2024.10.DisappearingMoment
What are the odds that the worst human was born between 1878 and 1893? The world population in 1945 was about 2.4 billion. If 117 billion people have been born, that sets the odds a touch over 2%.
Of course, that doesn’t account for. Or. And then there’s. How many millions suffered and died because of?
I don’t believe in the Great Man Theory. Modern atrocities rely on circumstance, abetting, credulity, and shock. They also rely on technology.
Our ability to help and harm has magnified individual and collective responsibility. Factoring in technology, the possibility that the worst human was born between 1878 and 1893 is higher than 2%.
In the last 80 years, technology has advanced by orders of magnitude. What are the odds that the worst human ever born is alive today? A touch under 7% of the people who have been born are alive. Accounting for technology means there’s a good chance that we’re living alongside history’s most vile human.
Welcome to October 2024’s Disappearing Moment, an inventory of my experiences. I hope you enjoy it.
Podcasts
Diaspora (I Loved It): Spoiler Alert: the list below only includes one entry under “N”.
Nerdy Software
Homebrew makes it easier to install open source software. Some favorites: Ffmpeg, Git, Hugo, Hut, and LibreWolf.
Free Font
Bonnie Shover-Troup developed Lexend to “make reading easier for everyone.” She wants you to be in control, so you can "improve retention and comprehension.”
Bougie Products
Xero Shoes are great for the gym and good for minimal running. No athletic shoes are better made. And they're having a big sale
Personal Finance and Investing
Personal finance is about mitigating risk. Do you have a rainy day fund in Euros, Swiss Francs, Yen, or AUD? In a non-US account?
Reading
- Ahmad Alfy, “Smarter than 'Ctrl+F': Linking Directly to Web Page Content” (I Liked It): “Text fragments are currently supported in all the browsers.” I had no idea. This changes everything. See also, “Don’t Click Here.”
- Loris Cro, “The Static Site Paradox” (I Liked It): I can no longer recommend Squarespace or WordPress. Can we simplify serving Hugo sites from anti-VC hosts? E.g., “The Making of HTML for People.”
- Kathryn S. McKinley, “What Happens to Us Does Not Happen to Most of You” (I Liked It): A reminder to track what I listen to and read. To pay attention to people whose experiences are not like mine. To work for change.
- Jenn Schiffer, "Falling for Prince's Fridge" (I Loved It): Accuracy is ephemeral. Satire is everlasting.
The Worst Human
- Omar al-Bashir or Samuel Alito or Bashar al-Assad
- Steve Bannon or Jair Bolsonaro
- Tucker Carlson or Dick Cheney
- Paul Dans or Thomas DiLorenzo
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
- Patrick Falte and Benjamin Faulkner
- Newt Gingrich or Marjorie Taylor Greene
- Josh Hawley or Min Aung Hlaing
- Laura Ingraham
- Mike Johnson or Jerry Jones
- Kim Jong Un or Charles Koch
- Debbie Lesko
- Rupert Murdoch or Elon Musk
- Benjamin Netenyahu
- Andy Ogles or Bill O'Reilly
- Vladimir Putin
- Q
- Kevin Roberts or Karl Rove
- David D. Smith or Daniel Stein
- Donald Trump
- Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein
- J.D. Vance
- Andrew Wakefield or Randy Weber
- Xi Jinping
- Ramzi Yousef
- Mark Zuckerberg
Thank you for spending a few moments with me. I appreciate you and look forward to corresponding again next month.
Brett
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