A pop star's wedding raises something worthwhile about what, specifically, we’re objecting to when we express revulsion at extreme wealth (and, more importantly, when we don't).
Anyone who actually grew up poor will immediately recognize this book is fiction. It’s been a while since I read the book, and I don’t want to read it again, so I cant give specific examples anymore. I found it so offensive as someone who grew up in poverty and an immigrant. A lot of the stories require you to suspend common sense beliefs. Any white lady/ person (for example: Vance in hillbilly elegy) saying they ended at an Ivy League all on their own should be questioned.
She minimized the role her rich grandparents had in her life. The thing with being poor and not having family support is that you have no idea how to succeed and to what exactly to succeed in if you don’t see that anywhere in your life.
I didn’t find Educated to be the best analysis of the turn from true believer to apostate, but maybe I just don’t remember it well. In my memory that book is more a “let me tell you about my crazy and ignorant my family and how much I overcame” (yes, very similar to hillbilly elegy!!) than it was a thoughtful depiction of what fully buying into and then leaving a cult/high-demand belief system is actually like. At least that’s my take as an ex-Mormon. I’m wracking my brain for the best book I’ve read that feels like a great true believer to apostate book. So many podcasts and documentaries come to mind… I love Tia Levings’ substack and haven’t read her book yet but I’m confident it would be excellent. “Bad Mormon” by Heather Gay would probably also be great. Weirdly, “The Girl with Seven Names” about an escapee of North Korea comes to my mind as one of the best depictions of leaving a cult/moving from true believer to apostate, although it’s obviously an extreme case. Anyway, I might be off track based on what you are looking for, but I think you’d get better recs from ex-religious communities on Reddit than you would from Claude for something like that. I’m sure there are some incredible memoirs that better explain how one gets to believe those things and what it actually takes to deconstruct those beliefs. As indicated by the book title, Educated essentially argues that education is the key ingredient to moving from true believer to apostate, when that is actually completely wrong and a myth we all like to believe to avoid the uncomfortable reality that we are all pretty susceptible to manipulation and propaganda. Extremely smart, educated people are sucked into and stay in cults every single day. See, for example, MAGA or the religious zealots on SCOTUS. Not all uneducated morons.
Sedulously and synecdoche in one paragraph! I, for one, love the smorgasbord approach of this week’s post.
My immediate reaction to why we found Bezos’s wedding festivities so distasteful vs. Dua Lipa’s was that we are probably just shallow. An old nerd trying to flex with a very plasticky middle aged spouse versus a young, gorgeously talented cool kid pair. 🤷♀️
Regarding the economist article and the men who amass billions by selling doomsday: the single best read for me this year was Infinity Machine, which is nominally about the life of Demis Hassabis but tells you exactly how these dozen or so men have sat in the exact same rooms with the exact same pitches which is why you notice this convergence even from a distance. Our world is run by this single room of men. The book is stunningly good.
I find it unfortunate that everyone thinks they need a showy wedding because everyone else is having one.
I think people would be so much happier with simple ceremonies with family and friends. They could enjoy a relaxed celebration instead of being part of a major production.
The article on perceptions of the ultra-wealthy is interesting. I'd like to see a survey on just how people perceive XXX ultra-wealthy by name. Warren Buffett doesn't get the same reception as Bezos, so I'm wondering if those perceptions are largely driven by (1) how they got their wealth (inheritance, inherent talent, exploitation) and (2) what they do with it (signicant amounts of charity/support/beneficial societal actions vs blowing it on 200 Ferraris).
Links to just such surveys in this piece https://www.experimental-history.com/p/stop-eating-lady-gagas-oreos?ref=shesabeast.co. The whole piece relates to this one, hypothesizing that to the general population fame now feels like a more likely path to upward mobility than business success. And therefore we give celebrities more of a pass for being rich. Credit to She’s a Beast for linking it the same week this went out. I enjoyed the pairing.
Well, Grace’s article (rather, Katie’s summary) makes me feel especially American (read: rugged individualism). During the primaries, I decided I was no longer going along with which candidate was more likely to win and needed my vote regardless of who my values aligned more closely (ex. voting for Hillary instead of Bernie). This also has me thinking that the US is the original participation-trophy country. We reward people for doing the easiest thing: putting yourself first.
I really want to encourage people looking for various “reading curricula” to ask a local librarian or bookseller instead of consulting an AI tool! The people around you are a treasure trove of knowledge and history!
I actually think it’s more basic than that. A woman getting married is universally celebrated as the highest and best use of her life, energy and money. Taylor swift might be derided if she used her money to, say, buy elections - but no one is going to bat an eye no matter how ostentatious her wedding is.
Educated is a fantastic book. Heartwrenching. (You have a long way to go if you're only 45 pages in! Enjoy the journey. Get tissues.)
I'm curious what else was on the list Claude gave you? (And also curious about this project you're researching!?)
Anyone who actually grew up poor will immediately recognize this book is fiction. It’s been a while since I read the book, and I don’t want to read it again, so I cant give specific examples anymore. I found it so offensive as someone who grew up in poverty and an immigrant. A lot of the stories require you to suspend common sense beliefs. Any white lady/ person (for example: Vance in hillbilly elegy) saying they ended at an Ivy League all on their own should be questioned.
