Hi all,

Hope you all had a good Halloween. If you’ve got any extra Almond Joys, send them my way.

Here’s the link for the next survey, also linked below.

Survey Results

Q1: Halloween - overrated or underrated?

Survey Results

Highlighted Free Responses

• “I really liked doing elaborate homemade halloween costumes when I was a kid but enjoy it a lot less as an adult. As an adult the amount of time, effort, and money I'm willing to invest in halloween is way less, but that's a me problem. I'm also getting bored of overly ironic meme costumes (except when I do it, then it's really smart and cool).”

• “Loved Halloween as a kid, never bought a costume in my life. There are too many inflatable decorations these days”

• “Should be a national holiday. It’s one of our only universally celebrated holidays that is impossible for right wing chuds to take over.”

• “It’s my favorite holiday. As a kid you get free candy for months, as you get older girls can dress slutty and its accepted, and as you mature you start to put more thought into your costume. It was the purest as a kid”

• “It’s great if you’re a kid. A holiday dedicated to a sugar rush, it’s inherently silly, etc. But man, the second I stopped trick or treating? I hated it. You want me to go to your apartment in Boystown because you’ve replaced all the regular lightbulbs with red lightbulbs? Fuck you. I’m dressing like myself and acting like it’s an original concept.”

• “I love Halloween! It’s fun to dress up and embody someone or something else for a night. I think I’ve always liked it, although there were probably some years in high school where I felt like if I hadn’t been invited to a Halloween party I felt lame. But now I just make sure to always have a plan! Even if it’s just dressing up and going to a bar.”

• “I think Halloween for kids is great. I don't know why we had to carry it into adulthood--I hate the pressure of Halloweekend.”
  

Commentary

Here’s my general read on how Halloween enjoyment tends to vary over periods of your life, for most people:

Halloween is great as a kid when you get free unlimited candy. It briefly is kind of lame when you’re too old to go trick-or-treating but too young to start drinking. Then it starts to get good again once you introduce alcohol into the mix. College is where it probably peaks for most people. It’s still good through young adulthood, but probably starts to diminish as the years go by and the hangovers start to hit harder. I think once you have kids and you can dress them up in cute costumes, it gets good again. And then once your kids become delinquent, resentful teenagers it probably becomes more of a nuisance than a joy. 

But overall, what’s not to like about Halloween? It’s a good excuse to be silly with your friends, do something cute with your partner, get blind drunk, eat a bunch of candy, or cause some suburban mischief. Something I particularly enjoy about Halloween is that it is one of the rare holidays that has no attachment to anything religious, militaristic, or patriotic. As long as you can swallow a bit of light paganism, anyone can get in on Halloween.

I recently went to a neighborhood high heel race for drag queens and it was really fun to see a bunch of DC gays dressed up in all sorts of costumes, like different WMATA metro lines or Susan Dell and then proceed to sprint down the street in their stilettos. When else besides Halloween can you see such a thing?

On the other hand, I can understand the weird social pressure and FOMO that Halloween can bring. It can almost feel like you’re obligated to have a great ole rowdy time and a cute costume, and if you aren’t having a crazy ass Hallo-weekend then people think you’re a loser or something. So I do think it’s hard to say it’s “underrated.”

But like many things, I think your enjoyment depends on your attitude and who you’re doing it with. You can enjoy Halloween just to watch kids go trick-or-treating, or as an opportunity to buy candy when it goes on sale November 1st, or enjoy “gay halloween” costumes, or as an excuse to watch John Carpenter movies or some Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors specials. There’s more than one way to carve a pumpkin.

Q2: What is your most used "social media?"

Highlighted Free Responses

• “I don't feel good about any social media, but it is a way that I stay connected with family and I can find out what people I used to know are up to now.”

• “I'm only on Reddit so much because I've removed myself from all other platforms, which has been very good for my overall wellbeing and brain. It would honestly probably be even better for my mental health if I got off Reddit too, and I literally never post, but it is really hard to give up that last connection to social media. Plus you need to have something to look at on your phone when you're bored.”

