The Magic of Bird Brains
newyorker.com/science/elements/the-magic-of-bird-brainsCrows are smart enough to pick up trash. Why won’t they?
Germany adds Berlin’s techno scene to Unesco cultural heritage list | Germany | The Guardian
theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/15/berlins-techno-scene-added-to-unesco-intangible-cultural-heritage-listList recognises techno scene’s contribution to Berlin’s cultural identity
Tech doesn’t make our lives easier. It makes them faster
brettscott.substack.com/p/tech-doesnt-make-our-lives-easierBreaking through the illusion of convenience that's used to sell us automation
What Was the TED Talk?
thedriftmag.com/what-was-the-ted-talk/“TED’s archive is a graveyard of ideas. It is a seemingly endless index of stories about the future – the future of science, the future of the environment, the future of work, the future of love and sex, the future of what it means to be human – that never materialized. ... If the research wasn’t entertaining or moving, it was seen as somehow less valuable. TED’s influence on intellectual culture was ‘taking something with value and substance and coring it out so that it can be swallowed without chewing’, Bratton said. ‘This is not the solution to our most frightening problems – rather, this is one of our most frightening problems.’”
Cruising in the Trenches
the-fence.com/cruising-in-the-trenches/Fucking under curfew.
Column: Why a medieval peasant got more vacation time than you | Reuters
reuters.com/article/us-column-great-debate/column-why-a-medieval-peasant-got-more-vacation-time-than-you-idUKBRE97S0KU20130829Life for the medieval peasant was certainly no picnic. His life was shadowed by fear of famine, disease and bursts of warfare. His diet and personal hygiene left much to be desired. But despite his reputation as a miserable wretch, you might envy him one thing: his vacations...
Blue Marriage and The Terror of Divorce
annehelen.substack.com/p/blue-marriage-and-the-terror-of-divorceThis is the midweek edition of Culture Study — the newsletter from Anne Helen Petersen, which you can read about here. If you like it and want more like it in your inbox, consider subscribing. If you read any of the hundreds of advice columns that have found renewed life on the internet, you’ll recognize a certain genre of question. It comes from a woman, almost always married, who’s describing a partner’s shitty behavior. They often narrativize the behavior in a way that simultaneously asks the reader to understand that something is wrong (
Amia Srinivasan · Cancelled: Can I speak freely? · LRB 29 June 2023
lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n13/amia-srinivasan/cancelledMost of us would find it horrible to be told that we aren’t worth engaging with, that our views are socially...
Will A.I. Become the New McKinsey? | The New Yorker
newyorker.com/science/annals-of-artificial-intelligence/will-ai-become-the-new-mckinseyAs it’s currently imagined, the technology promises to concentrate wealth and disempower workers. Is an alternative possible?
There Is No A.I.
newyorker.com/science/annals-of-artificial-intelligence/there-is-no-aiThere are ways of controlling the new technology—but first we have to stop mythologizing it.
What If Friendship, Not Marriage, Was at the Center of Life?
theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/10/people-who-prioritize-friendship-over-romance/616779/“Our boyfriends, our significant others, and our husbands are supposed to be No. 1. Our worlds are backward.”
40 Useful Concepts You Should Know - by Gurwinder
gurwinder.substack.com/p/40-useful-concepts-you-should-knowIdeas to help you make sense of the world
Work Is Work | codahale.com
codahale.com//work-is-work/In which returns diminish.
An app can be a home-cooked meal
robinsloan.com/notes/home-cooked-app/People don’t only learn to cook so they can become chefs. Some do! But many more people learn to cook so they can eat better, or more affordably. Because they want to carry on a tradition. Sometimes they learn because they’re bored! Or even because — get this — they love spending time with the person who’s teaching them.
The term ‘quiet quitting’ is worse than nonsense | Financial Times
ft.com/content/a09a2ade-4d14-47c2-9cca-599b3c25a33fIf your staff turn up every day, do exactly what you ask of them, but don’t go above and beyond, they are still working