Appreciate everything endlessly
Some ways to distract your mind as it is inevitably pulled towards that election. (#502)
This is David, your trusted human filter to the web, with no billionaire owner to tell me what I can and cannot publish.
You're reading the Weekly Filet, the newsletter for curious minds who love when something makes them go «Huh, I never thought of it this way!». As every Friday, I have some recommendations for you, to make sense of what’s happening, and imagine what could be. It's great to have you.
1. Appreciate everything endlessly.
As we anxiously await the world's scariest coin toss, I thought we might as well start with something completely different. Something that will make you feel lighter, even joyful. This is such a wonderful, charming talk about appreciating the small things, finding beauty and wonder in unexpected places. «I highly encourage you to go down all the rabbit holes. [...] I just want us to appreciate everything endlessly.» (It starts a bit slow and confusing, but trust me, it's so worth it.)
2. Emissions Gap Report 2024
The UN Environment Programme's «Emissions Gap Report» is one of these nerdy sounding, but highly important reports. The executive summary is easy to read, and I think everyone should do that. The report calculates the gap between total global emissions and what they should be if we prefer to continue living on a liveable planet. This year's editions finds a «massive gap between rhetoric and reality». With current policies, we are headed towards a world that is 2.9 degrees celsius hotter than the preindustrial average by the end of the century. For context: We are currently at +1.3, closing in on the Paris Agreement's +1.5. And what's particularly concerning: Last year's report had the projection at +2.7 degrees. After years of – way to slow, but still – progress, the curve now trends in the wrong direction again.
3. The Very Real Scenario Where Trump Loses and Takes Power Anyway
As if the very real chance of him winning again weren't stressful enough. Politico explains in great detail: If Trump overturns the 2024 election, here’s how it could happen.
4. Autocracy in America
Here's an idea: Step back from the news cycle and the latest poll numbers, go for a walk and gain some perspective, by listening to this five-part podcast. «There’s a common perception that democracy ends with a battle—soldiers in the streets, a coup d’état, the fall of a government. Modern-day authoritarians do not come into power by brute force. No, democracy’s lost one little step at a time.»
Hosted by Anne Applebaum and Peter Pomerantsev
5. A Loss for Words
A beautiful, very personal short essay in which the author reflects on how Wittgenstein (of all people!) helped him connect with his non-verbal autistic daughter. «The "problem" isn't my daughter's lack of verbal language – it's the world's limited understanding of different forms of communication.»
What else?
Instant-gratification links that make you go wow! or aha! the moment you click.
- The perfect cartoon to explain why I don't like going to the cinema.
- Why it's easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than 98% of the time. Such a powerful lesson, told in such a charming way by the late Clayton Christensen.
- Spooky: What if rivers stood straight up?
- When your movie gets a two-star review, but you have a clever designer.
- X-mas comes early this year: Monument Valley 3 will be released on December 10.
- Next October, Sigur Rós will be performing with the London Contemporary Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall. Did I splash out on tickets? You bet I did.
- «Racist ideas are often served with humor. The humor allows both the producer and consumer to deny the ideas are racist.» – Ibram X. Kendi
Books for curious minds
Some new ones as I read them, some older ones that continue to inform how I look at the world and myself. More on my digital bookshelf.
Apropos of nothing...I first read it in 2020 and found it highly illuminating for understanding why so many things that feel counterintuitive from a normal person's perspective make perfect sense for someone aspiring to be a dictator. Buy it here.
A gem from the archive
The Weekly Filet archive offers more than 2500 hand-picked links since 2011. You can search by interests, explore collections, shuffle for a gem or check out my all-time favs.
Pause to think for a moment: What’s the biggest number you can imagine? Ok, now you’re ready for this. I know «this will blow your mind» is rather overused these days, but dive into this tornado of numbers and once you’re finished with it, drop me an email if you feel your mind hasn’t been properly blown.
Tim Urban
That's it for this week. Thanks for reading. I wish you a nice weekend and hope to see you again next Friday when, hopefully, the US has elected its first female president ever.
— David