• “I still read Twitter on desktop for work but have broken my phone habit, can’t quit Instagram though… pure Zuckerberg-engineered addiction”

• “I’m just sitting staring at reels actively decomposing it’s so woke. Reels are better than insta because they’re more grimy. You see the real dregs and crazy shit on reels”

• “Funny enough I could get myself out of the TikTok brain rot but Instagram just pulls me in each time. I’m addicted and ashamed that despite my efforts I can’t stop using it. I notice it particularly when I’m anxious and sad I need to scroll to self soothe which is incredibly sad tbh.”

• “Reddit gets me information that can be good/educational. Honestly I don’t consider it social media, instagram is the highest that I consider social media”

• “All time? It’s X, the everything app. Currently, it’s Reddit. I got tired of Twitter, the algorithm, the constant agita, the compulsion to keep scrolling. I realized that I could just as easily talk to whomever I conversed with on twitter via text or whatever.”

• “I don't feel good about any social media, but it is a way that I stay connected with family and I can find out what people I used to know are up to now.”

Commentary

For me, it’s Twitter (I refuse to call it by the other name). If you know me well or have ever read this newsletter you know I am hopelessly addicted to that cesspool, even if I don’t like the way it’s changed under new ownership. Despite its changes though, I still think Twitter is where the leading edge of ideas, commentary, news, and humor lives; so much of online discourse is still downstream of Twitter.

One thing I appreciate about Twitter that has been pretty constant is that it at least maintains a sense of discourse and dialogue. If you say something blatantly wrong or stupid enough it will make its way into Gen Pop where people will dunk on you and tell you that you’re wrong or stupid. One time I tweeted “pizza is American food” and then I proceeded to get flamed by dozens of random Italians tweeting in Sicilian slang. It was awesome.

I don’t always get the same feeling from some of these other platforms like Instagram or TikTok. These platforms don’t always encourage discourse or cross-pollination; people are just one-way shouting from their atomized soapboxes into their algorithmic bubbles. This kind of micro-level broadcasting is not “social". It’s not meant to solicit a real back-and-forth with anyone, it’s just “content,” or, less generously, ephemeral slop.

It’s for this reason that I don’t think that “social media” is really an accurate term to describe what these platforms have become (hence the quotes in the original question). How many of the hours that you spend on Instagram or TikTok are actually spent connecting with people in your life? Maybe you tap through some stories or send a reel to your friend, but mostly these apps are a conduit for short-form dopamine hits and ragebait.

All of these platforms seem to be converging on what seems like the final form of content: an infinite supply of short-form, vertical videos delivered via a perfectly tuned algorithm mathematically designed to suck you in forever. Even reddit, which once used to be a bare, no-frills website for neckbeards and atheists, now resembles many of the other slop feeds. This trend is a grim demonstration of our revealed preferences. Sure, you say you just want to see pictures of your friends and discussions on your special interests and original videos from your favorite creators — but what you really want is more 10-second videos to suck down by the megabyte. Open wide.

Just so I don’t end this segment on a cynical note, I’ll leave you with a palette cleanser from a more pure time of internet content.

(Maybe we should make the internet just be for animal videos.)

Q3: What's the highest level of math course you've taken?

Survey Results

Highlighted Free Responses

• “Barely any math retention other than simple arithmetic. My math education was really terrible when it mattered in high school (spent a year and a half in the class of a teacher who was fired mid-year for incompetence) but I did my best. Never use it in my career in a meaningful way because I can have the computer do it for me.”

• “I have poor math skills and it surely limits my success in Business”

• “I took “calc for non stem majors” in college and it was hard and I don’t like it. Math is just generally pretty boring, except for geometry and stats. The higher levels are also not relevant to everyday life unless you’re an engineer of some kind or something. Yeah sue me, I might be over doing it but I find fast mental math does light years more for you than advanced math.”

• “Not much besides basic arithmetic and maybe some econometrics concepts (if we want to consider that math …). I personally think we should spend more time teaching people quick maths and statistics (and how to interpret them!!) as, at least for me, these are the use cases that come up the most in my daily life.”

• “Hey FU calc BC is a college level course! I don’t remember like derivatives of that circle but it would all come back quick with some review. I think math is really important to everyone as it promotes critical thinking. Also algebra is straight up useful like you encounter 2x = 10 a lot.”

• “Even though I got up relatively high in high school (Multi-variable calculus and linear algebra), I feel like I don't retain anything past like 8th grade.”

