When a tool reliably performs a cognitive operation, the internal capacity for that operation tends to weaken with disuse. People who know they can look up something on Google develop weaker memory for the information itself, and habitual GPS users show measurable decline in hippocampal-dependent spatial navigation. - Aeon
Give people an hour with nothing scheduled, and many fill it with thoughts of to-dos: the unanswered email, the errand that’s been put off, the project due next week. Free time is sometimes less a chance to rest than an opportunity to take inventory of our obligations. - The Atlantic
Researchers generally agree that the relationship between music and learning is complex. The effects of music on studying and other cognitively demanding tasks appear to depend on the type of task performed, the kind of music and the students themselves. - The Conversation
If you look at these people—literally look at photos or watch footage—you discover that they were either beautiful or charismatic, or both. They all appeared on television. Among fiction writers of that time, maybe Philip Roth had some of that swagger, quick wit, amused air, though he also had a professorial, sweater-wearing side. - The Ideas Letter
"With DC’s slate wiped clean, the studio had the chance to swing bigger with a woman-led movie than it ever has before — to make something so confident and audacious that, by the nature of its existence alone, it could be unimpeachable in a sea of superhero sameness.” - Salon
“A horror film builds a safe enclosure where we can rehearse terror, chaos and helplessness with no adverse consequences. … But the body can’t always tell the rehearsal from the real thing.” - The Guardian (UK)
I’ve found that some of the most rigid thinkers describe themselves as spectacularly flexible while the most flexible people are often unaware of their own adaptability. This is why, instead of relying on asking people how rigid they think they are, I began studying people’s unconscious thinking styles. - Psyche
Some patterns emerge: many utopias employ a framing device in which the narrator is accidentally or fantastically transported to a new land, and then subjected to reams of expository monologue about how it all works. - The Guardian
How should we remember the American Revolution when millions march in the streets and shout “No Kings!”? When squads of masked thugs invade homes without warrant, kangaroo immigration “courts” deport hundreds of thousands without due process, and an executive agency buys up warehouses to use as internment camps? - Boston Review
This is one novel frustration of the AI age, yet millions of users searching for the “right prompt” are engaging in an old literary practice: turning mental images, vague desires and atmospheric intuitions into precise language. - The Conversation
Anyway, the reason I’m writing all of this is not to brag, but to complain. Over the last two years, I’ve felt like my job has become a bit less important than it used to be, for three reasons. - Noahpinion
Zhuangzi insists that even in idealised situations where values can be straightforward, the idea that hierarchies and institutions can reflect that moral map is a profound misunderstanding of how power actually works. - Aeon
That must have been revelatory at a time when most people seemed to believe that science was infallible. But expertise has been downgraded—and more people are getting their information from podcasters and influencers. Who could help us understand this shift? - The Atlantic
“The purpose of the device is to provide an unbiased account of the events that lead to the demise of the planet, hold accountability for future generations, and inspire urgent action,” the Earth’s Black Box website states. “How the story ends is completely up to us.” - Gizmodo
