The Crisis Era
What is the most useful thing you could know about your own life? (#497)
1. The Third Information Crisis
What is the most useful thing you could know about your own life? Thus begins this series of audio essays from the BBC. The answer Naomi Alderman suggests: the name of the era you're living through. And she argues that we should think of our current era as the third great information crisis, brought about by digital communication. A joy to listen to, and inspiring all sorts of reflections.
2. In defense of an old pixel
I love watching people who are so passionate about a very particular thing that you can't help but get excited about it yourself. Point in case: This 25-minute presentation by designer Marcin Wichary about pixel fonts. It's not just super fascinating – I dare you to find me a presentation with nicer animations.
Fun fact: Marcin is the original creator of the game that my YouDon'tKnowAfrica is based upon.
3. Trump’s Second Term
I had gotten a bit tired of John Oliver's approach, but this is a good one: on the people and organisations plotting a radical, authoritarian second Trump term. Their «Project 2025» is no secret, quite the opposite: Whoever is willing to pay attention, gets to see what these people are planning. What makes this so scary is that they don't even need to hide their intentions – because they know there's ample support for these plans.
4. Gradually, then Suddenly: Upon the Threshold
Thresholds are a good way of making sense of technological change. These moments when a technology makes a leap from barely useable to surprisingly good. AI has, undeniably, passed lots of thresholds in the past year. But here's the catch: Unlike with other technologies, it is hard to measure when an AI crosses a threshold. Here's where the idea of the «impossibility list» comes into play...
Ethan Mollick
5. The shape of information
Don't we all know the problem: You have been gifted 100 expensive wine bottles by 100 different people. But you learn that one of the bottles has been poisoned, and you have no idea which one. Interesting, slightly nerdy piece on how to extract insights with seemingly limited resources.
Adam Kucharski
What else?
Instant-gratification links that make you go wow! or aha! the moment you click.
- The always excellent «Land of the Giants» podcast is back. Season 10 is about Disney.
- Seems a bit early to call it «100 Best Books of the 21st Century», but who am I to judge.
- A color picker that lets you describe a color and get an exact hex value for it.
- This font calls bullshit on your bullshit.
- «Listen to the laughing of an unidentified fish» – the (dying) sounds of a coral reef.
Books for curious minds: Why We Make Things and Why It Matters
«As a maker, you put one foot in front of the other, and you own the journey.» A beautiful memoir, and an encouraging read for anyone unsure whether to follow their passion.
In every issue, I recommend one book. Some new ones as I read them, some older ones that continue to inform how I look at the world and myself.
A gem from the archive
If you could – with no loss of energy – quit sleeping altogether, would you?
This is a randomly picked gem from the archive of the Weekly Filet, going back to 2011. You can also search the archive, shuffle for a gem yourself, or browse this collection of some of my all-time favs.
Thanks for reading. I wish you a nice weekend and hope to see you again next Friday!
— David 👋