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From the archives:
If you want a functional society, you have to either pay the social cost of upholding norms, or pay the economic cost of what happens when there are none.
Links and recommendations:
Here is a new Goodreads giveaway, where you can enter for a chance to win an advance print copy of my forthcoming book
Why I Ran Away from Philosophy Because of Sam Bankman-Fried by Ted Gioia
This excellent essay is more about utilitarianism than philosophy per se.
The essay reminded me of a conversation I had with a psychology professor years ago, who quietly told me, “Rob, more and more I am coming to believe that utilitarianism is the morality of evil.”
I was once in a moral philosophy seminar in college and the professor asked how many of the students were utilitarians. Out of 16 students, 14 raised their hands.
The Millionaire Slut Apologists by Patricia Patnode
Suicide Rates Are up for Gen Z Across the Anglosphere, Especially for Girls by Zach Rausch and Jonathan Haidt
Runaway consumerism explains the Fermi Paradox by Geoffrey Miller
The Green New Deal (short story) by Zero HP Lovecraft
The power law of crime by Ed West
Follow me on Instagram here. The platform is less volatile and more chill than X/Twitter, so I post some spicier excerpts from my readings on my IG stories
Three interesting findings:
1. Curiosity follows an inverted U-shaped curve. We are least curious when we have no idea about the answer to a question and also when we are entirely convinced that we know the answer. The place of maximum curiosity is when we think we have some idea but aren’t sure. (source: The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr). This is probably why we can still feel suspense when, for example, we know the outcome of a story but don’t know exactly how the character overcomes the obstacles that led to the conclusion.
2. In the U.S., roughly twice as many women are tattooed (39%) as men (21%). This holds true for the rates of both hidden (30% of women vs. 17% of men) and visible tattoos (9% of women vs. 4% of men). (source).
3. Are children a joy or a burden? On average, university education correlates with increased negative attitudes about children and decreased positive attitudes, whereas religiosity predicts increased positive attitudes about children and decreased negative ones. (source). Today, young adults are more educated and less religious than any previous era in history.
Goodreads Giveaway, Slut Apologists, Curiosity
I liked the Ted Goia essay and tried to comment there. "Relatedly, I observed years ago, without much digging into the background of it, that when people say there is no black-and-white, only shades of gray, they are trying to get you to choose a darker shade of gray. If they thought the choice was more moral they would stress that, not the ambiguity of morality."
My left 🧠 while reading the title : "what is a slut apologist? Is it like a Christian apologist, but for sluts ?
Right 🧠 : we have to read to know !
Left 🧠 : Wait, this title is totally click-baity !
Right 🧠 : it's Rob Henderson's substack so even if it's clickbait, it will be good anyway.
Left 🧠 : ... Ok, I guess.