Philosophers

Obesity

1. Anarchocapitalistan top 0.07%
2. Postapocalyptic Terror top 0.07%
3. Azklabau top 0.3%

Middle: Nuevo Albuquerque bottom 31%

Last: Cognosco bottom 0%

In Magnaus, the thrash metal version of the national anthem is topping charts.

In Quanturium, AI citizens are criticised for being robotic.

In Sunrise Trail, glue production is at an all-time high.

“Women have two choices: Either she’s a feminist or a masochist.”
- Gloria Steinem

Singapore to offer money to its citizens for reading a book

News article in the Guardian, 17 September 2026

Singapore is paying its citizens to pick up a book for at least 15 minutes a day in an effort to fight the rise of doomscrolling.

The affluent city state hopes the strategy will improve concentration, critical thinking and the imagination of its citizens.

Readers will be awarded points that can be redeemed for cash. Logging 50 daily reading sessions on a government website will earn one Singapore dollar (58p). Payable sessions are limited to one a day and must be 15 minutes or more.

The national library board’s chief executive, Melissa Tam, said sustainable reading habits were built through small and achievable steps.

“We live in a world of extraordinary abundance, of content, information and stimulation,” she told the Straits Times. “At any moment, we can scroll through hundreds of headlines, watch a video or get a summary of almost anything.

“We know that habits are built through small, consistent actions. So, we are starting with a simple goal: just read for 15 minutes a day. On the bus, before bed or over lunch.”

The government is considering ways to make social media less harmful for young Singaporeans, including a daily time limit.

Doomscrolling and social media addiction caused most harm to young people, a recent study found.

It is not uncommon for Singapore’s government to use financial incentives to try to influence the behaviour of its citizens. Previous health-focused initiatives have included supermarket vouchers for walking and prizes for hitting daily step targets.

Despite the concerns about literacy, Singapore’s 15-year-old students topped the world ranking for reading in the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment, beating China and Taiwan. Britain came 10th and Ireland was 7th.

Cheers Quanturium. I like the initiative. As you say, people could game the system, but why would they bother? It raises awareness that reading books is a helpful skill and can be quite fun.

”Donald Trump does not read books and has openly stated that he does not have time for them or read for leisure.”
- So says AI

Enough said.

Reporter wrote:

Human Development Index

1. Cognosco top 0.3%
2. Pacific Northwest Territories top 0.5%
3. Telgan top 0.6%

Middle: Veritaria top 22%

Last: Strawberry Fields II bottom 2%

In Clan Tokugawa, it is considered unpatriotic to learn a foreign language.

In Doxatheia, modelling agencies send their clients to work in nursing homes.

In Magnaus, standing on a chair to reach a top shelf is seen as evidence of narcissistic personality disorder.

“Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

I don't remember if I shared it before, but there's a really great website that displays at most five translations of the Daodejing against one another. Pulling it up, I found that you're quoting from Stephen Mitchell's translation of section 6🤷7 (since, as we know, Laozi lived long before Angles and Saxons set foot on the British Isles, and so we are reading a translator's words, not his).
https://ttc.tasuki.org/display:Code:gff,sm,vhm,jc,rh/section:67

It's interesting to see how the "three things" differ across translations. For instance:

"The first is mercy; the second is economy;
The third is daring not to be ahead of others.
From mercy comes courage; from economy comes generosity;
From humility comes leadership."
- Gia-Fu Feng

"The first is compassion,
The second is frugality,
The third is not daring to be ahead of all under heaven."
- Victor H. Mair

'I have three treasures that I keep
The first is friendliness
The second is to stay behind
The third is wanting less."
- Jim Clatfelter

"The three most important qualities in life
are compassion,
or showing kindness and mercy to others,
moderation,
or knowing what a thing is worth,
and modesty,
or knowing your place in the world."
- Ron Hogan

We can see how differently translators interpret different Chinese concepts as "compassion" vs. "knowing one's place" or "friendliness" vs. "mercy." Or how they can arrive at the same conclusion from different premises (for Mitchell, compassion is the third treasure, while for Mair, it's the first).

I know Telgan but when people are reading their book, perhaps on a kindle app, they’re concentrating on one thing and not “doomscrolling”. The initiative catches the attention and gets some people reading books at minimal cost.