Posts

This week brings some interesting ideas about how we look at the human civilisation, from where we come from, to how we can fix some of the mistakes we’ve made. Also one of the most important things I’ve included so far, in Believe, which explores how we evaluate ideas, and how we can try to accept truths we disagree with. Believe—The Oatmeal This week bought us another great comic from Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal, this time explaining the Backfire Effect, and how it stops us from accepting information that contradicts our strongly held beliefs....

This week has been an interesting reflection on the history of humanity and how much human society has advanced over the last 50,000 years and the even more insane progress in the last 100. This week also had me listening to Unattended Consequences in almost every spare moment I had. It’s a fascinating podcast featuring Patrick Rothfuss (author of the Name of the Wind) and Max Temkin (one of the creators of Cards Against Humanity)....

So this week, I’ve started reading Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman (Audible), and it’s core concept is that perhaps we have it too good right now, because as a society, we’re content. But the problem with being content is that we’re not looking for the next leap forward, the next thing to make our lives better. We’re not looking to the future, we’re too content with the present. Because I feel like this is unacceptable, over the next few issues I’ll be shifting Five Things to focus more on the exciting evolutions that are coming, and the biggest issues facing us that don’t get enough coverage....

Fix the internet by writing good stuff and being nice to people—Woman. Legend.Blog An interesting look at how the changes in the last few years across the internet, have created situations where people only see opinions like theirs, or only the pieces that get the most likes or stars or favs. There are really some great ideas in the post. I’d also add that subscribing to great newsletters is also a great way to expose yourself to great writing (my best suggestion right now is NextDraft)....

Termite clay kiln & pottery—Primitive Technology If you’ve ever been interested in how the technology of early humans was made and what the uses were, I have the YouTube channel for you! Primitive Technology is a fascinating and relaxing watch, as the guy making the items doesn’t speak, so it’s just the sounds of his actions and the sounds of North Queensland rainforest. Ancient Cannibals Didn’t Eat Just for the Calories, Study Suggests—The New York Times A short but interesting look at a recent study completed by Dr James Cole, measuring the calories that you’d get by eating a human....

Are GMOs Good or Bad? Genetic Engineering & Our Food—Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell  As always, we have another great video from Kurzgesagt. This one explores GMOs, exploring what we’ve been doing for thousands of years, what could go wrong, and the massive benefits GMOs have. While I don’t agree with ability to patent certain strings of DNA, controlling the modification of plants and animals is one of the biggest reasons that the human race still exists....

Humans Need Not Reply—CGP Grey This is probably the best explanation of the future of work, than any I’ve ever seen. CGP Grey takes us through the history of how tools have made many jobs redundant. We need to start considering how this will effect the economy, and how we can support the significant amount of people who will be made redundant in the next couple of decades. It’s going to the biggest economic issue in this century....

4 ways to make a city more walkable | Jeff Speck—TED Last week I shared Jeff Speck’s talk about why cities should be more walkable. In this talk he explores the how, rather than the why of the last talk. This is a really interesting look at how to make overall small changes to a city to encourage it to be more walkable, and thus more enjoyable by the people who live in it....

Jeff Speck: The walkable city—TED A great overview of the benefits of living in a walkable city, including: save money, live healthier, and have a better outcomes for the environment. I’ve long been a proponent of urban design which is based around removing traffic from urban environments like the Barcelona Superblocks, and Congestion Pricing within city streets. And Speck’s points point to why. A denser city where people walk or use other human powered locomotion tend to end up being a city that everyone wants to live in....

There is a new campaign on Twitter to share podcasts under the #trypod hashtag. I thought this was a great idea so I wanted to share my top 3 podcasts that everyone should listen to! 99% Invisible If you’re looking to try podcasts but you’re not sure where to start, start here. 99% Invisible is one of the top podcasts on everyone’s lists, thanks to the combination of fantastic reporting, the exploration of the things we don’t usually think about, and Roman Mars’ soothing voice....