Reading controversies. Baloney. Do it yourself. Is AI a threat? A depressing amount of misinformation. It's amazing! Will blog for free.
“You are under no obligation to remain the same person you were a year ago, a month ago, or even a day ago. You are here to create yourself, continuously.”
– Richard Feynman
1. “Culturally, we do not value reading”
The Atlantic Did Me Dirty – Carrie M. Santo-Thomas – (Substack)
I got some push-back from a dear friend for the Atlantic article I included last week on The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books. Santo-Thomas was one resource for that essay, and feels that her position was side-stepped for the more popular “it’s the devices” argument, coupled with teaching to the test rather than teaching the skill.
Rather, my experience is that young readers are eminently capable of critically engaging in long form content, but they’re rightfully demanding a seat at the table where decisions about texts are being made […] There is no shortage of engaging texts that students can and will read cover-to-cover.
The argument is that we’re still using primarily old, white, dead, male authors to judge and teach reading skills, and in English vernacular that makes reading a chore rather than a pleasure. (There’s more, of course.)
Do this: Read a different book.
PS: I do love hearing feedback on the items I select. My goal isn’t so much to foster a particular agenda, but to get you thinking. Even if you object, that’s a success in my … er … book. Even objections require a sliver of thought.
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2. “There’s a fire-breathing dragon in my garage”
Baloney Detection Kit: How to Think Sceptically and Bust Bullshit – Chris Meyer – (The Mind Collection)
Carl Sagan’s baloney detection kit needs wider visibility. There’s so much baloney out there to be detected. Some steps feel obvious (and yet we skip them), and others are difficult to get our minds wrapped around.
Always ask whether the hypothesis can be, at least in principle, falsified. Propositions that are untestable, unfalsifiable are not worth much.
If you believe something is true, is there a way — any way, regardless of how likely you consider it — that would prove you wrong? For example, someone who’s a tried-and-true atheist might say “sure, if a deity were to turn up, I could be proven wrong, I just don’t think it’ll ever happen”.
“Truths” that can’t be falsified, like there being an invisible fire-breathing dragon in my garage, are at best useless. Most boil down to attempting to prove a negative, which generally can’t be done.
Do this: Understand how your truths could be proven wrong. That understanding can help you better represent your truth.
3. “You didn’t earn this, but you look like you need it”
Get Off the Family Plan (gift link) – Arthur C. Brooks – (The Atlantic)
Brooks uses the concept of Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a stepping stone to discuss how earned versus unearned income affects well being. This is not a discussion of the merits of UBI itself.
One example is how parents sometimes struggle with helping their offspring.
self-reliance, not a handout, is the gift they want to pass on
And it appears to be the case that self-reliance and the ability to feel you’ve earned what you get have longer-term benefits. It manifests in other places as well, including inheritance, lotteries, and more.
Do this: Be self-reliant.
4. “AI won’t take your job”
30 Things I’ve Learned About AI – Alberto Romero – (Medium)
I’ve had several discussions with folks about AI of late. To say it can polarize is an understatement. Just start a discussion on plagiarism. (My take: it’s more complicated than most realize. There are no simple solutions.)
There were two items on this list that caught my attention. First, about job loss:
AI won’t take your job, a person using AI will; most likely you using AI will replace yourself not using it
I don’t think that’s absolute, but I think it’s much more likely than the extreme “AI will take my job away” mentality that many people seem to have.
And while this has little to do directly with AI, it feels like it explains society:
Companies care about shareholders, politicians care about votes, journalists care about paychecks, bloggers care about views, and researchers care about citations. Find the right mix of sources for what you care about.
Sadly, I don’t see someone on the list caring about truth.
Do this: Keep an eye on AI, if you’re not already. Oh, and care about the truth. Someone has to.
5. “Murdering meteorologists won’t stop hurricanes.”
I’m Running Out of Ways to Explain How Bad This Is (gift link) – Charlie Warzel – (The Atlantic)
The takeaway above was followed by: “I can’t believe I just had to type that.”
I share this one with some reluctance, because it’s pretty depressing. That there are those who promote completely and obviously false information, which is then believed by many anyway, is disheartening.
The vast majority of misinformation is offered as a service for people to maintain their beliefs in face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
From threatening meteorologists to promoting efforts to prevent FEMA from helping in disaster ravaged areas, things are pretty bad.
Americans are divided not just by political beliefs but by whether they believe in a shared reality—or desire one at all.
Do this: Don’t be swayed by false narratives. Please. And be open to the possibility that your currently held beliefs might be false.
6. “Adding “feel a little amazed by something” to your to-do list”
Awe Can Do Wonders for Your Well-Being—If You Know Where to Look for It – Alisa Hrustic – (Self)
I didn’t realize the positive effects of experiencing awe were as broad as they seem to be.
awe can make you feel like you have more time, increasing your patience, rooting you in the present, and possibly even sparking a willingness to give up your hours to help others
The catch, I believe, is that most of us need to be intentional about it. Seek it out, perhaps, but more importantly, allow it to happen. And it doesn’t have to be grandiose or huge or exceptional. It can be as simple as being in awe of the world around us. A morning sunrise often does it for me.
Do this: Let yourself feel awe.
7. “No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money”
The blogosphere is in full bloom. The rest of the internet has wilted – John Naughton – (The Guardian)
Internet pioneer Dave Winer’s blog, Scripting News (yup, http not https), turned 30 this week. The Guardian article is an interesting look at not only how blogging affected the internet, but how in recent years how the internet has affected blogging. Much to many people’s surprise, blogging remains active and popular.
the blogosphere is alive and well and thriving. In fact it’s where much of the best writing – and thinking – of our era is to be found.
Set aside for a moment the fact that sites like 7Takeaways and Ask Leo! are built using blogging tools, there remain many, many traditional blogs, including my own.
Which reminds me. I need to write and post there more often.
Do this: Spend some time looking at the work of individuals writing and posting online.
Random links
- Did the Library of Alexandria Really Exist? – I’m not sure how I feel about this.
- Cars bricked by bankrupt EV company will stay bricked – Yikes.
- Breakdancers warned of cone-shaped lump from ‘extensive headspinning’ – LOL (BBC so presumably legit.)
- Hurricane Helene and the ‘Fuck It’ Era of AI-Generated Slop – Builds on #5 above.
What I’m reading
In progress:
- I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom: A Novel – Jason Pargin
- How to Read a Book – Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren
- Where Good Ideas Come From – Steven Johnson (re-read)
- The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century – Steven Pinker (audio)
Daily:
- A Calendar of Wisdom: Daily Thoughts to Nourish the Soul, Written and Selected from the World’s Sacred Texts – Leo Tolstoy
A full list of my common sources is on the sources page, and I list the books I’ve read on my Reading List page.
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-Leo
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