Shiny things 48/ BF Skinnier
One hipster bodybuilder explores the weird world of steroids. I'm not sure how to feel about this essay but is sure is a weird read. If one generalizes away from steroids, this is the story of human desire for an easier path to "optimization". We want to be better, we don't always want to do the work. As more 'optimization' solutions become available, what's the incentive to do the work? Whether cosmetic surgery or Ozempic or the inevitable-and-terrifying CRISPR genetic modification, will there be any real incentive or reason to avoid the shortcuts?
It's nice to learn that my most persistent addiction isn't automatically a blight on the world. "How shade coffee lends conservation a hand"
In a previous issue I shared an essay from the baffler about the era of 'bullshit jobs' in the elite silicon valley companies. New Yorker dropped a nice piece of criticism on how this cultural moment emerges in the literature of today: Portrait of the artist as a young office drone.
The annual lists are out and this one is particularly good, ranging from super-dense academic tomes to immensely readable: the Behavioral scienctist DOT org reading list