Mary Martin

The comparison is anchored in The Cigarette Century ,12 which provides a detailed historical account of how cigarettes were engineered for addictiveness. From this foundation, a framework of industrial strategies—such as dose manipulation, delivery speed, use of additives, and health washing—was developed as the basis for comparison with UPFs.

Asking people to change themselves instead of changing the work environment around them is a strategy that not only wastes resources but may also infuriate employees, who feel like all the responsibility for dealing with a toxic work environment and unrealistic demands rests on their shoulders alone.

the very challenges that make relationships difficult are also what make them meaningful. It’s in moments of discomfort—when we navigate misunderstandings or repair after conflict—that intimacy grows. These experiences, whether with therapists, friends, or partners, teach us how to trust and connect on a deeper level. If we stop practicing these... See more

It is predictable, then, that users are consistently fooled into believing that their AI companions are conscious persons, capable of feeling real emotions.

How Much Time and Energy Do We Waste Toggling Between Applications?

the point of advising is to assist someone in solving a problem without sharing responsibility

Hyperstition is a positive feedback circuit including culture as a component. It can be defined as the experimental (techno-)science of self-fulfilling prophecies. Superstitions are merely false beliefs, but hyperstitions — by their very existence as ideas — function causally to bring about their own reality.

we’d argue that if you produce something iconic, you can create a cultural moment that ripples through people’s crowded psyches and impacts them deeply. And if you’re culturally and commercially successful, it paves the way for future experiments: it becomes easier to both sell tickets and sell ideas to potential clients.