Vesper-Tink Lynd
@vespertinklynd.bsky.social
Political questions are far too serious to be left to politicians. Hannah Arendt
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
Excellent piece.
“Every reduction in friction is sold as liberation: freed up for creativity, freed up for higher pursuits. But freedom from what, exactly? Freedom from the very activities that build capacity, that create meaning, that forge identity, that make us feel we matter.”
“Every reduction in friction is sold as liberation: freed up for creativity, freed up for higher pursuits. But freedom from what, exactly? Freedom from the very activities that build capacity, that create meaning, that forge identity, that make us feel we matter.”
The Soul Forged in Friction
I remember watching my daughter struggle with her shoelaces.
hybridhorizons.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Excellent piece.
“Every reduction in friction is sold as liberation: freed up for creativity, freed up for higher pursuits. But freedom from what, exactly? Freedom from the very activities that build capacity, that create meaning, that forge identity, that make us feel we matter.”
“Every reduction in friction is sold as liberation: freed up for creativity, freed up for higher pursuits. But freedom from what, exactly? Freedom from the very activities that build capacity, that create meaning, that forge identity, that make us feel we matter.”
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
This is about as good a survey as I've seen of where Europe's center (and center-right in Germany) have gone wrong, what they could do to course correct, and the stakes involved.
By David Broder.
By David Broder.
Opinion | They Were Supposed to Save Europe. Instead, They’re Condemning It to Horrors.
www.nytimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 10:11 AM
This is about as good a survey as I've seen of where Europe's center (and center-right in Germany) have gone wrong, what they could do to course correct, and the stakes involved.
By David Broder.
By David Broder.
Are we doomed? www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
David Runciman · Are we doomed? The End of the Species
Are we doomed to die out? We find ourselves at the only point in the history of the species when the rate of population...
www.lrb.co.uk
December 3, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Are we doomed? www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
While Western nations focus on the competitive threat of Chinese EVs, a different challenge is reshaping the auto industry. Beijing's legacy automakers are saturating emerging & second-tier markets with fossil-fuel vehicles — often undercutting their foreign partners
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
China floods the world with gasoline cars it can't sell at home
While Western nations focus on the competitive threat of Chinese EVs, a different challenge is reshaping the auto industry. Beijing's legacy automakers are saturating emerging and second-tier markets ...
www.reuters.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:19 AM
While Western nations focus on the competitive threat of Chinese EVs, a different challenge is reshaping the auto industry. Beijing's legacy automakers are saturating emerging & second-tier markets with fossil-fuel vehicles — often undercutting their foreign partners
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
Bank of England warns of AI bubble risk, "sharp correction" in the value of major tech companies.
Repetition of dotcom mania, binge funded by banks.
Govt response - deregulation and lower capital requirements for banks.
Strategy for avoiding the crash?
Repetition of dotcom mania, binge funded by banks.
Govt response - deregulation and lower capital requirements for banks.
Strategy for avoiding the crash?
Bank of England warns of AI bubble risk
The central bank says US stock price valuations are their most stretched since the dotcom bubble burst.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 2, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Bank of England warns of AI bubble risk, "sharp correction" in the value of major tech companies.
Repetition of dotcom mania, binge funded by banks.
Govt response - deregulation and lower capital requirements for banks.
Strategy for avoiding the crash?
Repetition of dotcom mania, binge funded by banks.
Govt response - deregulation and lower capital requirements for banks.
Strategy for avoiding the crash?
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
Same old, same old: “In terms of content, my perception is that what is currently happening is not what one would understand as a major deradicalization effort,” said @asheinze.bsky.social #farright #radicalright #Germany
Germany’s far-right AfD forms new youth wing in attempt to revamp extremist image
Alternative for Germany’s previous youth group was dissolved to avert a possible ban.
www.politico.eu
November 28, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Same old, same old: “In terms of content, my perception is that what is currently happening is not what one would understand as a major deradicalization effort,” said @asheinze.bsky.social #farright #radicalright #Germany
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
7. the kinda appealing, but substantively indefensible, idea that somehow AI is different to other technology, like calculators, in a pedagogical context — but we totally ban a great deal of technology in the classroom.
