Two good reads for a slow Wednesday afternoon:

Hacking Las Vegas, about a group of genius MIT students who turned card counting into a science. With the aid of computers and hundreds of hours of practice they worked out the math of card counting, ending up with an average profit of 10%-20%. They worked in teams to avoid getting caught and won millions from casinos.

Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?, about the De Beers diamond cartel. Starting in the 1930s, De Beers\’ advertising agency N.W. Ayer created a campaign to turn virtually worthless diamonds into desirable objects. They used movies and advertising to associate diamonds with romance so people would desire them. Then, to keep the value of diamonds inflated, they endowed diamonds with sentimental value so people wouldn\’t resell them.
[ From Slashdot ]