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: 

• Interstellar communication network. III. Locating deep space nodes – Michael Hippke. “When humans want to send messages over long distances, we use dishes that focus our transmissions, because the more focused the transmission, the less energy you need to send something, and the higher a transmission rate you can achieve. If you were a galactic civilization, you’d want ways to communicate over incredibly long distances and timeframes. But instead of dishes, you’d probably use the gravitational lensing of stars. This tells us where we should look for such communication nodes. ‘Because of the large gain for communication, it appears likely that our own first interstellar exploration probe (perhaps to Tau Ceti) would be accompanied by a second probe in the opposite direction, to be used as the communication receiver. Perhaps this step of technological development constitutes the ‘readyness’ of a civilization required to be granted permission into the galactic club.'” (Alistair for Hugh).
• To be more tech-savvy, borrow these strategies from the Amish – Psyche. “Contrary to popular opinion, the Amish aren’t anti-technology. They’re just thoughtful, deliberate, and solving for a different outcome: That which brings us closer together. So many of their lessons can be applied to our own attempts to be mindful of tech; here’s a great piece on how their culture has resisted—and selectively embraced—the ubiquity of our digital lifestyles.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• Trees Talk To Each Other. ‘Mother Tree’ Ecologist Hears Lessons For People, Too – NPR. “I’ve posted about Suzanne Simard and her research around the ways trees communicate, including diverting resources to stressed brethren through a network of roots and fungus. Let’s listen to her and the trees.” (Hugh for Alistair).
• The War on Critical Race Theory – Boston Review. “Have you heard of Critical Race Theory? The former President of the United States tried to ban it, Sam Harris thinks it will lead to madness, the right loves to hate it, and no one who’s all excited about it seems to have read much about it at all.” (Hugh for Mitch).  
• A Conversation With a Dogecoin Millionaire – The Daily – New York Times. “First off, let me just state that I really enjoy listening to The Daily podcast (via the New York Times). It’s always a different angle on a current affairs story, and it goes really deep… real journalism. It’s quite the feat that this comes out daily. This episode was particularly fascinating. If you’re wondering about cryptocurrency and what the crazed excitement is over Dogecoin (which really was started as a farce), this show will add lots of color to the story. This will either make you start wanting to sniff out the alt coin world for your next big score, or it will make you question everything that you thought that you know about investing.” (Mitch for Alistair).
• Tears For Fears – Spotify Landmark. “Tears For Fears was never a band that I searched out. Even during the eighties, their music was so ubiquitous that they just always seemed to be around. I had many of their albums, and prior to them hitting it big, my brother introduced to the band with their album, The Hurting, in 1983. I came across this intimate and interactive live performance a few years back, and I seem to keep coming back to it. Yes, it’s seven years old, but this shows a more mature and reflective band… and… just wow… what a performance this is. Even if you were never a fan of the band, this will both impress you and captivate you. Watch it. Promise.” (Mitch for Hugh).

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

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends).