Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

• The Internet Archive Just Lost Its Appeal Over Ebook Lending – Emma Roth – The Verge. “One of the most important sites on the internet flew too close to the sun, and it may prove its undoing. Bending the laws of lending libraries during Covid seemed a mercy, but publishers didn’t see it that way. As an author who sees illegal copies of his work everywhere, I have mixed feelings about this. Whatever the case, we need a record of the Web, and this decision may lead to a Great Unremembering. I know you know about this, but I feel like others should.” (Alistair for Hugh).
  
• So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish – Mathew Ingram – Columbia Journalism Review. “Mathew Ingram has long been a chronicler of the Internet. From his early days founding Mesh, a tech conference in Toronto, to working with GigaOm and the Columbia Journalism Review, he’s been writing about tech and society – and finding fascinating content in strange corners – for nearly as long as I’ve been online. His time at CJR is at an end, and he wrote a wrap-up memoir that’s equal parts nostalgia and frustration.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• Abolish Grades – Yascha Mounk. “I spend a lot of my time thinking about education and learning, particularly the impacts AI will have on our approaches to teaching. I also have a couple of kids in early high school, and I puzzle about what to do when my thoughts on what good teaching should look like doesn’t mesh with what is being delivered in school. This is a different topic, but an interesting one as well, this problem of grade inflation (and student expectations) at elite colleges: In the 1950s, 30-40% of Harvard students made the Dean’s List. By the early 2000s, 92% of students did. What does the Dean’s List mean in this context? Nothing, so Harvard ditched the whole thing. Along with grade inflation, the amount of time students spend studying has dropped significantly; my guess is that at places like Harvard this has been replaced with any number of extra-curricular activities, clubs and committees and the like. I read one article that said something like: Higher Education is always going through a crisis. It’s got lots of them now.” (Hugh for Alistair).
• Station Eleven, 10 Years Later – Rebecca Onion – Slate. “I met writer Emily St. John Mandel once when I was more involved in book publishing, so I’ve always had a soft spot for her work. It helps that Station Eleven (about a traveling theatre troup after a deadly pandemic has killed off most of humanity) was so good. Even better that it came out five years before Covid. The HBO series based on the book tapped into every bit of fear we had with the real pandemic. Station Eleven was published ten years ago, and the author talks about what it was like to go from mostly-unknown literary writer to celebrated star in a few short years.” (Hugh for Mitch).
• Yuval Noah Harari: This Election Will Tear The Country Apart! AI Will Control You By 2034! – The Diary Of A CEO – YouTube. “I am not a fan of this clickbait headline, so please put that aside. What Yuval Noah Harari has to say is always important, smart and culturally awakening. ‘Immediate purchase’ are the two words I say to myself when he has a new book out. This week sees the release of his latest, Nexus – A Brief History Of Information Networks From The Stone Age To AI. I am only a few pages in, but feel myself as captivated by his work as I was when I read Sapiens, Homo Deus and 21 Lessons For The 21st Century. He’s an astounding thinker and his perspective on the current state of affairs – in particular artificial intelligence and the changing business landscape – should leave you in a deep state of reflection… because that’s exactly where I am right now… and loving it. In a world of hyperbole, hype and self-promotion, it’s nice to deep dive into a deep thinkers deep work.” (Mitch for Alistair).  
• How Should We Create Things? – Joshua Rothman – The New Yorker. “Apologies if you’re getting tired of my Brian Eno rabbithole, but this is another great article that is more about how we create and the creative process than anything else. It’s just a great read. For those who know, Brian Eno is not just a musician — he’s a master of creative flow, blending chaos and structure in a way that makes ‘making’ feel more like ‘growing.’ In Gary Hustwit’s new documentary Eno, we get a glimpse into his approach, one that values randomness, abstraction, and, most intriguingly, letting go of control. This review of the documentary isn’t about just another album or creative project – it’s about rethinking how we create altogether. The anecdote about Eno and David Bowie pulling opposing Oblique Strategy cards (Eno’s creation to help creatives get more create) – one telling Eno to ‘change nothing’ and Bowie to ‘destroy the most important thing’ – is a perfect metaphor for this friction and magic. Where most of us obsess over control and perfecting our craft, Eno invites us to embrace chance, unpredictability, and, yes, even failure. This new documentary doesn’t just shine a light on how Eno works, but on how we can rethink our own creative practices. Whether you’re a writer, entrepreneur, or artist, Eno’s philosophy of starting the process and letting it evolve holds massive appeal. Eno is about putting your art into motion and letting it grow beyond you – a lesson in loosening your grip and watching magic happen in a world where control and messaging is held so tightly.” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on X, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

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