The Best of April

Konbini, academic courage, staircases, and weird

Cloud vortices formed by Mawson Peak in the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (claimed by Australia, inhabited by penguins facing steep tariffs). Mawson Peak’s adret can be seen in the lower left of the vortices. Photo by NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team.

When I was a college student, I was occasionally questioned by some of my classmates about my unusual class choices. Taking Astrosociology and a history of coffee class were not degree requirements nor did they make it easier to get a summer consulting/finance gig (which would surely guarantee my future). My response was that interesting classes would make me fun at dinner parties.

While the dinner party circuit is less keen on the societal impact of first contact with aliens than anticipated, the same idea applies here. In preparing this month’s “Best of…”, I read a grotesque description of medieval theories on the origin of life, a far too wordy essay on Martha Nussbaum’s philosophy, and an accounting of the path to building the world’s first hyper-sized data center. None of those made it to April’s list, but it’s the journey that counts.

Now, I mostly see my own search for diverse perspectives as a reassurance that the majority of my time and energy is still focused on what I enjoy most. You cannot be fully knowledgeable in your own “field” without exploring its bigger context nor confident that your pursuits are worthwhile without trying a little bit of something else. There is a freedom that comes from questioning your interests and exploring a broader horizon. That was the case for my “Landmarks of World Architecture” course, and I hope that is the case for the potpourri of articles for you below.

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Introduction to The Adret

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Starting this edition, I am adding reading time estimates for each article to make it easier to fit a good read into your busy schedule.

Without further ado…

• What is weird? The Asterisk (17 mins.)

• An ode to the ode to the Konbini. Financial Times (4 mins.)

• Interviewing one of the first leaders of the academic coalition of courage. The New Yorker (14 mins.)

  • For more responses from Universities see Harvard’s homepage and letter announcing their lawsuit, Rutgers’ starting a “Mutual Defense Compact”, and a letter signed by 200+ higher-ed leaders.

• Reader submission: A visual story of global migration through Meta data. The New York Times (~11 mins.)

• The Knot(ty) fake bride problem. The New Yorker (26 mins.)

• Writing, both words and music, is liberating. The Atlantic (11 mins.)

• The push for single-stair apartment buildings, which recently scored a victory in Austin. The Architect’s Newspaper (6 mins.) and a policy tracker.

• Bosnia the bellwether. Foreign Affairs (10 mins.)

• Another set of “secrets” to happiness. New York Times (6 mins.)

• Roadmapping a new economic zeitgeist, with all of the troubles that may bring. Foreign Affairs (22 mins.)

• Transplanting the powerhouse of the cell. The Economist (5 mins.)

Wishing you all an excellent May, full of good reads and occasional hope.