ZD 24.22: Charting Continuing Change
Change is the only constant.
In this issue: How our world is shaped by century-old institutions; California against growth; ways to be concise; clickbait priming; the rise of neotoddlerism; #rushtok and 10 charts that show how the world is changing.
The Distilled Spirit
🏛 The Enduring Belle Époque ()
The golden age of European Civilization — from the mid 1880s to 1914 — saw the advent of so many of the important technological advances and cultural institutions. Massive scientific achievement begat economic progress that was not possible before. That and an era of stable government begat cultural and societal institutions that persist to this day and shape the world around us.
😎 How California Turned Against Growth ()
California as we understand it came into being during the Belle Époque. It continued on that trajectory — embracing growth-friendly policies and benefiting from a lot of economic good fortune to become rich and populous. Then something happened in the 1970s and California changed and now it has seen net negative population growth for the first time since the gold rush.
📝 Concise Advice on Being More Concise ()
Concise-yet-complete is a very hard bar to hit in communications. Wes Kao gives a great, brief guide on how to keep your communications tight. This one is worth putting in the “good reference” file for periodic review.
🖱 Clickbait Priming ()
Humans are primed to react to certain content. The headline often is the story. I could have titled this post “5 things you have not yet read that will blow your mind” and probably would see more clicks. This very human desire for salacious and fresh news is used against us by content creators and bad actors. Looking for priming words helps against . . .
😭 Neotoddlerism on the Rise ()
Modern social media rewards making a spectacle of yourself, leading to pointless yet disruptive protest movements. The ever-wise Gurwinder has coined a term describing these adult attention seekers: neotoddlerism. They come in both red and blue flavors and are best ignored.
🌺#rushtok Confidential (Culture Study)
One of those Belle Époque institutions we have inherited is panhellenic culture. This has combined threads with Neotoddlerism and tiktok to create a massive spectacle that has yet again invaded my #fyp. It has been a bit stale to be honest aside from the OU Kappa Kappa Gammas who are on another plane. Anne Helen Peterson helps you put context around the excitement and #OOTDs.
The Idea
📊 Changing World Charts and Predictions
Vox writers celebrated their 10th anniversary by compiling a very interesting list of predictions about the next 10 years. They look into everything from electric vehicles to the popularity of Ozempic as the world ages and changes. The future could be bright; energy use is rising but we are doing things like heating Olympic pools with data centers.
The Look
💥Kursk Ho!
Ukrainian forces started an electronic warfare and drone assisted offensive across the international border towards Kursk and Belograd. They appear to be digging in to stay. It is a new and very interesting twist to a somewhat stalemated conflict. The Russian response has not been impressive so far but that could change quickly. This serves as a reminder that when the Ukraine War, or any other conflict, heats up the folks at the Institute for the Study of War have you covered. The map below is from their August 12 briefing. Keep an eye on their daily updates for a good sense of the facts on the ground.
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Great summary of content. I love the consice writing article.