She minimized the role her rich grandparents had in her life. The thing with being poor and not having family support is that you have no idea how to succeed and to what exactly to succeed in if you don’t see that anywhere in your life.
I didn’t find Educated to be the best analysis of the turn from true believer to apostate, but maybe I just don’t remember it well. In my memory that book is more a “let me tell you about my crazy and ignorant my family and how much I overcame” (yes, very similar to hillbilly elegy!!) than it was a thoughtful depiction of what fully buying into and then leaving a cult/high-demand belief system is actually like. At least that’s my take as an ex-Mormon. I’m wracking my brain for the best book I’ve read that feels like a great true believer to apostate book. So many podcasts and documentaries come to mind… I love Tia Levings’ substack and haven’t read her book yet but I’m confident it would be excellent. “Bad Mormon” by Heather Gay would probably also be great. Weirdly, “The Girl with Seven Names” about an escapee of North Korea comes to my mind as one of the best depictions of leaving a cult/moving from true believer to apostate, although it’s obviously an extreme case. Anyway, I might be off track based on what you are looking for, but I think you’d get better recs from ex-religious communities on Reddit than you would from Claude for something like that. I’m sure there are some incredible memoirs that better explain how one gets to believe those things and what it actually takes to deconstruct those beliefs. As indicated by the book title, Educated essentially argues that education is the key ingredient to moving from true believer to apostate, when that is actually completely wrong and a myth we all like to believe to avoid the uncomfortable reality that we are all pretty susceptible to manipulation and propaganda. Extremely smart, educated people are sucked into and stay in cults every single day. See, for example, MAGA or the religious zealots on SCOTUS. Not all uneducated morons.
Agree with everything in this comment. Definitely interested in Claude’s suggestions.
Same. And sharing could save/prevent another Claude prompt or two!
Sedulously and synecdoche in one paragraph! I, for one, love the smorgasbord approach of this week’s post.
My immediate reaction to why we found Bezos’s wedding festivities so distasteful vs. Dua Lipa’s was that we are probably just shallow. An old nerd trying to flex with a very plasticky middle aged spouse versus a young, gorgeously talented cool kid pair. 🤷♀️
Regarding the economist article and the men who amass billions by selling doomsday: the single best read for me this year was Infinity Machine, which is nominally about the life of Demis Hassabis but tells you exactly how these dozen or so men have sat in the exact same rooms with the exact same pitches which is why you notice this convergence even from a distance. Our world is run by this single room of men. The book is stunningly good.
I person find all over-the-top weddings really gross. Maybe that’s just me.
Over the top excess in all forms is quite gross, I agree. But at the population level tolerance varies, and envy changes the equation, too.
I find it unfortunate that everyone thinks they need a showy wedding because everyone else is having one.
I think people would be so much happier with simple ceremonies with family and friends. They could enjoy a relaxed celebration instead of being part of a major production.
The article on perceptions of the ultra-wealthy is interesting. I'd like to see a survey on just how people perceive XXX ultra-wealthy by name. Warren Buffett doesn't get the same reception as Bezos, so I'm wondering if those perceptions are largely driven by (1) how they got their wealth (inheritance, inherent talent, exploitation) and (2) what they do with it (signicant amounts of charity/support/beneficial societal actions vs blowing it on 200 Ferraris).
Links to just such surveys in this piece https://www.experimental-history.com/p/stop-eating-lady-gagas-oreos?ref=shesabeast.co. The whole piece relates to this one, hypothesizing that to the general population fame now feels like a more likely path to upward mobility than business success. And therefore we give celebrities more of a pass for being rich. Credit to She’s a Beast for linking it the same week this went out. I enjoyed the pairing.
Educated is amazing. Anytime a Yesteryear fan has asked for something similar I've suggested this as the non-fiction pairing.
Well, Grace’s article (rather, Katie’s summary) makes me feel especially American (read: rugged individualism). During the primaries, I decided I was no longer going along with which candidate was more likely to win and needed my vote regardless of who my values aligned more closely (ex. voting for Hillary instead of Bernie). This also has me thinking that the US is the original participation-trophy country. We reward people for doing the easiest thing: putting yourself first.
Oh, also, re: Mr. Lipa giving Adam Sandler; he’s acting out the line from Billy Madison, “So hot. Want to touch the hiney.”
I really want to encourage people looking for various “reading curricula” to ask a local librarian or bookseller instead of consulting an AI tool! The people around you are a treasure trove of knowledge and history!
I actually think it’s more basic than that. A woman getting married is universally celebrated as the highest and best use of her life, energy and money. Taylor swift might be derided if she used her money to, say, buy elections - but no one is going to bat an eye no matter how ostentatious her wedding is.
It will be interesting how long it lasts. Bigger wedding less likely they will last 6 months?
I'd be very interested to read your thoughts on LLMs.
I'm fairly optimistic they will turn out to be far less relevant than the doomers and grifters say.