This was originally published in my free weekly newsletter, How It Actually Works.

The Links

Adam Sandler’s New Special (netflix)

I’m no Adam Sandler fan, but I’ve watched the ending of this probably 4 times in the last 3 days.

You get the feeling for most of the show that Adam likes what he does but is still wondering why anyone pays him attention. “People I’ve been doing the same schtick for 30 years, why is this interesting to anyone?”

Jerry Seinfeld expressed a similar idea in Comedian In Cars, roughly: “People are so tired of my thing, it’ll be great to die.”

We all go through this, but I bet it’s a particularly introspective exercise when you’re made into a god for saying words that make people laugh.

What I Learned About Life at My 30th College Reunion (article, the atlantic)

“17. Drinks at a bar you used to go to with your freshman roommate are more fun 30 years later with that same freshman roommate.”

And:

“At a certain point midway on the timeline of one’s finite existence, the differences between people that stood out in youth take a backseat to similarities, with that mother of all universal themes—a sudden coming to grips with mortality—being the most salient.”

Data Factories (article, stratechery.com)

The mechanics of what makes Facebook and Google fundamentally different from previous industry giants.

Most Of What You Read Online Is Written By Insane People (article, reddit)

Tongue in cheek, but the point is: the vast majority of what we read online is created by a small fraction of the population.

An extension of this is the outrage machine. People who the most upset, on either side of a debate, are often an extreme outlier of what the actual population thinks.

I Can Tolerate Anything Except the Outgroup (article, slatestarcodex)

“Tolerance is also considered a virtue, but it suffers the same sort of dimished expectations forgiveness does.

“The Emperor summons before him Bodhidharma and asks: “Master, I have been tolerant of innumerable gays, lesbians, bisexuals, asexuals, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, transgender people, and Jews. How many Virtue Points have I earned for my meritorious deeds?”

“Bodhidharma answers: “None at all”.

“The Emperor, somewhat put out, demands to know why.

“Bodhidharma asks: “Well, what do you think of gay people?”

“The Emperor answers: “What do you think I am, some kind of homophobic bigot? Of course I have nothing against gay people!”

“And Bodhidharma answers: “Thus do you gain no merit by tolerating them!””

2018 Midterm Challengers (map, xkcd)

Not political other than it shows names of candidates. Fun. Very xkcd.

PS: There’s no online archive of my emails so if you want to share them you forward the email itself.

PPS: If this was forwarded to you you can signup to receive the weekly newsletter at HowItActuallyWorks.com. It comes out every Monday morning.

This was originally published in my weekly newsletter, How It Actually Works.