Daniel Shiffman, who you might know from his enthusiastic YouTube channel The Coding Train, updated his book The Nature of Code. The original version from 2012 focused on Processing. The new version uses p5.js, while still focusing on “understanding the mathematical principles behind our physical world.” You can find the free-to-read online version...

The Pudding ran an experiment that asked people to trace a shape. They would string together the sketches to make a flipbook to see where a single line or a circle would end up. They published the results: Every shape devolved into a scribble, which I feel is a metaphor for information on the internet. They also ran a sidequest...

Hong Kong banned single-use plastics often used for food takeaway containers. For South China Morning Post, Kaliz Lee and Davies Christian Surya describe the ban and the scale of the waste. It’s a lot of plastic. Tags: garbage, plastic, scale, South China Morning Post

I’m Nathan Yau, and this is The Process, the newsletter for FlowingData members that looks closer at how the charts get made. Every month I collect tools and resources to help you make better charts. Here’s the good stuff for April. Become a member for access to this — plus tutorials, courses, and guides.

The Marshall Project highlights research on excess mortality in U.S. prisons: The slowdown in admissions meant that prison systems reduced the number of younger people exposed to COVID, while the older people already inside were left there. That’s because incarcerated people are generally older than those likely to be sent to prison. By the end of...

When we’re young, we tend to have fewer responsibilities, which means we can sleep and wake up later. Then work and parenting come along, and our schedules grow more structured. We can see the shift in the percentage of people who are sleeping, given their age. Read More