My inbox has started to fill up with the unread substack posts of Richard Hanania, Rob Henderson, Stuart Ritchie, Noah Carl, Matthew Goodwin, unread editions of Unherd and the Spectator and interesting links I will never follow. I'm starting to feel like I did 50 years ago when my homework began accumulating and the more it mounted up, the less likely I was to even make a start. Somehow I never feel that way about YouTube videos of Haglar v Hearns or Sparks performing 'This town ain't big enough for the both of us'.
I'd like someone to write a learned paper on why having too much to read feels like sitting in front of a too-large dinner rather than standing in front of a massive, awe-inspiring glacier, dumbstruck by the sheer scale.
Incidentally, despite being an atheist myself I never for a moment believed those professions of awe in the comments section of Richard Dawkins' website from people who never seemed to do anything but gaze in wonder at the majesty of the universe. Ah I see, the Christians have their awe so we've got to have ours, right? I myself have never felt awe and it looks to me like something you either feel all the time or never, and those who feel it all the time probably have some neurological ailment, maybe an inability to integrate new information into wherever it's supposed to get integrated to. Yes, it's a galaxy / glacier / an elephant. Haven't you seen, or heard of, one before?
I feel like that all the time. I cancelled my subscription to the Spectator last year. I did resubscribe for a free trial period this year, but cancelled again before the trial period ended. It's quite a good magazine, but it takes time to read and I prefer Substack.
I've also become a lot fussier about what I read on Unherd. I bookmark somewhere between a half and a third of the posts there and end up reading about 1/8 of them. When I look back on my old bookmarks (I'm forever bookmarking stuff to read later) I find lots the stuff I bookmarked on UnHerd were about stuff that was "The Current Thing" but that is no longer "The Current Thing", so I can delete those bookmarks with no qualms. Which I suppose means I shouldn't have bookmarked them in the first place. I can't actually think of any piece of writing on UnHerd that has changed the way I look at the world (sorry Ed). I could live without it, but I think it's a more informative news source than the BBC, and I want to support it financially as I broadly agree with it's outlook.
As for Substack, I feel Noah Carl and Matthew Goodwin are overrated, but Richard Hanania always has something interesting to say.
I'm recently trying to stick to this rule: no internet after 4pm (I start work at 5am, so an equivalent rule for normal people would be no internet after 8pm). It's 4.30pm now . . . but I started reading Ed's post at 3.55 and then your comment struck a chord with me and I couldn't help replying 😅
Really enjoyed reading this piece on the enduring legacy of social stratification in 2000s schools, and interested to discover that the groups had differing nomenclature in different parts of the country (it was Chavs and Grungies - later Emos - where I grew up):
Kathleen Stock is also very amusing and insightful on Jack Monroe (particularly her point that Monroe channels very old fashioned puritan values of thrift and hard work, despite the postmodern trappings):
Interesting piece on the growing number of laptop class professionals identifying as working class. The author goes through a number of interesting explanations, though seems to ignore the possibility this is fundamentally to do with 30-somethings not making the 'natural' transition to conservatism due to perpetual renting, though housing is mentioned in passing.
I like this quote: 'One effect of individualism, therefore, is that you get large numbers of embarrassed meritocrats, who feel they need to construct a reality in which they’re swimming against the tide.'
Another aspect of the post-60s cultural revolution: people used to long for 'respectability' and would routinely present themselves as more well-born than they actually were, whereas the trend now is to flatten your accent and avoid talking about what school you went to. Clear indication of the decline in bourgeois values.
Reminds me of Brendan O'Neill being accused of being 'privileged' by Caroline Criado Perez during a debate, at which point he was able to point out that as a 16 year old he had a Saturday job moving trolleys at the supermarket chain owned by her father.
Merry Christmas, Ed! I've taken on additional responsibilities at work this year so haven't had much time to participate in the posts, but I always look forward to your substack. Have you been following the twitter files in the US? Imagine senior officials in the Home Office coordinating with twitter to censor political figures and commentaries? The scandal! Although I suspect you can, once Labour has the Home Office.
