Daily Reads-59 (Level-2)

Reading Suggestion-1

Article Name: In science fiction, the future is feminist
Author Name: Laurie penny
Source: The Guardian
Category: Science fiction

Summary for this article :

The author starts the article by lauding Naomi Alderman’s brilliant science fiction novel, The Power, which won the Bailey’s prize for the women’s fiction last week. The author says that the unstoppable rise of the female authors tend to upset two distinct sets of traditionalists: sexists and literary snobs.

The entire article talks how the writings by the great women have been ignored for long by the many conservatives for fear of switch in power, until now.She praises the recent rise in the female fiction writers and how these have horrified the mainstream critics

She then goes ahead in talking about some of the great works by women writers and how until now the female-authored and feminist science fiction has never been lauded for the recognition it deserves and how it has rarely been adapted for film or television

The author concludes by saying that the best books being published now are by the science fiction writers who happen to be women. And for the ones who haven’t read it you are indeed up for a treat

Words to learn from this article :

Sleaze: Behave in a manner that is unacceptable. i.e immoral or corrupt
Prescient: Having the power to foresee future events
Snob: Someone who admires and speaks highly of people who are in a socially better position and degrades the ones who are in a lower social position
Dystopia: A society that is degrading and is not the ideal one
Dodgy: Someone who is dishonest and is not reliable

Reading Suggestion-1: Click to read full article

Reading Suggestion-2

Article Name:Oil Spills, the Media and the Oil Industry
Author name: Earth Talk book
Source: Scientific American
Category: Sustainability

Summary for this article :

This article talks about the oil spills in the US waters and how prioritising to control such spills remains essential.

He starts by example of a major oil spill incident that occurred in the 1989 when 11 million gallons of oil befouled some 1,300 miles of formerly pristine and wildlife-rich coastline and how this incident led to the formation of the 1990 Oil Pollution Act.

Though since the passing of this law the number of oil spills when compared to the ones that occurred before 1990 had dropped down drastically, the critics say that there is much work to be done be the industry

He goes ahead in giving details of what the 1990 act lacks and says how the facts and figures with respect to the number of oil spill incidents reflects the sad side of the story . The author concludes by saying that of Bush administration works on the expansion of oil drilling is not overturned by the Obama administration, such oil spills can become a dark phase in their lives

Words to learn from this article:

Befouled: To pollute something
Bygone: Belonging to the past
Pristine: Clean and in a very good and perfect condition
Overhaul: To examine thoroughly and repair as necessary

Reading Suggestion-2: Click to read full article

Reading Suggestion-3

Article Name: How to Address the Epidemic of Lies in Politics
Author name: GlebTsipursky
Source: Scientific American
Category: Politics

Summary for this article :

The author starts by presenting the James Comey and President Trump’s blame game situation and how we are at a low point for truth in US Politics. Lying, according to the author, proved to be a very effective tool in the US and UK elections in 2016, leading Oxford Dictionaries to choose “post-truth” as its 2016 word of the year.

However research in behavioural science suggests that we can address political deception through a number of effective strategies that are presented in the Pro-truth Pledge Project.

The author says that first we need to understand why the current mechanisms of preventing political deceptions do not work well. He then makes us understand the why here, telling how the trust in mainstream media has dropped and at the same time the number of people using social media to access news has increased, but unfortunately most of the social media platform cannot differentiate between fake and real news.

The author then presents us an effective solution to address systematic lying by using the Pro-Truth Pledge where all the signees commit to a set of honest behaviours. Whenever they share a news article the signees are encouraged to add a sentence that states that they have fact checked the article. This serves the purpose of reminding the masses towards ethical commitment

The author concludes by saying that the results of the pro-truth pledge have been promising so far and it has the potential to protect our democracy from the tide of lies.

Words to learn from this article :

Ludicrous: Being ridiculous or unreasonable
Vigilant: Being very careful and keeping a watchful eye towards possible dangers
Vet: To subject to a thorough examination
Post-truth: Post-truth is a situation or a circumstance in which emotions and beliefs serve as effective tools in shaping public opinion when compared to facts