Ingenious

A story of American automotive innovation and grassroots invention

It’s a common sentiment around the world that everything is bigger in the US—from parking lots to fast-food beverages. In his latest book “Ingenious,” author Jason Fagone proves that the American capacity for innovation really is huge. The book follows four teams of amateur and professional automotive designers, engineers and garage inventors as they vie for the X Prize Foundation‘s $10 million award. The task: …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Philip Seymour Hoffman's inimitable talent, architecture in ice, bionic hands and more in our weekly look at the web

1. Farewell, Philip Seymour Hoffman The number of thoughtful tributes and articles about the tragic passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman is a veritable testament to the huge loss the public feels—let alone that of his colleagues, friends and family. Tom Junod of Esquire explains the character actor’s impact and the reason we all—as complete strangers—felt connected to him. One of Hoffman’s many talents was bringing …

Urban Running Maps

Philip Seymour Hoffman's inimitable talent, architecture in ice, bionic hands and more in our weekly look at the web

It’s hard to imagine that just a few decades ago, people thought jogging in the the US would be a fad. Now you’d be hard pressed to walk a few blocks without seeing someone on a run—which for data nerds begs a lot of questions: Where are people running? Where are they not? Using data from the fitness app RunKeeper, Nathan Yau has created maps …