War of Ideas

• #25 - Envy, NPCs, and the Worship of the Self

  The rise of envy from social media and the rise of individualism are having downstream effects on how we view the people around us and what goals we set for ourselves. Always looking out for number one is good for us in some respects but can make us feel lonely and rudderless. Books referenced - Generations by Jean Twenge, Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman Email me at [email protected] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codycimbal.substack.com

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• #24 - Meritocracy

  "The progressive among us want our society to be equal, and yet many of the selfsame people uncritically accept the notion of meritocracy, the idea that we should receive rewards consistent with our abilities. Meritocracy is a machine for creating inequality; that is its very purpose. Only the false god of "equality of opportunity" keeps the fiction of meritocracy plus equality alive." - deBoer   Bringing together different articles, books, opinion pieces, and other audio clips of people more gifted at speaking and writing than myself together and bundling them into one dissertation is something that I feel this podcast does well. And hopefully I encourage people who are interested in the topic to read or hear it from the experts for more information.   These four charts show how the SAT favors rich, educated families The Washington Post, 2014   How Life Became an Endless, Terrible Competition - Daniel Markovits, The Atlantic, 2019   The tyranny of merit - Michael Sandel, TED, 2020   Making Sense Podcast - Michael Sandel and Sam Harris   Books referenced - The Cult of Smart by Fredrik deBoer, Mortal Questions by Thomas Nagel   Email me at [email protected] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codycimbal.substack.com

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• #23 - The Wisdom of Insecurity

  Why aren't we happier? We don’t always do voluntary things for enjoyment. Leisure time is spent trying to be productive or trying to keep up with the Joneses. We let somebody else's goals become our goals. Not only that, but we usually aren't connected to the present moment when we do spend our time wisely. Don't forget to think about what it is that you are trying to get out of life. What you're trying to get out of this moment of free time you have. We don't want to let an ad dictate what we consider to be entertaining. We don’t want social media algorithms dictating what we become interested in and to lead us down a rabbit hole. But, we do want to follow rabbit holes we are genuinely interested in. Rabbit holes that feed our curiosity, not our envy or our desire to fit in. We want to fall in love, to be obsessed with, to be engaged with what we’re doing. "I cannot remember the books I have read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me." - Ralph Waldo Emerson Alan Lightman's article from April 2020 -  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/coronavirus-is-changing-habits-of-mind/609181/ Email me at [email protected] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codycimbal.substack.com

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• #22 - Winning the Information War

  How did the problem of misinformation and disinformation get so bad? Belonging is stronger than facts. How do we fix it?   "Extreme opinions inspire loyalty among a minority that is ultimately more valuable than the unenthusiastic approval of the whole crowd. These are unhealthy incentives. But they are powerful incentives. Readers always, always tell me that they just want to see the academic posts, just the serious posts. What they don’t seem to realize is that if I had stuck to writing just those thoughtful essays they wouldn’t have heard of me in the first place." - Fredrik deBoer   Election Integrity Partnership report (includes six page summary and option to download full report)  - https://www.eipartnership.net/report   Article with intro quote from Renee DiResta - https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2018/11/28/the-digital-maginot-line/   Infographic on how narratives spread online (from EIP) - https://i.imgur.com/QA00Yfz.png   Article detailing the mail dumping events in Greenville, Wisconsin by Renee DiResta - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/03/right-wing-propagandists-were-doing-something-unique/618267/   Article explaining why belonging is stronger than facts by Zeynep Tufekci - https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/08/14/240325/how-social-media-took-us-from-tahrir-square-to-donald-trump/   Article on why crowds are powerful by Renee DiResta - https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2016/09/15/crowds-and-technology/   News that Facebook is changing the way it recommends groups - https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-crack-groups-break-rules-rcna435   Timeline infographic from the EIP that shows what tech platforms did to stem misinformation leading up to the election - https://i.imgur.com/iGLGKHB.png   More information on the The Redirect Method - https://redirectmethod.org/   Article on the rise of "content cartels" and their collaboration with one another by Evelyn Douek - https://knightcolumbia.org/content/the-rise-of-content-cartels   Freddie DeBoer blog post on why censoring people isn't the answer - https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/you-cant-censor-away-extremism-or   Email me at [email protected] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codycimbal.substack.com

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• #21 - Marketing and Meaning

  Attention is one of the most precious things we have. How do we make sure that we're paying attention to the things we really want? Better yet, how do we make sure the things we pay attention to are actually conducive to our happiness and well-being? Companies like Google aren't doing us any favors in figuring this out. Take the time to decide why you want something. Don't let others make the decision for you.   Essay on advertising and happiness by Thomas Wells - https://www.philosophersbeard.org/2014/08/if-youre-so-rich-why-arent-you-happier.html   Article on "corporate speak" by Molly Young https://www.vulture.com/2020/02/spread-of-corporate-speak.html   Email me at [email protected] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codycimbal.substack.com

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