Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. Wherever possible, free links for premium sites are used. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at AI and the demise of writing.
Quote of the Day
"One underrated exit strategy for those weary of enshittification is opting out: we users can bail on platforms that commodify our passive participation and give us little in return."
(Kyle Chayka)
Books
- An excerpt from "When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows…" by Steven Pinker. (behavioralscientist.org)
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A look at Cory Doctorow's new book "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It."
(newyorker.com) - An excerpt from “The Formula for Better Health: How to Save Millions of Lives — Including Your Own” by Tom Frieden. (bigthink.com)
- A Q&A with Dr. Eric Topol, author of “Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity,” (freethink.com)
- An excerpt from “Taylor’s Version: The Poetic and Musical Genius of Taylor Swift” by Stephanie Burt. (wsj.com)
Technology
- A profile of Tim Berners-Lee and what he think of his invention these days. (newyorker.com)
- How blogger Ed Zitron became one of big tech's loudest critics. (ft.com)
- Eight things David Foster Wallace warned us about including 'Screen technology will cause a crisis of loneliness, especially among young people.' (honest-broker.com)
- The case for recording more of your life. (aeon.co)
Longreads
- Brian Klass, "Our social brains have a remarkable aversion to those who sneer at us." (forkingpaths.co)
- A profile of Thomas Peterffy, founder of Interactive Brokers ($IBKR). (joincolossus.com)
- The publishing industry leans ever more on blockbusters. (thewalrus.ca)
- Unincorporated areas struggle when disaster hits and in the aftermath. (grist.org)
- Deportations are a human issue, not just economic. (thebaffler.com)
- How common is accidental invention? Not very. (construction-physics.com)
- Why are warm countries seemingly poorer? (unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com)
- Why systems are resistant to change. (worksinprogress.co)
