Movies beckon different tradeoffs today. Seeing the movie isn’t enough reward to justify the cost. Social capital used to mean time given to friends in physical spaces where friendship was solidified. It now means attention given to me that can be used to grow personal social followings and participate in online fandom. The reward of going to see a... See more
Science is not like foraging, mining, or drilling, where we keep doing the same thing and it keeps getting harder. It’s more like discovering an elevator left for us by aliens. At first we have no idea how it works; we get in and push a button, and now we’re climbing dozens of floors in a matter of seconds. We excitedly calculate that, at this rate... See more