The last few weeks have been frantic in terms of day-job work, mostly of an administrative nature, and also work on an upcoming article, so as a result, I haven’t written all that much. I’ve done a few pieces, though, and opened a lot of browser tabs, so it’s worth doing a round-up post.
Me on Substack:
— Sometimes a Pair of Skis Is Just a Pair of Skis: In which I go cross-country skiing and end up thinking about toxic Internet #discourse.
— Hildy Johnson, I’m Not: Some thoughts on my recent run of doing interviews with old physicists.
— Streaming Melodrama Report: Lockwood & Co.: A brief review of a new Netflix show that I binge-watched in an unusually timely manner.
Links Dump:
— Nobody Understands Quantum Physicists, by Chris Ferrie: The author of Quantum Bullshit weighs in with a case against interpretations.
— Fire Arrows! by lindybeige:
Historians spoiling all the fun, again.
— Climate Change is a Technological Challenge, Not a Moral Crusade by Jeff Maurer: The right take on the gas stoves nonsense.
— "OMG Stop Freaking Out!!!" is a Bad Response to Right-Wing Freak-Outs by Jeff Maurer: This clarified why I find a particular line of argument pretty annoying.
— Are Standardized Tests Racist, or Are They Anti-racist? by Neil Lewis Jr.: Nothing all that new about tests as tests, but the point that the real issue is admissions goals is a useful one.
— Why Republicans Find it Hard to Be Nice These Days by Josh Barro: Because they’re losing.
— Americans have been gaining weight for as long as records exist by Matt Yglesias: This is another example of the point I mostly associate with Josh Barro that there’s a trade-off between public health goals and other things society might value.
— On The Weirdly Potent Joys Of Being An Expert Beginner by Jesse Singal: Identifies an interesting concept, and also says a few things I might come back to.
— The NFL is Structurally Broken by Freddie deBoer: This isn’t wrong, exactly, but I think it’s incomplete, and again I might try to come back to this if I can find the time.
Pseudo-Random Photo of the Week:
A pretty sunrise from the parking lot of the local Starbucks as I stopped in on my way to work.
Pseudo-Random Song of the Week:
I have no idea where I encountered this— probably KEXP— but it’s doing a cool Dylan-esque thing, and always makes me smile when it comes around on shuffle play. As it did this morning.
So, yeah, that’s some stuff. If you want more of this, here’s a button:
And if you feel so moved, the comments will be open: