Reasonably Happy, Intelligent Partner, NYC event
Podcast appearance + links and recommendations
Here’s my recent conversation with Paul Ollinger on the Reasonably Happy podcast:
Links for Spotify and Apple Podcast.
New York City Event:
You are invited to attend my Lectures on Tap event in NYC on June 3 at 6:30pm. Tickets and info here.
From the archives:
How to Make It as a Writer
The Only Reading App I Use:
I’ve been using Readwise since April of 2021.
If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter/X, you’ll know I regularly share screenshots like this from books or articles I’ve read:
These screenshots come from my Readwise app.
Readwise aggregates your reading highlights from various sources like Kindle, Apple Books, Substack, Twitter, and so on. It stores your highlights in one place, making it easier to stay on top of your reading.
Each morning, it emails me 8 random excerpts from different books I’ve read. Since 2021, that daily message has been a quiet ritual for me: fragments from books I half‑forgot are resurfaced, like my own past self giving me a tap on the shoulder.
Moreover, when I’m thinking about a particular topic, a quick search pulls up not just my notes but every highlighted Kindle passage I’ve ever saved on the topic.
Exclusive Offer for My Readers
Use this link → https://readwise.io/robkhenderson/ to try Readwise free for 60 days (double the length of the standard free trial).
I suspect, like me, you’ll wonder how you ever read without it.
Links and recommendations:
Pandemic School Closures: “Abundance of Caution” Reveals the Bad Science by James B. Meigs
The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good by W. Keith Campbell
Substack's Pricing Model is Fine, Actually by Cartoons Hate her
it's not a "housing" shortage, and YIMBYs won't fix it. by DEEPLEFTANALYSIS
The Unexpected Benefits of an Intelligent Partner by Madeleine A. Fugère
AI Will Change What It Is to Be Human. Are We Ready? By Tyler Cowen and Avital Balwit
Follow me on Instagram here. The platform is less volatile and more chill than Twitter/X, so I post some spicier excerpts from my readings on my IG stories
You can follow me on TikTok here
Three interesting findings:
1. Solutions don’t seem to improve the experience all that much. Over the past 50 years, we've seen miraculous technological innovations—microwaves, color television, air conditioning—yet they’ve had virtually no effect on Americans’ overall satisfaction. (source). Over the past 50 years, though, addiction, broken homes, friendlessness, sexlessness, and loneliness have all increased. I can’t help but wonder if technological improvements have indeed boosted satisfaction, only to be offset by the collapse of our social lives, leaving us no better off overall.
2. Babies often struggle to sleep unless they're being held or cuddled because millions of years of natural selection have conditioned them to feel uneasy when not in close proximity to a caregiver. Until very recently in human history, there was no truly safe place to leave a baby—or even a toddler—out of arm’s reach. (source: Bringing Up Baby: An Evolutionary View of Pediatrics by Paul Turke).
3. Among registered U.S. voters, 5% of 80 year-olds have an unfavorable view of Jews, compared with 26% of 20 year-olds. (source).
A religious revival is going to happen sooner rather than later, as a way to combat what you've said on your first point. We all know religious people are happier pretty much across the board. Why do you think so many young men are going back to God? The modern life has all about rejected young men. The church is one of the very few places where men can be men.
Hey twin, are you still doing office hours or do we get a summer break? :) Great seeing you IRL last night.