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: 

• A Man Goes To A Public Restroom – And Gets Trapped In A Time Paradox – Stalled – Omeleto – YouTube. “It looks like we’re doing more time travel links this week as well, so here’s a one-man short film for you. (Alistair for Hugh).
• Gore-Tex Is A Marketing Gimmick – FortNine – YouTube. “Breathable? Technically, yes. Waterproof? Technically, yes. Accidentally stretched Teflon with a great marketing campaign? Absolutely. Interesting case study of positioning and channel monopolies.”  (Alistair for Mitch).
• The Ars Guide To Time Travel In The Movies – Ars Technica. “After our links got sent out last week, there was a flurry of emails talking about good time travel movies. One of my favourites is Primer, filmed for $7000(!), and another great – under the radar – film is Source Code. Alistair recommended the Spanish flick Timecrimes, which I’d never heard of, and I’m looking forward to. Here’s an article rating movies on a (poorly labelled) grid, measuring scientific accuracy (x axis), and entertainment value (y axis). They’ve obviously made some serious errors (Primer is VERY entertaining, thank you very much), however Alistair’s recommendations are both in the more scientific and more entertaining quadrant. And, you can’t quibble with 12 Monkeys up in the top right.” (Hugh for Alistair).
• AI Thinks Different – Sean Carroll’s Mindscape. “Theoretical physicist and philosopher Sean Carroll takes on Generative AI, what it is and what it isn’t, and gives the very best analysis I’ve read/heard yet about why ChatGPT may seem intelligent, but is most definitely not, and why natural language models can’t be ‘intelligent’, in the way that we usually mean ‘intelligent’. Even if they are great at faking it. He’s not pooh poohing AI or ChatGPT, but does a fantastic job of explaining the inherent limitations in natural language models.” (Hugh for Mitch).
• The Rise Of The Meta City – Harvard Business Review. “I have always been a fan of the work (and writing) of Richard Florida, but it was the headline of this article that grabbed me first (then, knowing it was from Florida, I knew it would be meaty). So… this is a subject that I can’t get out of my brain. Digital technologies advance, remote work is a constant, people moved during the pandemic, and beyond the physical stuff we are thinking differently about what our work is (and how important it is in the grander scheme of things). So… what does this mean for office space and corporate headquarters? Maybe that question is too small? Maybe, the real question becomes: What is the competition like for talent when offices are no longer a major factor? And how does this impact cities as we have known them to be? Welcome to the era of the Meta City: ‘a web of cities that operate as a distinct unit and are attached to a major — often global — economic hub. The various communities that make up the Meta City may be in different time zones and noncontiguous locations, but they function together as a coherent network with a distinct structure and logic. The Meta City combines physical and virtual agglomeration, in seeming defiance of the laws of physics, making it possible to occupy more than one space at the same time. As a result, urban areas within the Meta City network can share economic and social functions.’ We’re looking at you, Miami, Dubai, Austin…” (Mitch for Alistair).
• A History Of Bookmaking, From Scrolls To Scrolling – Hyperallergic. “I’m not sure if you have been naughty or nice this year, but if you play your cards right, you just might find this book under your Christmas Tree this year. And, even if you don’t… this could be the ideal stocking stuffer for the book lover in your life. Hugh and I are both huge fans of books and why they matter. This article sure got the juices flowing… If you ever wonder about how we came to turn pages, this one is for you.” (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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