Washington Post: A fascinating map of the world’s most and least racially tolerant countries

“When two Swedish economists set out to examine whether economic freedom made people any more or less racist, they knew how they would gauge economic freedom, but they needed to find a way to measure a country’s level of racial tolerance. So they turned to something called the World Values Survey, which has been measuring global attitudes and opinions for decades.

Among the dozens of questions that World Values asks, the Swedish economists found one that, they believe, could be a pretty good indicator of tolerance for other races. The survey asked respondents in more than 80 different countries to identify kinds of people they would not want as neighbors. Some respondents, picking from a list, chose “people of a different race.” The more frequently that people in a given country say they don’t want neighbors from other races, the economists reasoned, the less racially tolerant you could call that society.

A Washington Post report on the World Values Survey, and independant survery measuring the racial tolerance of each country of the world.

[The Guardian] Anish Kapoor in Berlin: 'in short, Britain's fucked'

“Sitting in a Berlin gallery over a cup of tea, Anish Kapoor is clearly at home in a city that is about to stage one of his largest ever shows.

The British-based artist says the exhibition, entitled Kapoor in Berlin, is the best show he has yet put on, which may have much to do with the fact that he feels Germany demonstrates a huge degree of respect for the arts – in stark contrast to Britain.”

A Guardian interview with Anish Kapoor on the state of British Art.

Sol LeWitt: A letter from Sol LeWitt to Eva Hesse

A letter written by American artist Sol LeWitt to fellow artist, and friend Eva Hesse. Dated April 14th, year unknown.

NASA buys into 'quantum' computing

“A $15m computer that uses “quantum physics” effects to boost its speed is to be installed at a Nasa facility.

It will be shared by Google, Nasa, and other scientists, providing access to a machine said to be up to 3,600 times faster than conventional computers.

Unlike standard machines, the D-Wave Two processor appears to make use of an effect called quantum tunnelling.”

BBC News report: Nasa buys into quantum computing