culture
The writing is getting better. The ideas are getting worse. There’s a new genre of essay that other academics reading this will instantly recognize, a clumsy collaboration between students and Silicon Valley. I call it glittering sludge .
Brian Klaas • The Death of the Student Essay—and the Future of Cognition

Gen AI for music has captured ~$300M in funding so far this year across several high-profile deals, the majority of which either focus on rights management and attribution (Musical AI, Vermillio, BRIA AI) or emphasize B2B partnerships (Music AI, ElevenLabs).
This suggests that industry alignment, rather than disruption, is the thesis that investors
Source: Water & Music, H1 2025: THE YEAR SO FAR IN MUSIC TECH DEALS
We can’t address the decline in empathy without addressing the decline in attention . Empathy requires a degree of sustained focus:
When we are fragmented and distracted , we simply can’t... See more
- Paying attention to an experience someone is sharing
- Recalling experiencing a similar emotional response
- Sitting with your own and the other person’s inner state
When we are fragmented and distracted , we simply can’t... See more
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To me, the significance of the theory is its introduction of a coherent frame by which we can better understand root causes for the complex array of global catastrophic risks and the prevailing crises that humanity currently faces. Critically, the Metacrisis theory also calls to our attention a staggering hidden premonition: our civilization... See more
Intro to the Metacrisis
The Good Luck of Your Bad Luck: Marcus Aurelius on the Stoic Strategy for Weathering Life’s Waves and Turning Suffering into Strength
Maria Popovathemarginalian.org