ISSUE 1.39

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In the Beginning

Understanding creation, dystopia in the mind, dystopia in the capitalism, ventilation shafts, human evolution, and more.

[aeon.co]

In the beginning

This is the great big question--will we ever understand the beginning of the universe? Our theoretical physicists create ideas of the universe so bizarre it makes Hinduism's cosmology seem straightforward and orderly and TIMECUBE like--OK, nevermind, that's still totally out there. But anyway, "[the oldest light in the universe] bore scars from time's violent beginning", and "to build a cosmos, you have to extend your imagination to all of space and all of time", and "there was one electromagnetic source they couldn't identify . . . it seemed to permeate the entire Universe". A good, awe-inspiring longish read.

[scout.ai]

Cory Doctorow: Dystopia is a State of Mind

Here's an interview with the author of Walkaway, a new dystopian novel about, well, very now themes. It sounds familiar. But this is an interesting, fairly short little discourse on how we consider ourselves to be just the people working the system, which is the point--the system, not the people. (But of course, no--it's the people who benefit from the system who are the point. Never forget that.) Instead, the book deals with people who reject the system, go against the grain, and dare to face the world "with clear eyes and open hearts". Which I agree with. Like staring straight into the eclipse. You can't beat me, eclipse!

[buzzfeed.com]

Americans Are Self-Medicating With Drugs For Animals, Even Fish, Instead Of Going To The Doctor

Yeah, yeah. Dystopia is a state of mind. MEANWHILE...

Sometimes I just want to laugh desperately, maniacally, at how dystopian the world literally is. But there's only so much reality a human mind can take! So.

[wikimedia.org]

100s of ventliation shafts from around the world (wikimedia search)

Thanks to this tweet for being clever enough to make this search, and to Jeremy for being cool enough to forward it to me. Man, I've... I've always liked cyberpunk things. Like, without even realizing it as cyberpunk, as an twelve year old I remember crazy underground scientific bunkers with super complicated password and retinal scanning technology being my jam. Even as an eight year old I played around with the idea of secrecy, with a journal that I intended to keep full of secrets and secret codes, and a monetized token system where you could pay me 50c to disburse a secret. Problem is, I didn't really have any secrets that were worth keeping--I just liked the idea of the system. (Sometimes I wonder if I wouldn't have fit in great at the CIA. I'm glad I went to art school instead. Glitchet is way cooler than the CIA.)

[theoutline.com]

The internet is making me sick

Do you feel yourself falling into the big M I N D S U C C of Twitter, Facebook, reddit, the feed, the algorithm? Look away. A gentle reminder that these things likely give you nothing; you must portion your energy, your attention, to the things that matter to you in your life. Decide to become informed in bursts and spurts; don't stare into the abyss, because the abyss is the entire internet and it wants you to like, retweet, and share its statuses and articles. All of them. Take your time. Breathe. Remember that the blood pumps through your veins, not through the internet. Unless you have a cybernetic arm, in which case, hit me up, please.

[aeon.co]

Human evolution is more a muddy delta than a branching tree

Two Aeon articles in a Glitchet?! Yes, because Aeon is amazing! (Please sponsor me. (I have no sponsorship program set up. I cry into the void.)) This one is about the family tree--I mean, the muddy fuckin' evolutionary delta--of human evolution works, showing it to be extraordinarily messy, divergent, with humans coming in and out to mate with one another back and forth throughout history. I mean, it makes sense--a family tree only looks like a tree when you're looking at things from one point of reference. The totality of human genetics must be a shitshow.

[motherboard.vice.com]

Mutant Yippies, LSD, and Cyberpunks: The Story of the Space Age Newspaper 'High Frontiers'

Now here's just one of those juicy, beautiful stories that you know erupts from the 70s in full glow of the LSD-driven cyberhippy age. (I just love all those words so much.)