#62: Don't do your own research

💎 Word gems

Maybe You Missed It, but the Internet ‘Died’ Five Years Ago (The Atlantic / Kaitlyn Tiffany)

The title and theory is clickbait-y, but there’s some inherent truth here. So many online spaces are flooded with spammers, astroturfing, and bots that it simply feels shitty to be online now.

Obviously, the internet is not a government psyop, even though the Department of Defense had a role in its invention. But if it were, the most compelling evidence to me is the dead-internet theory’s observation that the same news items about unusual moon-related events seem to repeat year after year. I swear I’ve been saying this for years. What is a super flower blood moon? What is a pink supermoon? A quick search of headlines from just this month brings up: “There’s Something Special About This Weekend’s Moon,” “Don’t Miss: Rare, Seasonal ‘Blue Moon’ Rises Tonight,” and “Why This Weekend’s Blue Moon Is Extra Rare.” I just don’t understand why everyone is so invested in making me look at the moon all the time? Leave me alone about the moon!

The Addiction Economy (Napkin Math / Evan Armstrong)

Software being addictive isn’t a new idea but this post really drills into how as apps tend to increasingly act alike, what they optimize for is attention.

The universe of things where you can write differentiated code is continuously shrinking. Digital goods are using identical inputs to create their widgets, meaning differentiation can no longer come solely from the quality of the infrastructure. Now it must come from somewhere else. Maybe it is brand, maybe it is positioning, but rarely is it technology anymore. Soon there will be no 10-year competitive moats in software.

They Did Their Own ‘Research.’ Now What? (The New York Times / John Herrman)

How about you don't do your own research, please. Instead, you know, trust the experts.

DYOR [Do your own research]  is an attitude, if not quite a practice, that has been adopted by some athletes, musicians, pundits and even politicians to build a sort of outsider credibility. “Do your own research” is an idea central to Joe Rogan’s interview podcast, the most listened to program on Spotify, where external claims of expertise are synonymous with admissions of malice. In its current usage, DYOR is often an appeal to join in, rendered in the language of opting out.

💩 Cool shit

Perception Gap - A fantastic quiz to see if your understanding on where people stand on key issues is actually in sync with the American public.

Plantarium - “Procedurally” generate a 3D plant. Adjusting the variables and seeing the plant change in real-time is surprisingly fun.

Moon Landing - A Moon landing game. Simple as that.

Symphony in Acid - An interactive site tied to a song. I’m not quite sure what to make of this.

Half-Earth - A trading card-esque game to save the planet.

The New Face - A “web3 educational game.” I remain skeptical of crypto, and the fact you need to request a demo here doesn’t build my confidence. However, I’ve always liked the idea of learning by doing.

This Image Does Not Exist - Can you guess which images are made by humans, and which are by AI? Play this game and find out.

A Trail Tale - This is an incredibly cool personal site tracking someone’s hike of the Appalachian trail. This one is worth checking out in its 16-bit style glory.

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