either toenails or a left foot, you are not permitted to read Centives. We’ll miss you. =(

Victor Lustig, a conman from the early 90s who once managed to sell the Eiffel Tower for scrap metal left behind a list of commandments for aspiring con-men. Some of them include:

• Be a patient listener
• Wait for the other person to reveal political or religious beliefs – then change yours to match theirs.
• Never boast, instead let your importance be quietly obvious.
• Don’t get drunk.

Aspiring to be a con artist? Then you might want to check out the full list and find out about the role that sex-talk has to play.

Source: Lists of note

Via: Kottke

Why was the automotive industry concentrated in Detroit? Slate answered the question:

• Detroit did have several geographical advantages. Iron and wood (crucial components for manufacturing cars at the time) were abundantly available in the region. Rail and water access meant that cars could easily be shipped to other regions.
• However several other regions had those advantages and more. What made Detroit different was that several automobile innovators including Henry Ford happened to be from that city.
• After that, cross-pollination of talent, and a silicon-valley type model where workers would often change industries or start their own entrepreneurial efforts, led to significant advantages in having an industry based in one location.

To read more about the one decision made by a car manufacturer that changed everything, as well as the role that Mitt Romney’s father played, click here.

Source: Slate

Abnormal Returns takes a look at why individual investors have it better now than ever before:

• Sites such as Twitter draw attention to the very best ideas and practices, making it easier for investors to identify opportunities amid the mass of information accessible on the web.
• With the vast range of instruments available individual investors can easily build a diversified global portfolio.
• Computer algorithms allow you to avoid having to micro-manage your portfolio.
• Real time stock quotes – a dream reserved for those willing to pay top dollar – are now available to all.
• Brokerage fees are being driven closer and closer to zero, allowing you to make trades for free.

To read more about some of the unbelievable advancements made, what investment strategy you should pick based on access to all the technologies available to us, and the behavioural biases that work against us when we invest, click here.

Source: Abnormal Returns

Via: Newmark’s Door

Brian Palmer took a look at why North Korea is perennially dealing with food shortages:

• The country is cold and mountainous – less than ideal conditions for growing food.
• In the 80s after the Soviet Union cut subsidies to North Korea, the North Korean government responded by using drastic measures in a desperate attempt to increase the amount of arable land. This included removing all natural vegetation from the hillsides to create farm land.
• This strategy worked for a while but over time rains washed away the soil which, without any vegetation to keep it tied to the ground, quickly filled the rivers with silt, leaving North Korea with neither vegetation nor farmland.
• Kim Jong-Il is believed to have had a radical plan to flatten the country by destroying the mountains, thus creating more arable land. He never had the resources to follow through with the idea.
• State-directed farming is inefficient.

To read more about the role that the Soviet Union played in sustaining North Korea, some of Kim Jong-Il’s other ideas, and the simple solutions that would solve the food shortage, click here.

Source: Slate