Welcome to November! It's hard to believe that it's almost the end of the year. Where did the last 10 months go? I'll let you know if and when I figure that out.

With that out of the way, let's get Monday started with these links:

Don’t like joining in? Why it could be your superpower — Finally! Some validation that preferring to be alone or with smaller, more intimate groups of people can actually be a positive. If only people knew this 45 years (and more) ago ...

From the article:

We put so much stock in communality that a different stance is understood as pathology. Otroverts are perceived as weird and wrong for preferring solitude over socialising, and subjected to peer pressure from well-meaning people who genuinely desire their companionship or who would hate for them to “miss out” on all the fun. What these people fail to realise is that for otroverts, there is great freedom and fulfilment in sitting on the sidelines.

What We Find in the Sewers — You can make all the jokes that you want, but prepare to be fascinated by this story of effluent and how humans have disposed of and used it over the centuries. Really!

From the article:

The construction of the sewers was a vast and impressive undertaking. The main sewers on each side of the river were separated into high, middle, and low elevation tunnels, connected by huge pumping stations. This was crucial to prevent the issues that had plagued historic sewers, which had not maintained a consistent drop, leading to sedimentation and blockages. These tunnels also had to be designed to fit around preexisting subterranean obstacles, such as London’s canals and underground lines.

The secrets of lost luggage auctions: I bought four bags for £100. What would I find inside? — A look into a strange, and strangely fun, world in which buyers roll the figurative dice and if lucky take a short (paid) tour through part of someone else's life.

From the article:

When luggage is lost, it is first logged on a database that lets baggage handlers know the bag hasn’t made it on to the plane. It is then tracked and rerouted. If the tags have fallen off, handlers open it to see if there is a name and phone number inside, or if there are distinguishable contents. Almost 92% of bags are reunited with their owners, but if a bag is unclaimed for three months, it is sent to a third party.

What brain surgery taught me about the fragile gift of consciousness — A fascinating and poignant look into one person's brush with (potential) death and how it changed the way he looks at himself and at life.

From the article:

I began to see life not as a series of accomplishments or checklists but as a system. Fragile, interwoven, alive. I saw how many layers had to hold for me to live: medical systems, technological systems, logistical systems, emotional systems. The privilege of time, the luck of geography, the dedication of nurses, the craft of the surgeon, the love of my family. A web. A network. An ecosystem of care.