• “Honestly? I always hated math. It fucked me up endlessly my whole life but now I’m actually good at like, mental math and guesstimating algebra and geometry and such. I’ve always had a knack for basic stats because of my love for sports but I’m absolutely lost when it comes to actually advanced math (including basic calculus that most 16 year olds learn)”

Commentary 

I was somewhat motivated to ask this question just because I’m curious how much math people know. 

I was also somewhat motivated to ask this question because of recent AI advancements in math, some of which are pretty astounding.

(I promise I’ll keep the AI talk to a minimum here.)

I’ve been thinking more about math and the purpose of teaching math, especially in the context of what is actually important to teach and learn in a society that is changing faster than we can effectively adapt to.

Ten years ago, good career advice would have been to study math and computer science. Now that the computers seem to have solved that, what do we do now? If you had a 16 year old kid who didn’t want to study calculus, how would you justify it to them? Well, maybe calculus isn’t a good example since I think that probably hasn’t had much real world application even before the Age of AGI. But what about algebra? Trigonometry? Statistics?

Companies are increasingly hiring more philosophy and humanities majors; what do they need a junior software engineer for when they have Claude? Earlier in my career, knowing some basics about statistics and linear algebra and data science were valuable foundational skills but nowadays you can just make the computer do all that stuff.

So what does the future hold for kids? Are we going to replace Calculus with Chaucer? Dickens instead of Differential Equations? Honors Aristotle? AP Shakespeare?

The freshmen at Harvard may already be adapting to this new reality. And it looks like students with humanities backgrounds might be better positioned in today’s job market.

I don’t know if I’d be fully ready to throw out the math books if I was raising a kid today. Part of me still wants to believe that learning the fundamentals of math is important. Plus I think if I raised my child without them learning calculus my old Chinese father would disown me. So no child of mine is going to graduate high school without doing a derivative. But we might have to add some Le Guin in with the Lagrangians.

Q4: Have you ever been to therapy?

Survey Results

Highlighted Free Responses

• “I'm not against therapy, but I feel pretty self aware and know what I need to do to improve...I just don't want to do it...and I don't think I need to pay someone at this current moment to tell me things if I'm not prepared to do them anyway”

• “Not currently in therapy but have been before. It was valuable to me for the period I had it and definitely what I needed at that time.”

• “Everyone should go to therapy! If you roll your eyes when you read that it’s especially applicable to you! When people insist they don’t need therapy it just means they’d rather make other people who have gone to therapy deal with their baggage instead of working it out.”

• “Yes, fixed my hang ups about my mother and taught me I experience anger as anxiety”

• “Definitely. Therapy isn’t for everyone and I don’t think you’ll get anything out of it if you’re forced to go. Each time I’ve gone it’s literally been bc I felt so down bad that therapy seemed like the only thing left to try. I got really lucky with an amazing therapist who’s from my hometown so understands me at a deeper level. She’s helped me make some of the biggest decisions in my life over the past 5 years. What helps for me is having a third party hear you out and ask questions that don’t feel loaded when they come from a stranger. Usually I’m able to see things a bit more clear at that point.”

• “Still tbd I think finding a therapist is like dating. Easy to meet a lot but hard to find one you really want to open up to”

• “[...] My problematic opinion about therapy is that too many people go to therapy to be validated and have their own problematic behavior excused away. To overcome your problems, the first step is truly admitting that you have a problem.”

Commentary

Great to see so many of my readers have gone to therapy. I knew all of you were well-adjusted, mentally healthy individuals. Congrats on getting your brain fixed!

Obviously that’s not how it works — going to therapy is not like going to the orthodontist. It’s not like you just go for a couple months, have your bits moved around, and then you’re basically fixed in perpetuity. Sometimes I think it’s thought of as too much like a silver bullet for becoming a healthy, well-adjusted, un-problematic, empathetic individual removed of all prejudices, defects, and hang-ups. 

To me, it’s closer to like going to a physical therapist. There’s no guarantee that your issues will be resolved forever, but they can help you understand the causes, how to identify when your issues are getting worse or better, and teach you how to resolve them on your own. Not a perfect analogy but you get the point.

