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DL 325

All Out of F*cks To Give

Published: March 26, 2022 • 📧 Newsletter

🔖 Key Takeaways

Welcome back all. Here is Digitally Literate, issue 325.

My publication of this newsletter has been inconsistent over the last month. I have been traveling a lot in between classes as my father quickly fought, and ultimately lost a battle against lung cancer. I will travel again next week as we're holding a celebration of his life near where I grew up.

My father was a regular reader of this newsletter and my writing. Not long after I would post an issue, he would call me up to talk through how great the entire issue was, or a specific post that I wrote. I often highlight when readers reach out to me to say thanks. I would be remiss if I didn't say thank you to one of my longest, most ardent supporters. (▰˘︹˘▰)

📺 Watch

"Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower" by Rainer Maria Rilke.

We know poetry to be a critical pillar of public life. It rises up when official language fails us. And it gives voice to what is human and what is true, how we connect and what questions we hold.

📚 Read

Mark Manson breaks down how outrage spreads and dissipates in the age of social media. He identifies three waves:

  1. Wave One - The Primary Viral Wave: Within 72 hours, the initial event generates hot takes, critiques, and misinformation.
  2. Wave Two - The Reactionary Viral Wave: Tribalism emerges as camps form and combat one another's narratives.
  3. Wave Three - Anti-Reactionary Viral Wave: Cooler heads prevail, often calling for unity or educating on the event's complexities.

This cycle often distracts us from long-term progress as we're swept from one outrage to the next. Understanding the pattern helps us choose when and how to engage.

Researchers suggest the internet acts as a "supernormal stimulus," making traditional methods of memory and cognition redundant. While this reliance may free up mental space, it also risks blurring the lines between our minds and devices.

The long-term effects on our cognition remain uncertain, but this shift is changing how we interact with the world and store knowledge. What cognitive capacities are we gaining, and which are we losing?

As tech advances rapidly, our ability to adapt and regulate lags behind. This piece outlines the steps we can take to promote humane tech, starting with raising awareness and fostering healthier habits.

The question for all of us: How can we reshape our digital spaces to prioritize human well-being over engagement metrics?

This reflective post critiques traditional grading and its impact on student learning. It aligns with discussions about ungrading, where final exams could represent 100% of a grade but allow multiple attempts.

It challenges us to rethink assessment practices to foster growth rather than conformity. What would education look like if we measured learning rather than compliance?

Despite the noise on social media, research suggests most people are moderate, friendly, and disengaged from online conflict. The trend suggests that everything is not as bad as we think it is.

Put a different way, if you look on social media, life appears to be a giant hellscape. But different threads seem to suggest that it's a small number of vocal, bad actors that are creating a bunch of noise and influencing others.

This "silent majority" could provide a counterbalance to polarization, but how can their voices be amplified in meaningful ways?

🔨 Do

Navigate grief using this tongue-in-cheek framework:

  1. 😱
  2. 🙃
  3. 😬
  4. 😤
  5. 😑
  6. 😐
  7. 💅

It's okay to move between these emojis as you process your emotions.

🤔 Consider

The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology.

Edward O. Wilson

Wilson's observation captures the mismatch at the heart of our digital struggles—outrage cycles that exploit ancient tribal instincts, platforms that outpace regulatory capacity, brains being reshaped by tools we barely understand. The question isn't whether to use technology, but how to build institutions that can govern it wisely.

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