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 Big Sort – Bill Bishop. “I only heard of this book recently. ‘In 2004, journalist Bill Bishop made national news in a series of articles when he first described ‘the big sort.’ Armed with original and startling demographic data, he showed how Americans have been sorting themselves over the past three decades.’ And that was before we had algorithms to sort us. Nowadays, over 80% of people meet online—and around the same number of people say they’d never date someone with opposing political views. This has me thinking about the long-term genetic consequences of sorting humans into distinct breeding groups. It feels like straying perilously close to eugenics to even think about this – but also foolish to ignore it.” (Alistair for Hugh).
• One Bias To Rule Them All – Steve Stewart-Williams – The Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter. “As we wrapped up Just Evil Enough, my co-author Emily and I realized just how many social science nuggets we’d included. We agonized over the reproducibility crisis in the social sciences. something Hugh has shared links on in the past. But this post by the author of The Ape That Understood The Universe suggests that there’s really just one bias, and a bunch of flavors: Confirmation. It makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. After all, once you’ve found a thing that works, do that thing, unless you have a very good reason to change. Eat the foods that don’t poison you… hunt the ways that tend to work. We’re a gigantic self-reinforcement system. But what happens to those long lists of heuristics and biases?” (Alistair for Mitch).
• Your Awokening Isn’t Special – Geoff Shullenberger – UnHerd. “Musa al-Gharbi is a US based sociologist who has analyzed what he calls the 4 Great Awokenings of the 20th and 21st century. His claim: it tends to happen in times when there is an oversupply of intellectuals, you tend to get these panics. He’s nuanced and thoughtful, however, his basic thesis: woke culture is a performative stance, that doesn’t substantially improve the lives of most of the people it purports to serve; and may well be making things worse.” (Hugh for Alistair).
• “This Led To My Divorce.” How Toxic Masculinity is Destroying This Generation! – Scott Galloway – Lewis Howes – YouTube. “I’ve been listening to Scott Galloway on his podcast with Kara Swisher, Pivot. He’s writing a book about masculinity (the positive kind). In this fascinating podcast with Lewis Howes, Galloway talks about all the metrics showing how US society is failing boys and young men, and what we should do about it.” (Hugh for Mitch). 
• What’s So Special About The Human Brain? – Kerri Smith – Nature. “Just think about how long we have been studying our own brains. Even thinking about concepts like consciousness, and where that happens, and what that means… It leaves the most brilliant minds completely astounded. We know a couple of things about the brain… there is a ton of data and biology that is ripping through that spongy thing that lives between your ears. There are so many questions that so many of us have about our brain… Some of them have been answered… Most of them remain a complete mystery. As we all grapple with what our future, artificial intelligence-based world might be like, it might be worthwhile to spend some time thinking about what makes the human brain so special…” (Mitch for Alistair).
• Solitude Can Be Profoundly Restorative. Here’s How To Savor It – Thuy-vy Nguyen – Psyche. “Yes, I am sharing this link with you… But in truth, I need this more than anybody. As I get older, I’m starting to realize how uncomfortable I can be spending time in solitude. I guess I worry about my limited amount of time, and the last thing I want to do is let that time pass alone… Away from family and friends. Because I travel so much for work, I get a chance to spend a lot of time thinking and being alone. Some people love it… I don’t think that I do. With that, it’s probably an important muscle to exercise. So, I need this article as much as you might…” (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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