Self Enforcing Protocols

Self Enforcing Protocols at Schneier on Security.

Here’s a self-enforcing protocol for determining property tax: the homeowner decides the value of the property and calculates the resultant tax, and the government can either accept the tax or buy the home for that price. Sounds unrealistic, but the Greek government implemented exactly that system for the taxation of antiquities. It was the easiest way to motivate people to accurately report the value of antiquities.

String Theory: 25 Years after the Revolution

Here's a post from Peter Woit's Not Even Wrong Blog 25 Years On ... summarizing the disappointing state of string theory research.