Engaged Reading Time - Issue #61
Happy New Year, all.
Like many, I'm in the defining hours of a Christmas break, and I've been taking the time to catch up on my reading. As a result, the links below are even more of a grab bag than usual (and that's saying something…). Some of the pieces are a couple of years old, but certainly worth your time.
Grab a favoured beverage, settle into a comfy chair, and enjoy!
The Big Read
The Viral Photo of Mount Everest: The Untold Accounts of the People Who Were There
I loved this piece — it digs deep into what was really happening in the image above, which went viral a few months back. It's not what you think. And it's quite scary.
Climate Crisis
Superflux shows how future homes might face realities of climate change
Design studio Superflux has built a vision of an typical Singapore home in 2219, to show what a climate change future might be like.
The Collapse of Civilization May Have Already Begun
Scientists disagree on the timeline of collapse and whether it's imminent. But can we afford to be wrong? And what comes after?
People Are Confused About the Usefulness of Buying Fancy Things
Interesting that, given that our obsession with consumption may be costing us the planet, that our monkey brain instincts as to why we should buy things magic, in fact, be wrong. Luxury goods repel others…
Tech and Its Consequences
The Old Internet Died And We Watched And Did Nothing
Nostalgia for the old days of the web is rapidly becoming an industry in its own right — but this is a good example of the genre.
Why we need to feel the photos
Lovely short meditation on photography from Om Malik
Wildlife Cameras Are Accidentally Capturing Humans Behaving Badly
"Human Bycatch" is such a lovely way of describing this situation: monitoring cameras for wildlife or conservation purposes are catching humans doing all sorts of dodgy things…
Sparkly Science
A Woman Delivered A Speech To Students At NASA Wearing A Sequined Dress Because Girls Wanted To See A "Sparkly" Scientist
I'm a Dad of two daughters who, despite active discouragement, have an almost magnetic attraction to all things sparkly. I'm actually leaning on one of their sequin-covered unicorn cushions as I type this. Thankfully, one woman was prepared to stand up and say sparkly and serious science are entirely compatible.
Found Photos
Photographic discovery is a window into Soviet-era Ukraine
In a bombed-out darkroom, journalists found a whole bunch of soviet era Ukrainian photos. And they realised they had a time capsule of a vanished world in their hands.
One of my dream jobs is building a website around found historic photos - so this story was like catnip to me.
A Better You
Psychology’s five revelations for finding your true calling
I've been wrestling with a crisis of confidence and a sense that Ive lost direction throughout 2019. I found some useful pointers forwards in this piece.
Why Doing Good Makes It Easier to Be Bad
This is somewhat troubling. It appears that committing publicly "good" acts seems to give us psychological permission to do bad behind closed doors…
The Pressing Need for Everyone to Quiet Their Egos
Why quieting the ego strengthens your best self.
Your brain on time
Blatant Plug
One Man & His Blog’s top 10 posts of 2019
Here's my most-read posts from 2019. A bit of discovery, nostalgia or inspiration, depending on your inclination…
And finally…
I hope you found something to enjoy in that selection.
Let me know your thoughts by hitting the voting buttons below - or by hitting "reply"and sending my a message. I love hearing from you.
A quick reminder — if you're after my journalism-related content, you can sign up for a regular dose of One Man & His Blog goodness (for free) over here.
See you next week!
Adam