I think some of the basic tools of therapy are good for everyone to have. Cognitive behavior therapy practices are helpful principles to be aware of. It’s useful to at least spend some time seriously examining your thought patterns and your emotional tendencies.

When I was at Vanderbilt, I went to the on-campus counseling services and they basically gave me 8-10 sessions before they politely cut me off. It felt a bit harsh at the time but in hindsight I think it made sense. For most people you can probably learn a lot of the basic tools in that time. 

Of course if you have more serious issues, then you should get more sustained professional help. But regardless, no amount of therapy alone will entirely fix all of your problems. Maybe it can help you cope with your panic attacks and problematic relationship with your mother (who can relate), but it might not stop you from cheating on your wife and betraying your closest friends and business partners. 

Q5: Do you bike?

Survey Results

Highlighted Free Responses

• “I love biking! I mostly do long bike rides for exercise and exploration! I don't bike commute, but I know lots of people who do it and it's cheaper and better for the environment and your body.”

• “People who don’t bike shouldn’t have opinions about bikers :)”

• “Nothing better than a good bike ride!”

• “I have a car so I can get myself around pretty easily, and when I don't want to drive I am lucky to live in a city with great transit options including affordable bike share, but I prefer to not bike. I really like walking, there is almost always another decent option, and I don't love biking in the city. I was once hit by a car while riding my bike so when I'm driving I am sensitive to watching for bikers, but some of them just do stupid things sometimes that makes it hard to be a supporter (like the guy I saw riding a limebike down I-395 or the people who ride their bike on the sidewalk when there's a bike lane on the same street).”

• “Biking is fire more often do it for transportation. I’ve never felt unsafe but 1 accident clips change that”

• “I’m pretty neutral about biking and generally supportive of people who choose to bike as their main form of transportation … but so many city bikers are assholes! They have no spatial awareness and then get mad when you cut them off!”

• “I like the idea of biking more than the act of biking. I have a bike but I feel unsteady and uncoordinated on it so I don’t enjoy the experience. Once I pick up a head of steam, it’s fine but getting started is difficult for me. I’m largely indifferent to bikers but I have encountered some who act like they’re superior because they’re fit, eco friendly, and wearing their Stupid Sexy Flanders outfit.”

Commentary

As a proud city-dwelling urbanist, I’m very pro-biking. I do it for both leisure and for transportation, and I find it one of the more enjoyable ways to get around. I support more pro-bike infrastructure and accessibility and I think on average more Americans should embrace it.

But I do think that biking behavior and etiquette has gotten to be pretty poor, particularly thanks to the proliferation of e-bikes and electric scooters. If you’ve ever been driving in a major city, you’ll quickly see your fair share of entitled and reckless bikers. They can basically act with impunity on the streets: weaving around cars, blowing red lights, going against the flow of traffic, slowing down entire lanes of vehicles.

Even as a pedestrian, bikers can be annoying. Recently I was on a run in Rock Creek Park and some middle-aged lady on a bike flipped me off as she passed me by even though she had several feet of clearance. So weirdly aggressive.

On a daily occurrence walking around DC, you’ll have to make way on the sidewalk as some teenager on Lime e-bike bombs his way through pedestrians with no regard for human life.

This type of behavior bothers me not just because of the danger and inconvenience that bikers cause to others, but also to themselves. Biking in the city is an inherently dangerous proposition; the roads still belong to the cars. All it takes is one little bump from a reckless driver to fuck up your joyride. I recently had a bike accident after my bike tire slipped on a freshly painted (and unmarked) stretch of crosswalk. Luckily there wasn’t any car traffic around, but that could have been a lot worse.

I am probably sounding a bit too Marge Simpson-y, but I think it would behoove all bikers to be more careful and law-abiding on the streets. Bike infrastructure and acceptance still has a long way to go in this country (see: Connecticut Ave), and I don’t think we get there faster by being meaner to the drivers. Trust me, this is how we achieve long-term bike dominance on the roads and turn every highway into a bike lane by 2035.

Next Survey

Here’s the link to the next survey. I’ve decided I won’t be closing these surveys anymore since I mostly just end up writing these over the weekend anyways, and it’ll give people a few more days to get responses in. I’ll still send reminders ahead of time.

As always, thanks for reading.

- Nathan