Mad Max and Meme Thinking (Especially Among the Educated) 

This essay by one of our favorites essayists, Freddie deBoer, begins with an argument about Mad Max’s role in Fury Road and then slips into a contemplation of how most Americans (and probably most people in the developed world) form opinions today – a view that I wholeheartedly share.

He says:

“I’m aware that this next part will sound impossibly conceited no matter how I put it, so here goes: I think ideas become memes because a lot of people are afraid to have their own ideas. I think people say this sort of thing because the internet has taught them that the only thing that matters in life is appearing clever and so they say stuff other people have already preapproved of as clever ideas.”

Read the full piece here.

Why Don’t “Tough” and “Dough” Rhyme?

English orthography and pronunciation are subjects that, for reasons I can’t justify, have always fascinated me. Why is our spelling so irregular?

When I was in graduate school, I took a course in linguistics and two others on Middle and Old English, and I learned the history of our language and the answers to many of the questions I had. My memory of those lessons has faded some, but I still like to read and talk about the subject whenever it arises.

It’s not that often. But yesterday, I came across this micro-history that is entertaining as well as edifying. At least, it was to me. I hope it will be to you!

From Peter Attia: A Breakthrough in Alzheimer’s 

In this episode of Attia’s podcast The Drive, he sits down with Dana Dubal, a physician-scientist whose work focuses on the mechanisms of longevity and brain resilience. A good part of the discussion is devoted to Alzheimer’s disease – and since that’s what killed my mother, I am very interested in any progress scientists are making in terms of early detection and treatment.