culture

the entire internet is steadily turning into TikTok-style short-form video

The Industrial Revolution gave birth to the manufacturing economy, and in the 250 years since, services have slowly seeped into the economy. The canonical 19th century workplace was a factory; the canonical 20th century workplace was an office. We shifted to desk-centric knowledge work—think Working Girl or Office Space . “Did you get the memo?”... See more

It’s this notion of quantifying an intellectual pursuit, as if it’s only valuable insofar as you can quantify it: the number of books you read as signifier of your intellectual curiosity.

In my opinion, that deserves our respect. Being born with fine cheekbones or a chiseled jawline is no accomplishment; figuring out how to use a bunch of Korean treatments and products to look more like you want to look is a feat of personal initiative and intelligence. As the beauty industry becomes more and more technologically advanced, beauty... See more

We read for all sorts of reasons: is it to say that you’ve read that book? Are you looking for the escapism of being immersed in a new world? Do you want to refine your thinking on something? Reading can be entertainment, intellectual curiosity, escapism, relaxation, or a million other things — no one reason is intrinsically nobler than any other,... See more

Listening to a book or podcast at some insane speed – well beyond what you could comprehend, process, and think about in any reasonable way – puts the entire value of that media on the acquisition of information. I’ve certainly felt this, a desire to “have read” a book, to finish it and be able to place it in the collection in my mind of things... See more