Every year I choose the ten pieces I read and found myself returning to – not necessarily which were published – over the previous twelve months. Here are my top pieces for this year.
“We’re Killing Ourselves with Work“: An anthropological and neuroscientific look at the critical importance of leisure.
“The Top Idea in Your Mind“: Paul Graham warns us to “be careful what you let become critical to you.”
“The Killing Fields of Ukraine“: As Russia moves toward war, we should remember this is far from the first time Ukraine has become the site of atrocities.
“The Woes of Being Addicted to Streaming Services“: One’s music library was formerly a uniquely personal combination of taste, memory, and experiences – many times a soundtrack of one’s life. Today, however, music is mostly an indistinguishable mishmash of background accompaniment served up buffet style for ten dollars a month.
Is too much of a good thing a good thing? I say yes. Although, I don’t pay for Spotify and am firm in my resolve to purchase albums as whole units, not cherry-picked for singles. Paying for singles is bad enough; streaming is terrible; cheapens the industry, the artistry, and makes it difficult for artists to get paid.
“Reality has a Surprising Amount of Detail“: Creating or building each have their multiple steps with multiple components. Yes, things can be simple, but even simple things have details. Details are near-universal, so next time you run into a surprising amount of detail, don’t consider it a personal failing, but an inherent part of the nature of the universe. “Surprising detail is a near universal property of getting up close and personal with reality.”
“For the Stoic Musonius Rufus, Manual Work is Philosophy, Too“: A succinct argument for why manual labor complements the philosophical life, and why both are vital to the maintenance and improvement of society.
“The Grown-Ups are Losing It“: “What is school for? This is the kind of foundational question that arises when a crisis shakes the public’s faith in an essential institution. “The original thinkers about public education were concerned almost to a point of paranoia about creating self-governing citizens,” Robert Pondiscio, a former fifth-grade teacher in the South Bronx and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told me. “Horace Mann went to his grave having never once uttered the phrase college- and career-ready. We’ve become more accustomed to thinking about the private ends of education. We’ve completely lost the habit of thinking about education as citizen-making.”
“Enjoy My Flames” : Exploring heavy metal’s appreciation for ancient history, more specifically, Roman emperors. Heavy metal bands have written hundreds of songs, including entire concept albums, about emperors, the folly of hubris, and the virtues of anti-conformity. Metal, indeed.
“Robert Graves’ Writing Paradise” : While I am endlessly curious about the daily routines of those around me, I can’t say I’ve ever been specifically interested in visiting writers’ homes. So when I say Mason Currey’s visit to the home of Robert Graves – and the attention expended to maintain the home – has sparked my interest, you know it’s a special piece.
Photo by Peter Olexa on Unsplash
