Sublime

But my encounter with the places had been limited, and I had been guided toward experiences that reinforced my own point of view, the taste profile built up by all my personal data online.

The outcome of such algorithmic gatekeeping is the pervasive flattening that has been happening across culture. By flatness I mean homogenization but also a reduction into simplicity: the least ambiguous, least disruptive, and perhaps least meaningful pieces of culture are promoted the most. Flatness is the lowest common denominator, an averageness

copacetic

The decision about where to stay was simple. His pal from Austin, René Pinnell, who now lived in San Francisco, and his girlfriend, Selena, offered up a spare room in their small but welcoming apartment.

Glenn McDonald,

Know Where You Are

Tourism driven by digital platforms causes a literal flattening, in the physical damage of so many feet and vehicle wheels, as well as a metaphorical flattening.