(Section 3.7 here doi.org/10.5281/zeno...)
9/n
(Section 3.7 here doi.org/10.5281/zeno...)
9/n
September 6, 2025 at 8:46 AM
7. the kinda appealing, but substantively indefensible, idea that somehow AI is different to other technology, like calculators, in a pedagogical context — but we totally ban a great deal of technology in the classroom.
(Section 3.7 here doi.org/10.5281/zeno...)
9/n
(Section 3.7 here doi.org/10.5281/zeno...)
9/n
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
The numbers in here are hilarious.
Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%
Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%
Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Three years into the generative-AI wave, demand for the technology seems surprisingly flimsy
Investors expect AI use to soar. That’s not happening
Recent surveys point to flatlining business adoption
econ.st
November 30, 2025 at 12:28 AM
The numbers in here are hilarious.
Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%
Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Do you use AI on the job?
Execs: 87%
Managers: 57%
Workers: 27%
Planned investment by 2030: $5T
"Necessary" annual revenue to justify that spend: $650B
Current annual revenue: $50B
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
This bleak (but unfortunately compelling) thread makes me think that the individual human mind/psyche is just ill-suited to being plugged into machines that allow everyone everywhere to be simultaneously talking about everything that has ever happened or could have happened at any time in any place.
This is not a "students today" post--it's more "this is a new form of dysfunction" that doesn't look exactly like it's been in previous decades. It's more than just "first-year chaos." It's an across-the-board inability to process instructions, engage with longer texts, and *connect* with others.
November 29, 2025 at 3:06 PM
This bleak (but unfortunately compelling) thread makes me think that the individual human mind/psyche is just ill-suited to being plugged into machines that allow everyone everywhere to be simultaneously talking about everything that has ever happened or could have happened at any time in any place.
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
one reason "great power competition" is a bad description of the emerging order is that an interlinked global kleptocracy does not care about national interests or rivalries
Extraordinary WSJ reporting today that unveils the extent to which Trump, Witkoff, Kushner and US business executives are salivating over business deals with Russia while Putin’s forces kidnap Ukranian children and bomb civilians in their apartments.
🎁 www.wsj.com/world/russia...
🎁 www.wsj.com/world/russia...
November 29, 2025 at 2:42 PM
one reason "great power competition" is a bad description of the emerging order is that an interlinked global kleptocracy does not care about national interests or rivalries
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 28, 2025 at 10:15 PM
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
Viet Thanh Nguyen once wrote, “All wars are fought twice, the first on the battlefield, the second in memory.”
My piece in @TheCriticMag on the warnings to be heeded from the war in Ukraine, about the shape of conflicts to come:
thecritic.co.uk/ukraine-what...
thecritic.co.uk/ukraine-what...
Ukraine: what have we learnt? | Patrick Porter | The Critic Magazine
As the scholar and novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen once wrote, “All wars are fought twice, the first on the battlefield, the second in memory.” Ukraine’s war with Russia is not yet over, of course.
thecritic.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Viet Thanh Nguyen once wrote, “All wars are fought twice, the first on the battlefield, the second in memory.”
In this episode Elissa & guest host Alissa de Carbonnel are joined by Sabine Freizer Gunes, UN Women representative for Ukraine, about how the war in Ukraine has shaped & amplified gender inequalities in Ukraine & how women & women’s organisations are responding.
open.spotify.com/episode/4rlo...
open.spotify.com/episode/4rlo...
How Ukraine’s Women Are Meeting the Challenges of War
open.spotify.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:42 PM
In this episode Elissa & guest host Alissa de Carbonnel are joined by Sabine Freizer Gunes, UN Women representative for Ukraine, about how the war in Ukraine has shaped & amplified gender inequalities in Ukraine & how women & women’s organisations are responding.
open.spotify.com/episode/4rlo...
open.spotify.com/episode/4rlo...