Doom posting. It is two things- One decline of religion.- Even Christian churches tend to preach and that's a bit like Jesus .. Last week in Mass the priest mentioned hell. First time I had heard the basements mentioned in years It is why I am very suspicious of the XR types- We have lost our immunity to this.
2- There are no kids. No one is playing football in the street. There are no weddings. No newly built houses. The cycle of life has been broken.
Women were given the vote in the UK. In part to control working class militancy. In Ireland Devalera's faction in the civil war were dismissed as the Women and Childers party.
I mainly agree, but place more of the blame on the media/Science "communicators" who seize on the random scientific fact to uses as an ideological weapon. It was not "scientists" who insisted on overly strict restrictions on social interaction in response to COVID. Fauci is not a "scientist." CDC's great sin was not constantly modifying its recommendations to "follow the science."
My inbox has started to fill up with the unread substack posts of Richard Hanania, Rob Henderson, Stuart Ritchie, Noah Carl, Matthew Goodwin, unread editions of Unherd and the Spectator and interesting links I will never follow. I'm starting to feel like I did 50 years ago when my homework began accumulating and the more it mounted up, the less likely I was to even make a start. Somehow I never feel that way about YouTube videos of Haglar v Hearns or Sparks performing 'This town ain't big enough for the both of us'.
I feel a bit like that as well tbh. Just so much to read.
I'd like someone to write a learned paper on why having too much to read feels like sitting in front of a too-large dinner rather than standing in front of a massive, awe-inspiring glacier, dumbstruck by the sheer scale.
Incidentally, despite being an atheist myself I never for a moment believed those professions of awe in the comments section of Richard Dawkins' website from people who never seemed to do anything but gaze in wonder at the majesty of the universe. Ah I see, the Christians have their awe so we've got to have ours, right? I myself have never felt awe and it looks to me like something you either feel all the time or never, and those who feel it all the time probably have some neurological ailment, maybe an inability to integrate new information into wherever it's supposed to get integrated to. Yes, it's a galaxy / glacier / an elephant. Haven't you seen, or heard of, one before?
I feel like that all the time. I cancelled my subscription to the Spectator last year. I did resubscribe for a free trial period this year, but cancelled again before the trial period ended. It's quite a good magazine, but it takes time to read and I prefer Substack.
I've also become a lot fussier about what I read on Unherd. I bookmark somewhere between a half and a third of the posts there and end up reading about 1/8 of them. When I look back on my old bookmarks (I'm forever bookmarking stuff to read later) I find lots the stuff I bookmarked on UnHerd were about stuff that was "The Current Thing" but that is no longer "The Current Thing", so I can delete those bookmarks with no qualms. Which I suppose means I shouldn't have bookmarked them in the first place. I can't actually think of any piece of writing on UnHerd that has changed the way I look at the world (sorry Ed). I could live without it, but I think it's a more informative news source than the BBC, and I want to support it financially as I broadly agree with it's outlook.
As for Substack, I feel Noah Carl and Matthew Goodwin are overrated, but Richard Hanania always has something interesting to say.
I'm recently trying to stick to this rule: no internet after 4pm (I start work at 5am, so an equivalent rule for normal people would be no internet after 8pm). It's 4.30pm now . . . but I started reading Ed's post at 3.55 and then your comment struck a chord with me and I couldn't help replying 😅
Relevant:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NCzfvp7jmbouodsRP/integrating-the-lindy-effect
https://www.gwern.net/Culture-is-not-about-Esthetics
UnHerd has done and still does some amazing pieces, but then I would say that.
Thanks for the link, it looks interesting (Another bloody thing to read! I'm joking). I'll read it when I'm not getting ready for work.
Will you be doing a Books of the Year thing, Ed? Would be interested to know your recommendations.
My gripe with BBC interview reporting is that it appears objective/unbiased when the person interview is in fact selected.
Now this DOES work well when the selection is obvious and more so when the interviewer challenges the interviewee as Raffia Iqbal often does.
Placido Domingo, Mr. West. Thank you for observing that next Sunday is still "pre-Christmas"!
It's "Advent." No "Gloria" until Christmas. :)
Exactly.
