Cornwall Sinkholes in 2020 caused by bronze age mining activities
Thousands of years of tin mining in the UK now lead to abandoned mine maws opening with frightening frequency. Read more about the trade routes that existed from the UK to the middle east as rare metals found only in the UK made their way eastward. -B
This launched me down a pretty deep sinkhole of YouTube videos of drones exploring sinkholes, like this one. -C
The Welding Shut of the American Mind
Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Antonin Scalia were extremely good friends. I love that. Give me more of that. -Brian
Why do companies with unbounded resources still have terrible moderation?
What if part of the solution didn't mean building and automating the entire process, but instead left it to people who actually have the right context for moderating their online experience of your product? Also, this is either in direct conflict with my hot take about YouTube's like/dislike buttons or is reinforcing that hot take. I can't tell at the moment. -C
How Trigger Warnings Are Hurting Mental Health on Campus
From 2015 comes the groundbreaking Atlantic article and associated book publication from Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. If you ever want to go down a cerebral youtube rabbit hole I cannot reccomend more strongly the Haidt hole. Greg is involved with a free speech group called FIRE and Jonathan started the Heterodox Academy. Their critique of modern dialogue comes from a classical liberal perspective and is excellent. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" is more true in 2020 than we could possibly have imagined in 2015. -Brian
Who Really Runs The Drudge Report?
Fascinating. -Brian
A next-level rabbit hole of reporting. And highlights the fact that misinformation and copyright infringement isn't just a social media problem (at least in the section detailing the almost-funny relationship with the site's ad broker and a random Armenian website). -C
Why the Future Doesn't Need Us
I'll be honest, this may be one of the longest articles we've ever shared. It was written twenty years ago by an OG computer engineer. In it he waxes eloquently about his concerns over AI, nanotech, and lets us follow along as his mind wanders. I enjoy reading pieces like this, where the writer is being candid despite knowing that the words they are writing may become outmoded worries that seem silly to a future reader, but writes them down anyway. Plus, bonus points for referencing the Borg. -C
Truly breathtaking photos. And another reminder that all the fancy things we build will be eventually reclaimed by nature if left unattended. And another reminder that sometimes that reclamation process is beautiful. You can also follow Victoria on Instagram if you want to keep up with the project. - C
Turney W. Leonard | World War II | U.S. Army | Medal of Honor Recipient
When I was a freshman at Texas A&M University many moons ago I met with several other RUF attendees for a men's bible study in the Memorial Student Center. Around the outside walls of that building were plaque after plaque after plaque, each one telling the story of an Aggie Medal of Honor winner. I once spent several hours reading these plaques until I was moved to tears. Here's one story that hangs on the walls of the MSC in Aggieland. -B
The Great Video Game Crash of 1983
I'm guessing that Brian saved this link since I didn't exist in 1983, but consider he's had his turn at editing this issue and didn't add any commentary here I'm going to make up some stuff to say about it. There's something extra silly about digging up a blog post about obsolete video game consoles using the Way Back Machine, but I can't figure out a quippy joke to write about that. I read this post and am in total disbelief at the detail with which the writer captures the minutiae of this moment in time before widespread use of the Internet, where the video game industry was in complete disarray in the US and paved the way for Nintendo. - C
My plan has worked perfectly. Also the greatest game ever made (Super Mario Bro 2) was a direct result of this narrative so all’s well that ends well. -B