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30 March 2021

  • School almost 'eliminates bullying' with break-time ban on games [BBC]
    Last year I read Hao Jingfang’s “Vagabonds” . It made me realise one of the foundations of the utopian Martian Republic was lack of competitive attitude. By eliminating rivalry and introducing age- rather than experience-dependent universal income, people were encouraged to specialise in what they are best at and cooperate, first for their own survival, then to build Mars’ prosperity. Hackney New School students reportedly experience less bullying after the school tried similar approach and replaced “unstructured games” during breaks with different kind of activities.
  • Replacing Middle Management with APIs [Blog]
    Peter Reinhardt points out new sort of social division, determined whether one lives “above or below the API”. API stands for application programming interface and describes how software communicates with the outside world. The author points out many low level jobs, such as Uber drivers, are currently determined entirely by API and humans execute only the part which is not automated yet but is due to be. Mark Manson argues curiousity is they key trait in this century, as it allows individuals to stay “above the API”. Lack of curiousity leads to increased dependency on algorithms and effectively growing isolated in an information bubble.
  • 'I catch rats for a living and couldn’t be happier' [BBC]
    Doctor, lawyer or engineer are always considered respected professions everywhere in the world, mostly due to the determination it takes to earn them and their contribution to the overall welfare of the population. But what if you are not passionate about any of them? This story about James Molluso, the experienced pest controller, shows how many more different professions undoubtfully contribute to the society. They do not require a decade of intense studies, yet provide the same level of gratitude and respect from customers. Because are you going to call a lawyer when a rat runs around your house?

21 March 2021

  • Cheap Food. The Food Industry Uncovered [Arte]
    A documentary by Martin Blanchard and Maud Gangler. If you also watched “The Wing or the Thigh”, you might find disturbing similarities between this 70s French comedy and the actual reality of mass food industry. The mass produciton process of the oven ready dishes is being reproduced to show how very different it is from what one would have cooked themselves. The movie is a broad analysis of the worst and best practices in the food industry, actions to improve the state of affairs and whether vegan or “clean label” food is any better.
  • China's Reckoning: Housing Crisis [PolyMatter][YouTube]
    Most people I speak to believe that property prices will only go up. This video presents how this belief, together with limited alternative investment opportunities, led the Chinese to buy more and more properties which later stay empty due to lack of demand. Empty neighbourhoods and very high property prices are the result. In its analysis, the video also shows how local welfare programmes in China and banking sector are dependent on the property market and projects what might happen when the bubble bursts.
  • A Selfish Argument for Making the World a Better Place – Egoistic Altruism [Kurzgesagt][YouTube]
    Kurzgesagt confirms what I have thought for a long time: Making world a better place is in the interest of all of us. The humanity can break more barriers in development, sustainability and exploration when cooperating. There is a measurable life improvement for one from supporting e.g. better educational opportunities for the other, even on the other side of the globe.

14 March 2021

  • Are We Raising Unhelpful, Bossy Kids? Here’s The Fix [NPR]
    Have you had your kids ask to help you with chores but you turned them down because you thought they will not do a good job? You might have even thought that it is more work for you because you will have to correct after them. Research shows kids usually want to help at home but stop offering their help if parents turn them down too often. The article gives two hints what kind of tasks you can give to your kids so you need not do it again yourself.
  • Is the Western way of raising kids weird? [BBC]
    Western and Asian researchers discuss how different cultural attitudes towards raising kids can contribute to various aspects of their and their parents’ wellbeing. This includes different ways of coping with post-partum depression and preventing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
  • There’s a Better Way to Parent: Less Yelling, Less Praise [The Atlantic]
    An interview with Michaeleen Doucleff, an author of “Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans”. The author talks about her research through visiting, with her three-year-old daughter, various indigenous cultures. She argues more stoic approach towards parenting and better understanding of children’s limited ability to reflect on their actions can have even immediate effects on both kids’ and parents’ wellbeing.

5 March 2021

  • Optimistic Nihilism [Kurzgesagt][YouTube]
    Kurzgesagt is known for videos which use pleasant animations to show we are just a drop of sand in the vast desert of the Universe. Many people might find this idea daunting and question what is the point of any commitment. Creators of the channel introduce an idea of optimistic nihilism, which we can use to achieve the opposite. Through awareness of the vast, incomprehensible universe around us, we can learn to use our short time in it to enjoy ourselves and leave a meaningful mark on our communities.
  • To make laziness work for you, put some effort into it [Aeon]
    Neel Burton discusses the reality behind appearing lazy. We culturally accepted that laziness is a choice, but the reality is more complicated. Conserving energy for important activities is a natural biological behaviour. As a result, lack of the sense of purpose can be the driver behind inaction. It turns out, however, productivity is not linear and it might be overall increased by allowing ourselves some time for doing nothing.
  • The Age of the Mirror (in: Hold Up the Sky) [Cixin Liu][Amazon][e-book]
    “Society is the same way. Its evolution and vitality is rooted in the myriad urges and desires departing from the morality laid out by the majority. A fish can't live in perfectly clear water. A society where no on ever makes mistakes in ethics is, in reality, dead.”

