Welcome to the weekend,
This week has been a rush of appointments, Christmas shopping, and a mad dash to spend every spare moment either reading or writing about what I’ve read. I have found some interesting finds, so without further ado, here is the best from around the Internet:
From “No Man’s Land” to the sole county in the U.S. sharing borders with four states; why does Oklahoma have a Panhandle?
In the same vein as Tom Nichols’ The Death of Expertise, this piece argues that we the audience should be careful when reading blogs/ social media/opinion pieces/ books by an author without expertise in an area offering an opinion in said area. It’s not that polymaths don’t exist, nor should we restrict our studies and interests to a narrow field of expertise, but we must exercise caution in deeming people “Renaissance Men or Women” or polymaths. Demonstrated success in one area is not a ticket of entry into other areas.
This piece from The Met’s “Art at Home” tour on how French interiors influenced American fashion is both beautiful and outlandish. Read for the discussion of opulent fashion; stay for the cat headpiece!
A short, but wild tale of book publishing, inflated prices, and textbook rental fraud, all happening on Amazon’s bookstore.
An early post from the creator of Snapchat, anticipating how the Internet and social media would impact the concept of identity. Spiegel presents an alternative to the static self we are all encouraged to “be true to” and proposes a ‘liquid self,’ with varied interests and inconsistencies, might be more healthy.
Currently reading: Dune by Frank Herbert