For this week's Sunday West:
Really enjoyed reading this piece on the enduring legacy of social stratification in 2000s schools, and interested to discover that the groups had differing nomenclature in different parts of the country (it was Chavs and Grungies - later Emos - where I grew up):
https://unherd.com/2023/01/the-secret-millennial-class-war/
Kathleen Stock is also very amusing and insightful on Jack Monroe (particularly her point that Monroe channels very old fashioned puritan values of thrift and hard work, despite the postmodern trappings):
https://unherd.com/2023/01/jack-monroe-the-acceptable-face-of-poverty/?cx_testId=4&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=0&cx_experienceId=EXHVQEIQA4S9#cxrecs_s
Also this blast from the past about how brands correlate to Brexit/Remain support:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-36970535
interesting. thanks!
No problem.
Also, Mary Harrington had a great piece on how Andrew Tate is a logical outcome of JS Mill-style hyper-individualism that’s worth your time: https://unherd.com/2023/01/andrew-tate-is-js-mills-monster/
Two interesting anti-NIMBY pieces in the FT today:
This Nimby charter isn’t only a problem in housing - https://www.ft.com/content/f5a9cc61-ecdc-44c6-a8c3-0be92440342f
Tories are selling their future for short-term salvation - https://www.ft.com/content/94db3856-3877-4ead-b2ea-3f2786d6446e
The tide seems to be turning on this, though sadly not among actual policy-makers...
https://unherd.com/2022/12/why-do-we-pretend-to-be-working-class/
Interesting piece on the growing number of laptop class professionals identifying as working class. The author goes through a number of interesting explanations, though seems to ignore the possibility this is fundamentally to do with 30-somethings not making the 'natural' transition to conservatism due to perpetual renting, though housing is mentioned in passing.
I like this quote: 'One effect of individualism, therefore, is that you get large numbers of embarrassed meritocrats, who feel they need to construct a reality in which they’re swimming against the tide.'
Another aspect of the post-60s cultural revolution: people used to long for 'respectability' and would routinely present themselves as more well-born than they actually were, whereas the trend now is to flatten your accent and avoid talking about what school you went to. Clear indication of the decline in bourgeois values.
Also amused by this post on the literal billionaire's daughter who benefited from a media diversity scheme: https://unherd.com/thepost/azadeh-moshiri-exposes-the-shortcomings-of-diversity-schemes/
Reminds me of Brendan O'Neill being accused of being 'privileged' by Caroline Criado Perez during a debate, at which point he was able to point out that as a 16 year old he had a Saturday job moving trolleys at the supermarket chain owned by her father.
I know Douthat draws a lot of ire because he's a deep religious believer, but much of his cultural analysis is very strong.
Merry Christmas, Ed! I've taken on additional responsibilities at work this year so haven't had much time to participate in the posts, but I always look forward to your substack. Have you been following the twitter files in the US? Imagine senior officials in the Home Office coordinating with twitter to censor political figures and commentaries? The scandal! Although I suspect you can, once Labour has the Home Office.
Doom posting. It is two things- One decline of religion.- Even Christian churches tend to preach and that's a bit like Jesus .. Last week in Mass the priest mentioned hell. First time I had heard the basements mentioned in years It is why I am very suspicious of the XR types- We have lost our immunity to this.
2- There are no kids. No one is playing football in the street. There are no weddings. No newly built houses. The cycle of life has been broken.
3. Things will get worse anyway.
Even J Edgar Hover could point out that '50's racism in the US was a weak point in our opposition to Communism.
Women were given the vote in the UK. In part to control working class militancy. In Ireland Devalera's faction in the civil war were dismissed as the Women and Childers party.
Another nice flip has been in the relative Left/Right polarity of Science/Humanities in between CP Snow's exposition of the "Two Cultures" and now.
I mainly agree, but place more of the blame on the media/Science "communicators" who seize on the random scientific fact to uses as an ideological weapon. It was not "scientists" who insisted on overly strict restrictions on social interaction in response to COVID. Fauci is not a "scientist." CDC's great sin was not constantly modifying its recommendations to "follow the science."