    In this short story, Liu, most known for “The Three-Body Problem” trilogy tries to imagine a perfectly transparent society, rendering corruption impossible. The dream for many, in his thought experiment it does not work out very well. Do you think a development in a perfectly ethical society is possible?

26 February 2021

  • Can't Get You Out of My Head [BBC][UK-only]
    Eight hours of an epic, factual story how the societies across the Global North became split and polarised. Adam Curtis shows how the evolution of societies in the 20th century diminished the sense of community, spread loneliness epidemic and irrational beliefs. Personally, I have been aware of most of the events shown in the movie through following news or reading historical sources but this does not make this series any boring. The way the historical events are put together allows to see how human vulnerabilities were exploited and who, if anyone, benefited from it.
  • When did we give up on persuasion? [UnHerd]
    When I was still part of the debate society, we had multiple conversations on topics which can often be considered outrageous. For me it was obvious opinions in our discussions need not be our personal views but rather opinions we want to have challenged by others. The unknown motion and randomly-assigned position on it is the very nature of competitive debating. The tournament participants, however, often did not wish to have their debates recorded, fearing consequences of being taken seriously. In his essay, Tom Chivers brings an example of someone who was not afraid at first and how it led to him gaining bad press.
  • Kitchen-table classrooms: Covid-19 has persuaded some parents that home-schooling is better [The Economist][paywall]
    Schools in England reopen to pupils on 8 March. Most parents I know cannot wait to send their kids back to school, not least because this allows them to focus at work. It is still uncertain what damage one-year-long break in education has done to the children. Some parents, however, are not looking forward to this and decided to keep home-schooling their kids. In the article you can find about various motives, problems with state school system and different national regulations influencing such decisions.

12 February 2021

  • Mindf*ck Monday #68: Why Putin Wants to Censor Me [markmanson.net]
    You might have heard of “The Suble Art of Not Giving a F*ck”, and perhaps its sequel “Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope” by Mark Manson. It appears the Russian president has heard of them as well, but might have misread the title. As a result, he decided to give a f*ck. In his newsletter, Mark Manson himself explains what his self-help books have do to with Soviet war crimes and why his books might be censored under Russia’s recently proposed law. He also brings up other thinkers discussing the role of history and history-based politics in shaping our perception of the world.
  • How to Give Better Advice [Scientific American]
    Research shows we are making a fundamental mistake when giving or taking advice. Advice seekers want to obtain information while adivisors focus on providing guidance rather than information. This leads to misunderstandings and overall does not provide the support advice seekers were looking for. Francesca Gino uses various study results to show experts’ lack of understanding of the circumstances advice seekers face leading them to getting wrong answers. So how to give a good advice, being an expert? Advisors need to listen and put themselves in the shoes of these they want to help.
  • The Feminine Physique [The Believer]
    Never before bodybuilding, in one form or another, was as mainstream and accessible as it is today. Petra Browne tell the story of her journey into the bodybuilding world, her personal experiences and people she met. Her story is intertwined with various historical facts about the discipline, with the focus on women’s role in it. This long read is a food for thought with regards to beauty standards and empowerment. Petra started bodybuilding because she was craving extra attention. Is getting stronger empowering, if it is motivated by the need to climb up the ladder of patriarchal society?

5 February 2021

  • Why it's time to stop pursuing happiness [The Guardian]
    David Robson presents various studies showing people who spend more thinking about becoming happier usually feel less happy. It is often believed “visualising own success” could boost motivation and self-confidence. Apparently such positive fantasies lead to a sense of self-complacency. Instead, it is better to combine positive fantasies with a deliberate analysis of obstacles using a method called “mental contrasting”.
  • Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict [The New Yorker]
    Jiayang Fan writes about her experience of growing up witnessing growing popularity of bubble tea in America. She describes how Chinese American community was changing using an alegory of evolving bubble tea shops. Is it wrong for a community to define its cultural identity using commodified objects? How it is for a community to define its identity anew, as the environment it develops in is so much different from previous generations?
  • Awesome, weird and everything else [The Economist] [paywall]
    In their last Christmas Special, The Economist talked to teenage girls all over the world. What are their lives like? What are their dreams? How do they compare with the previous generation? And, most importantly, do they indeed have more freedom or nothing but more burden and duties disguised as liberation and empowerment?

