Skip to content

Sign up for a small monthly payment and enjoy ads-free browsing at 3QD


3 Quarks Daily

Make a one-time donation and enjoy ads-free browsing at 3QD


  • Home
  • About Us
  • Recommended Reading
  • Magazine Archives
  • Support 3QD
  • Log In

Eric Schenck

Eric is a language learner, traveler, and writer. He lived in Egypt for three years, and is the author of The Land Of Nothing You've Ever Seen: 10 Stories From My Time in Cairo. When he's not completing a language project, he's probably surfing in freezing water or eating tacos. He currently lives in central America. Website: https://cleolingo.com/ Email: ericschenck1 [at] gmail.com

God And Insurance: Ten Comparisons Between Egypt And Germany

Posted on Thursday, Oct 17, 2024 5:00AMMonday, October 14, 2024 by Eric Schenck

by Eric Schenck The longer you’re in a new country the more it becomes a relationship. It starts out wonderful. You never knew a place could understand you like this. Everything is fun and exciting and “Oh my God just so different!” But then reality sets in. And, with enough time, the things that start out oddly…

Leave a comment

To All The Strangers I’ve Loved: Adventures In Couchsurfing

Posted on Thursday, Sep 19, 2024 5:00AMMonday, September 16, 2024 by Eric Schenck

by Eric Schenck The first time I hear about couchsurfing is in a political science class. It’s 2013 and I’m a sophomore in college. Our guest speaker is a guy in his 30’s that’s traveled the world. His secret to doing it on the cheap? A website called Couchsurfing that lets you sleep in strangers’…

Leave a comment

When A House Builds You

Posted on Friday, Aug 23, 2024 5:00AMMonday, August 19, 2024 by Eric Schenck

by Eric Schenck Now It’s a strange thing when your parents get ready to sell your childhood home. There’s a feeling of excitement at what’s to come. Something good and normal is happening, and after all, home is where you make it. There’s also a feeling of detachment. It doesn’t feel real, in a way,…

Leave a comment

Nine Life Lessons From Surfing

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 24, 2024 5:00AMMonday, July 22, 2024 by Eric Schenck

by Eric Schenck I’ve been surfing for about three years.  Not enough to be a guide of any sort, but certainly enough to realize what a miracle the sport really is. What follows are nine life lessons surfing has taught me. The more you do anything, the more you realize it can teach you about…

Leave a comment

Posts pagination

Previous 1 2

The Curated Links at 3QD *

The usual curated links to articles elsewhere are no longer on the front page. They are on the “Recommended Reading” page which can be accessed by clicking the menu item of that name, just under the main 3QD banner. Try it and see. Or just click here.

Receive 3QD Posts by Email

Please fill out the form below to get our email with all the posts from the previous 24 hours, which is sent out a bit after midnight (NY City time) each day. This is completely free of charge for everyone.
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

Follow 3QD on Social Media


What People Say About 3QD




3 Quarks Daily is an essential stop for any serious reader on the Web."

—Ken Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch since 1993.




"For sheer elegance, wit and worldly wisdom when it comes to reading, editing, presenting the real news of the world... for liveliness, cosmopolitanism, range of scientific, philosophical, and literary curiosity in harvesting big and provocative ideas... for consistency of character and manners, ever above the ordinary... 3 Quarks stands alone. If 3 Quarks Daily were a person, wouldn't it be Proust?"

—Christopher Lydon, host of the excellent show "Open Source" on National Public Radio, author, media personality.




"I'm a big admirer of 3 Quarks Daily!"

—William Dalrymple, award winning historian and travel writer, as well as distinguished broadcaster, critic, art historian, foreign correspondent and founder and co-director of Asia's largest literary festival.




"I look for relevant research, interesting themes and funny stories on sites like 3 Quarks Daily, Crooked Timber, Boing Boing and Slashdot."

—Clay Shirky, prominent thinker on the Internet and its social and economic consequences, and author of Here Comes Everybody, in The Atlantic.




"3 Quarks Daily is one of the most interesting aggregator blogs out there. It puts together stuff from art, science, philosophy, politics, literature. It’s a completely international, cosmopolitan place to get information. It’s become my entry point to reading on the Web."

—Mohsin Hamid, author of Moth Smoke, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, in the New York Times.




“I’m a longtime fan of 3 Quarks Daily!”

—Ben Orlin, author of four best-selling mathematics books: Math with Bad Drawings (2018), Change is the Only Constant (2019), Math Games with Bad Drawings (2022), and Math for English Majors (2024).




"The algorithms that curate your social-media timeline do so with indifference and programmed greed. The humans who curate 3QD do so with love and well-aged wisdom. Read 3QD instead! It’s so much better!"

—Justin E. H. Smith, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Paris.




"I couldn't tear myself away from 3 Quarks Daily, to the point of neglecting my work. Congratulations on this superb site."

—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University.




"3 Quarks Daily is a great website which should be supported!"

—Ned Block, Silver Professor of Philosophy, Psychology and Neural Science at NYU; former chair of the philosophy program at MIT.




"I really appreciate your selection of generally sane and mostly stimulating articles. 3 Quarks Daily has been my goto website at the end of the day, and now also during the day!"

—Horst Ludwig Störmer, Nobel laureate in physics and emeritus professor at Columbia University.









Recent Comments on 3QD

3QD Design History and Credits

The original site was designed by S. Abbas Raza in 2004 but soon completely redesigned by Mikko Hyppönen and deployed by Henrik Rydberg. It was later upgraded extensively by Dan Balis in 2006. The next major revision was designed by S. Abbas Raza, building upon the earlier look, and coded by Dumky de Wilde in 2013. And this current version 5.0 has been designed and deployed by Dumky de Wilde in collaboration with S. Abbas Raza.

3 Quarks Daily

3 Quarks Daily started in 2004 with the idea of creating a curated retreat for everything intellectual on the web. No clickbait, no fake news, not just entertainment, but depth and breadth —something increasingly hard to find on the internet today. If you like what we do, please consider making a donation.