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society

2023


What Carolyn Chen doesn't get about Silicon Valley

First things first: Carolyn Chen’s book “Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley” is an insightful analysis of what happens when corporations encroach into the spiritual space of their employees, a phenomenon any tech worker will be familiar with.

2020


Bargaining with my left-wing indulgence

Yesterday I read Rutger Bregman’s excellent opinion piece in The Correspondent, and today is Tuesday. Tuesday, in my household, is the recycling day.

A false sense of security

Marc Andreessen writes about how ill-equipped the United States is to handle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and concludes that it’s due to the fact that the America lost its ability to “build” things, be it medical equipment, infrastructure, or financial mechanisms that’d allow the federal government to support its citizens better.

2019


Walkability

I am slowly beginning to grasp the concept of “walkability.” It’s not about whether there are wide sidewalks (although there better be).

2016


“Between the world and me”

Here is what I would like for you to know: In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body—it is heritage.

2015


New Atheism

Stephen LeDrew wrote an interesting post about the influence the so-called “New Atheism” movement had on society, pointing out some intriguing similarities between our militant atheists and, surprisingly, the far right wing conservatism.

2013


What Happens When You Live Abroad

The anxiousness that was once concentrated on how you’re going to make new friends, adjust, and master the nuances of the language has become the repeated question “What am I missing?

“Debt”

David Graeber’s Debt is one of the best books I have read in my life. It is a thorough historical and anthropological investigation into the nature of money and, nomen omen, debt.

2011


In Defense Of The PhD

Recently there’s been a lively discussion on why do people pursue PhD studies, is it good (for them and for the society), is it optimal (for the society and for the universities), and so on.