29 January 2021

  • Politics Unboringed [YouTube]
    Are you wondering why politicians never answer questions? You want to know whether your MP is doing a good job? Why to vote at all? Or perhaps your life goal is to become a peer but you are not sure where to start? Jay Foreman you might know from Map Men and Unfinished London series introduces you to how British democracy works and tells you what YOU should do to help it. All of this in the form of funny 3-5 minute videos! P.S.: The intros are a bit loud.
  • Being a Go-Getter Is No Fun [The Atlantic]
    In every office I worked at there was always that one person who knew it all. The last resort, the unblocker of all blockages. Loved by bosses, revered by other employees. However, what if you are this person? The research shows you most likely hate it and your overall satisfaction is lower than your less competent peers.
  • Can too many brainy people be a dangerous thing? [The Economist] [paywall]
    In the last couple of decades policy-makers focused on getting as many young people to universities as possible. Peter Turchin of University of Connecticut argues this is nothing but selling cohorts of young people a false credentialist dream that, with a diploma in hand, they are entitled to be the elite. As a result of supply not matching the demand, the value of a diploma plummets and graduates find themselves living lives very different and far less stable to what they have been promised.

22 January 2021

  • Industry insiders don't use their products like we do. That should worry us. [Popular Science]
    You may think tech executives’ kids have access to all the hottest smartphones and are born into social media. Yet they are raised with little of it. Tobacco industry does not allow smoking on their premises. Processed food executives do not consume their own products. Eleanor Cummins points this is not a new trend. The message for you, the consumer: Be aware. You might be better off without these too.
  • The Dangerous Approach Of Living Without Purpose [HuffPost]
    Since the dawn of philosophy, humanity was wondering about the meaning of life. Various people throughout history gave, often contradictory, advice. There is no universal recipe. Each of us has to define their long-term goals. We should no be afraid of setting them and changing them. This blog post gives a couple of practical tips how to do it, regardless of how you might want to live your life.
  • Bartleby: Why we need to laugh at work [The Economist] [paywall]
    “Office hierarchy requires the employees to put up with the appalling behaviour of the manager.” Corporate jargon used in one industry seems ridiculous applied to other. Awkward situation arise when the two are in a business relationship. On your way home you pick up your kids from school, who might address their teachers using nicknames such as Bartleby's Quack or Panzerfaust (actual nickname used for a teacher at this digest’s editor’s school). If, after (or during) the whole day, there is a part of you which just wants to sit down and have a good laugh, this is exactly what your mind needs for your own sanity.

16 January 2021

  • This year I achieved nothing. All I discovered were the limits of my unambition [The Guardian]
    You see your friends using their lockdown and furlough to lean new skills or get fit. The lockdown could be the greatest opportunity for self-improvement in our lifetimes. Joel Golby looks whether it is indeed wasted time if you did not spend it productively. As he noticed, learning limits to own unambition is also an important step towards a better life and inner peace.
  • Covid-19: Five ways to stay positive through lockdown [BBC]
    I personally believe "do it badly" is the most important advice. To discover the limits of one's unambition, one needs to keep trying things. It is unlikely to get them right first time. This should not be a discouragement. Otherwise, it is an easy path to abandon trying anything new with detrimental impact on one's own well-being.
  • How does it really feel to be lonely? [The Economist] [paywall]
    What is the real scale of loneliness? Why lonely people are paying extra attention to present themselves as satisfied with life? And why embracing solitude might be, weirdly, the way out of loneliness?

9 January 2021

  • Five Reasons Being Moody Is Actually Good for You [Vice]
    "In our culture, normal human emotions like temporary sadness are often treated as disorders. Manipulative advertising, marketing, and self-help industries claim happiness should be ours for the asking. Yet bad moods remain an essential part of the normal range of moods we regularly experience. Despite the near-universal cult of happiness and unprecedented material wealth, happiness and life satisfaction in Western societies have not improved for decades."
  • Why So Many Smart People Aren’t Happy [The Atlantic]
    An interview with Raj Raghunathan from The University of Texas at Austin, author of the book "If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Happy?". School grades, awards, bonuses at work are common ways to evaluate us against others. Research shows a phenomenon of decreasing happiness with increasing personal wealth and ability due to scarcity-oriented credentialist mindset. The author recommends an "abundance-oriented approach". With such mindset, there is a room for everyone to grow if we focus on the things we are truly passionate about instead of putting society's expectations first.
  • Schumpeter – Shhhh! [The Economist] [paywall]
    An "extrovert ideal" used to dominate business culture for decades. Should it though? This article is from September 2016, long before office workers worldwide were forced to work from home. As companies are currently restructuring their offices and often closing them altogether, is it a generational chance for introverts to thrive in corporations?