Of Skeumorphism and bullshit in science
🐦 3 Tweets of the week
If there’s one tweet thread you read this week, make it this one about skeumorphism – a concept that we dont talk about enough, but one that has significant impact on life. (PS: Follow the Cultural Tutor on Twitter – you cannot go wrong).
A nuanced take on the Adani saga.
A corollary: The purpose of life is to avoid experiencing things for which you will later experience regret.
📄 2 Articles of the week
a. The spectacle of Shubman Gill by Sidharth Monga
Just like Shubman Gill’s quick reflexes slow down the game for him, Sid Monga’s keen story sense slows it down for the reader
At one level most of us are far removed from the world of the New York elite – but read through this evocative piece and you will find some commonalities.
Extract:
“I get up at 6 a.m., and I work until she wakes up, then I do breakfast and get her ready, then the nanny comes, I work all day, I relieve the nanny, and then get back on my computer and work until midnight after my daughter goes to sleep. I do that every day,” she says. “And it’s still not enough”
🎤 1 podcast episode of the week
a. ‘Why There Is So Much Bullshit in Science’ on Plain English by Derek Thompson
In the episode Derek makes the startling assertion that despite rising spends and publications, the quality of scientific progress has fallen. He attributes it to several factors: primarily a messed up incentive structure that prioritises paper publishing over genuine breakthroughs, high existing burden of knowledge making general research difficult, a paradox of choice in reading existing research sources and bigger team sizes leading to dis-economies of scale.
That’s all from this week’s edition.
Please let me know what you think of the new format.
Image by Kevin Sanderson from Pixabay
