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:
- The Big Sort – Bill Bishop. “I only heard of this book recently. ‘In 2004, journalist Bill Bishop made national news in a series of articles when he first described ‘the big sort.’ Armed with original and startling demographic data, he showed how Americans have been sorting themselves over the past three decades.’ And that was before we had algorithms to sort us. Nowadays, over 80% of people meet online—and around the same number of people say they’d never date someone with opposing political views. This has me thinking about the long-term genetic consequences of sorting humans into distinct breeding groups. It feels like straying perilously close to eugenics to even think about this – but also foolish to ignore it.” (Alistair for Hugh).
- One Bias To Rule Them All – Steve Stewart-Williams – The Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter. “As we wrapped up Just Evil Enough, my co-author Emily and I realized just how many social science nuggets we’d included. We agonized over the reproducibility crisis in the social sciences. something Hugh has shared links on in the past. But this post by the author of The Ape That Understood The Universe suggests that there’s really just one bias, and a bunch of flavors: Confirmation. It makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. After all, once you’ve found a thing that works, do that thing, unless you have a very good reason to change. Eat the foods that don’t poison you… hunt the ways that tend to work. We’re a gigantic self-reinforcement system. But what happens to those long lists of heuristics and biases?” (Alistair for Mitch).
- Your Awokening Isn’t Special – Geoff Shullenberger – UnHerd. “Musa al-Gharbi is a US based sociologist who has analyzed what he calls the 4 Great Awokenings of the 20th and 21st century. His claim: it tends to happen in times when there is an oversupply of intellectuals, you tend to get these panics. He’s nuanced and thoughtful, however, his basic thesis: woke culture is a performative stance, that doesn’t substantially improve the lives of most of the people it purports to serve; and may well be making things worse.” (Hugh for Alistair).
- “This Led To My Divorce.” How Toxic Masculinity is Destroying This Generation! – Scott Galloway – Lewis Howes – YouTube. “I’ve been listening to Scott Galloway on his podcast with Kara Swisher, Pivot. He’s writing a book about masculinity (the positive kind). In this fascinating podcast with Lewis Howes, Galloway talks about all the metrics showing how US society is failing boys and young men, and what we should do about it.” (Hugh for Mitch).
- What’s So Special About The Human Brain? – Kerri Smith – Nature. “Just think about how long we have been studying our own brains. Even thinking about concepts like consciousness, and where that happens, and what that means… It leaves the most brilliant minds completely astounded. We know a couple of things about the brain… there is a ton of data and biology that is ripping through that spongy thing that lives between your ears. There are so many questions that so many of us have about our brain… Some of them have been answered… Most of them remain a complete mystery. As we all grapple with what our future, artificial intelligence-based world might be like, it might be worthwhile to spend some time thinking about what makes the human brain so special…” (Mitch for Alistair).
- Solitude Can Be Profoundly Restorative. Here’s How To Savor It – Thuy-vy Nguyen – Psyche. “Yes, I am sharing this link with you… But in truth, I need this more than anybody. As I get older, I’m starting to realize how uncomfortable I can be spending time in solitude. I guess I worry about my limited amount of time, and the last thing I want to do is let that time pass alone… Away from family and friends. Because I travel so much for work, I get a chance to spend a lot of time thinking and being alone. Some people love it… I don’t think that I do. With that, it’s probably an important muscle to exercise. So, I need this article as much as you might…” (Mitch for Hugh).
Feel free to share these links and add your picks on X, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.
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Mitch Joel Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.