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
There is a whole underworld of exploited workers who make up the foundation of digital tech. We talk about content moderators, but content farms are also very exploitative industries where moderately educated people with reasonable English skills in the global majority are used to push content.
It may be hard to believe, but Twitter was once a useful public space instead of a weird monetization scheme for racist ragebait chatbots.
the last 24 hours on X, summed up:
November 23, 2025 at 6:02 PM
There is a whole underworld of exploited workers who make up the foundation of digital tech. We talk about content moderators, but content farms are also very exploitative industries where moderately educated people with reasonable English skills in the global majority are used to push content.
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
Blessed are the peacemakers
November 23, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Blessed are the peacemakers
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
@anandwrites.bsky.social has nailed in this piece what has been grinding away at my gut since my own review of the Epstein files— that there truly is an “Epstein class” of elites, inured to the pain of the rest of us, committed to their own ends no matter the cost.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Opinion | How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:35 PM
@anandwrites.bsky.social has nailed in this piece what has been grinding away at my gut since my own review of the Epstein files— that there truly is an “Epstein class” of elites, inured to the pain of the rest of us, committed to their own ends no matter the cost.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
The philosopher Michael Oakeshott reminds us that historical myth-making is at the heart of politics.
engelsbergideas.com/essays/on-th...
engelsbergideas.com/essays/on-th...
On the uses of a legendary past
The philosopher Michael Oakeshott reminds us that historical myth-making is at the heart of politics.
engelsbergideas.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:42 PM
The philosopher Michael Oakeshott reminds us that historical myth-making is at the heart of politics.
engelsbergideas.com/essays/on-th...
engelsbergideas.com/essays/on-th...
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
“There are some stories where there are no winners—only losers. This is one of those stories.”
Moral rot in elite journalism is killing the whole field
The Nuzzi/RFK Jr. mess and the revelation of Epstein’s journo pals lay bare a profound moral absence at the heart of our free press.
www.thehandbasket.co
November 22, 2025 at 1:28 PM
“There are some stories where there are no winners—only losers. This is one of those stories.”
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
Cas Mudde spells out what has become largely the consensus among researchers: moving right on immigration will not weaken the far right nor strengthen social democracy. If your reaction is "but in Denmark" please at least familiarize yourself with Danish politics
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The ‘Danish model’ is the darling of centre-left parties like Labour. The problem is, it doesn’t even work in Denmark | Cas Mudde
This week’s local elections are the latest reminder that when social democrats move rightwards, they’re making a mistake, says academic and author Cas Mudde
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Cas Mudde spells out what has become largely the consensus among researchers: moving right on immigration will not weaken the far right nor strengthen social democracy. If your reaction is "but in Denmark" please at least familiarize yourself with Danish politics
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
When violence is carried out in our name but without our voice, what kind of democracy remains?
aeon.co/essays/it-is...
aeon.co/essays/it-is...
It is not democratic to go to war without the people’s consent | Aeon Essays
The gravest of all decisions, to go to war, happens without the consent of the people. This is a great flaw in democracy
aeon.co
November 22, 2025 at 8:37 PM
When violence is carried out in our name but without our voice, what kind of democracy remains?
aeon.co/essays/it-is...
aeon.co/essays/it-is...
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
This is completely disgusting. Today, the CDC updated their vaccine safety page. It now says:
“The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism”.
“The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism”.
November 20, 2025 at 2:53 AM
This is completely disgusting. Today, the CDC updated their vaccine safety page. It now says:
“The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism”.
“The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism”.
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
Reposted by Vesper-Tink Lynd
If some of your favourite apps and web services are not working this morning, it's likely because there is a massive CloudFlare outage affecting many of these services.
November 18, 2025 at 12:34 PM
If some of your favourite apps and web services are not working this morning, it's likely because there is a massive CloudFlare outage affecting many of these services.