Welcome to Reading List, your weekly collection of great tech reads from around the web. This week we learn the problem behind Samsung's design, why America's infrastructure is rotting, and on a less grim note, get a rare peek at the technology behind Magic Leap's mixed reality. Enjoy!
- If you've ever wondered why Samsung's design is so disappointing, Fast Co's Mark Wilson has an interesting theory. He points the finger at the "stubborn genius" mentality of Steve Jobs and the egotistical hubris of Silicon Valley innovation in general, which doesn't always meld with the Korean company's business culture. [Fast Company]
- There's an invisible problem literally breaking down analog America: corrosion. The Atlantic has a fascinating piece on how rust is rotting the country's infrastructure, and even more scary, the steady deterioration is happening invisibly—we don't see it until equipment fails, causing one disaster after another. [Atlantic]
- MIT Technology Review's Rachel Metz visited the office of the secretive Google-backed startup Magic Leap for a rare look at the awesome augmented reality. She demoed an early prototype of the company's "cinematic-reality technology" that takes 3D virtual images that look incredibly real—in this case, a four-armed blue monster—and puts them in front of your eyes, in your physical world. [Technology Review]
- You may not know that one of the main flow of funding for Islamic State militants comes from Syria's own cultural heritage. The BBC met with a couple men involved in smuggling antiquities—ancient stones, statues, gold pieces—that are looted from museums by IS and illicitly traded overseas. [BBC]
- The New Yorker's Ian Parker sits down with Apple's famous product designer Jony Ive for an in-depth profile on the designer behind the MacBook, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. It's full of personal tidbits like testing watchbands for the Apple Watch, and the time Ive advised J. J. Abrams on how to design the lightsaber. [New Yorker]
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Image: AP