Welcome to Friday,
This last full week of work before the holiday break has driven home the reality of Internet brain to me. I find if I spend more than a couple hours scrolling or skimming, I have difficulty concentrating on anything else the rest of the day. In an effort to combat that, I’ve limited my online outings to two hours or less, it’s worked remarkably well, and I recommend it if you, as well, are dealing with a foggy brain or general irritability after prolonged Internet usage.
Limiting that Internet time allowed for reading of some particularly interesting pieces, valuing quality over quantity. In that spirit, here is the best from around the Internet.
Interaction is the key to learning in life, both for children and adults; a new biography of Maria Montessori.
I like this piece because it details the various quandaries and difficulties archeologists must rise to meet when a new discovery is unearthed. It also makes me wonder how many of the stories attached to famous pieces from antiquity are half-truths or simply false, based on partial information?
In the midst of continued drought in the Northwest United States, farmers are looking to ancient agricultural practices to hopefully save their industry.
Another one for the “Kids are Okay” file: Teenage Luddites.
This piece can be read as an article about truffles, or as an article about signalling, in the Girardian sense. People hear about this expensive, exclusive ingredient which only the rich get to enjoy. As word starts to spread and the popularity of serving truffles catches on, you have all manner of restaurant serving up “variations,” and suddenly, people are ordering truffle dishes solely because they’ve heard of the ingredient. Because it continues to signal money and taste, no one cares about whether the product being served actually has nothing to do with the name. So, we arrive at the current moment; in a world of decorative truffles, artificial flavoring, and petroleum derivatives cheaply made to profit off this desire to signal.
Currently reading: Notes Toward the Definition of Culture by T.S. Eliot
Image: “Winter Sunset” by Georg Fischhof (Austrian, 1859-1914).
