The beautiful, collapse-aware mind
Plus: Why a lot of population numbers are fake (#561)
This is David, your decidedly human web crawler, and 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'm here to help you make sense of what’s happening, and imagine what could be. It's great to have you.
1. Why Some People See Collapse Earlier Than Others
When reality deviates too much from what we think reality should be, we tend to slide into denial. It's what Alex Steffen describes as «our inability to grasp discontinuity [...] the moment where past experience loses its value as a guide to decision-making about the future.» I was reminded of his quote when reading this remarkable essay this week. It explains why some people are less prone to that reflex. «The autistic mind is not trapped inside consensus trance. [...] When a person’s identity is not anchored in dominant social narratives, the erosion of those narratives does not produce the same level of disorientation.» And thus: «The autistic cognitive style can make tipping points legible before they are socially acknowledged.»
Adrian Lambert
2. When AI & Human Worlds Collide
The laziest criticism of AI is that it’s nothing but statistics, machines predicting the next word in a sequence. It’s like saying humans are made of mostly water and thoughts are nothing but neurons sending electrical and chemical signals to one another. Like, yes, correct, but also: duh! This article goes two steps further: It looks at «world models», a potential space for AI models to go beyond the patterns of language. «The ultimate goal is to develop world models that simulate aspects of the real world accurately enough for agents to learn from and ultimately act within them.»
Ben Bariach
3. Is Your Social Life Missing Something? This Conversation Is for You.
Priya Parker, always worth listening to. The author of «The Art of Gathering» on why meaningful social gatherings matter, especially in tense times, and how you can escape the inevitable pulls of not doing it. (I plead guilty as charged)
4. A lot of population numbers are fake
«We simply have no idea how many people live in many of the world’s countries.»
David Oks
5. Trump’s annexation of Greenland seemed imminent. Now it’s on much shakier ground
Donald Trump went to Davos, met with European and NATO leaders, and all of a sudden we stopped hearing about Greenland. What happened?
Eric Van Rythoven
Dataguessr of the week
Update your knowledge of the world. One quiz at a time. This week:
What else?
Instant-gratification links that make you go wow! or aha! the moment you click.
- ChatGPT is introducing ads. Anthropic is turning that fact into ads. Nailed it.
- Not so sure about these choices, but here goes: The Best Book Covers of the Last Decade.
- Someone brought the early MTV back to life: MTV Rewind.
- Architects will hate this trick: This tool turns polished architectural renders into what it'll actually look like on a random Tuesday in November.
- If backsliding were an Olympic sport, Trump would have secured this next prize.
- Quite the stat: 85 of the past 86 men's singles tennis Grand Slams have been won by Europeans.
- Freshly updated (and you can still make my head spin): How I Use AI
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.
Oh how I wished I'd discovered this book earlier. It came out not that long ago, but I still missed out on this fantastic, inspiring read for three years. It's the story of two men who set out to redefine what it means to be a world-class restaurant, by focusing on everything around the food. So many lessons for any job that involves making people feel seen and valued (if you think yours doesn't – are you sure?). Buy it here.
A gem from the archive
David Bauer
The Weekly Filet archive offers more than 2800 hand-picked links since 2011, like this one. You can search by interests, explore collections or shuffle for a gem.
That's it for this week. Thanks for reading. I wish you a nice weekend and hope to see you again next Friday!
— David
More ways to learn and take inspiration from
Check my 📚 digital bookshelf, with sections of 🌡️ books that help you make sense of the climate crisis, ⛵ books that make you a better product manager, 🪄 books that help you make sense of AI, and 🧒 books that help you as a parent. And from collecting the best links on the web for close to 15 years, my thematic collections: The Art of Thinking (Differently), The Stuff Our Modern World Runs On, Bingeworthy Podcasts, and more.
Little useful apps from me, for you
🌍 You Don't Know Africa, a simple game that has already humbled millions of people. 💯 Choose Impact, an online tool to compare job opportunities. 🧭 Priority Compass, a tool for individuals, teams and organisations to focus your energy on what really matters. 🪄 How I Use AI, a collection of use cases, ready to use and adapt. 💬 Climate Questions, a playful conversation starter. And ⏱️ One Minute Challenge, a little meaningful distraction to refocus.