Friday Finds, XIX
Astrology in the Age of Uncertainty (The New Yorker)
In 2015, when Aliza Kelly was raising money for a short-lived astrology dating app called Align, she was mocked by prospective investors. (“Literally, this one guy wrote, ‘I usually wish people well, and in your case I don’t, because you’re defying science and the Enlightenment era,’ ” she told me.) Now venture capitalists, excited by a report from IBISWorld which found that Americans spend $2.2 billion annually on “mystical services” (including palmistry, tarot reading, etc.), are funnelling money into the area.
In America, to believe is to make money.
But also, to believe is human. This says way less about any supposed metaphysical reality and way more about the human brain.
Two years ago I sat down on an Amtrak train from NYC to Boston. Shortly afterward Senator Warren sat down in the seat behind me. (Twitter: Jelani Cobb)
I [...] thought I had [this] great story to tell about getting a ride from Senator Warren and multiple people there were underwhelmed or at least not surprised. “Yeah, that’s something she would do,” several people told me.
I'm still pretty sad.
No Cell Signal, No Wi-Fi, No Problem (NYTimes)
“I don’t like to keep my face in my phone all the time because I like to enjoy what’s in the moment.”
That was said by a goddamn 14-year old who lives in this bizarre paradise.
Also, this is fucking sad:
“We’re related to people who tend not to come visit because the teenagers are stressed out too much about not being on wireless,” said Dr. Karen O’Neil, the director of the observatory. On a recent afternoon, Dr. O’Neil stood in the observatory’s basement, where several high school students were tinkering with a computerized robot.
I've Been Stretching While High, and I Can't Recommend It Enough (Bon Appetit)
I’ve started stretching while high. And it feels gooooood. Like, orgasmic good.
Cannabis is cool.