Naive hypothesis:
A lot of the Gen Z negativity around work arises from the increased load of 'emotional labor' required by a lot of service jobs - smiling, being patient, handling rude customers, tolerating shoplifting, etc.

Back in 1983, Arlie Hochschild published her classic book 'The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling', which analyzed the distinctive emotional & self-control demands of customer-facing service work, compared to agricultural/industrial work.

You could be a grumpy plowman, coal miner, or factory worker. Didn't matter much. But now, you're not allowed to be a grumpy salesperson, barista, flight attendant, or customer service rep. Especially in America, these newer roles demand a level of simulated cheerfulness, empathy with customers, & self-control that can feel pretty inauthentic and alienating. I wonder if this contributes to the huge rise in depression and anxiety in younger adults.

On top of this 'emotional labor', there's a new layer of 'ideological labor', in which young people not only have to feign cheerfulness, but also have to pretend they believe in ideological and political values that they don't really care about -- the endless diversity training, DEI initiatives, & political peer pressure.

So, I have some sympathy with younger adults who feel that their jobs require an onerous level of emotional labor, and ideological labor, above and beyond the practical requirements of the job.

tldr: It's not just the nominal jobs that are exhausting them. It's the corporate expectations of feigned cheerfulness & mandatory wokeness that amplify the exhaustion & alienation. PS Of course, service & sales jobs aren't new. By the time Hochschild published her book in 1983, they'd been around for decades - which was exactly why she considered them worth analyzing.

But, I suspect that modern work involves a degree of managerial control over worker behavior (e.g. constant video surveillance, customer ratings & feedback systems, employee attitude training, increased reliance on tipping) that goes far beyond what service jobs required in the 1950s through 1980s.

The gun issue isn't just a problem of diverging partisan values. It's also a problem of widespread, basic, empirical ignorance about guns, especially among many gun control advocates.

Let me explain in this thread.... Until about 10 years ago, I thought we needed much stronger gun control. I'd been a registered Democrat most of my adult life. I hadn't fired a gun since age 12 at summer camp. I was ignorant about firearms, & I was ignorant about my ignorance.

gif art by konczakowski ..

Saturday night art 2 (thread)

Saturday night art (thread 1)

Abstract cathedral art (made with @WOMBO )

Human instincts for status-seeking & signaling are being re-directed into virtual gaming worlds.

If you understand this, you'll be investing aggressively (but very selectively) in the nascent crypto gaming/NFT/metaverse industry in 2022.

Recommended reading:
#crypto @ZssBecker PS here's an essay about virtue-signaling through augmented reality apps that I wrote back in 2000. I think the same principles will apply to NFTs/metaverse/gaming. Finally.
primalpoly.com/s/2000-moral-v…

gif art by Erica Anderson (thread)
@ericaofanderson
. ..

gif art by pi-slices (thread 1/n) 2/n

Friday evening #poolcore thread. (1/n) 2.

I have a few things to say to @elonmusk about crypto.

If enough of you agree & retweet this thread, maybe he’ll read it.

Maybe he’ll figure out how to undo some of the damage he’s done to the crypto industry, & to redeem his reputation among customers, investors, & fans. Until a few months ago, millions of smart nerdy guys all around the world (including me) looked up to Elon as a tech genius, alpha chad billionaire, personal role model, multi-planetary visionary, and potential savior from some existential risks to our species.

Our Iron Man.

Does #Bitcoin have a long-term future?
(long thread, 1/24)

I thought I might as well air some worries, which might be common but unarticulated among crypto newbies like me.

These worries center around BTC's medium-term vulnerability to propaganda attacks & psyop hacks... 2. I accept that bitcoin is technically brilliant, politically visionary, globally empowering, maybe the future of money, etc etc. Hopefully we'll use something like BTC when we colonize the galaxy, long term.

And BTC might still be a good investment short term.

However...

Today is the first anniversary of marriage to @sentientist. We wrote on own wedding vows, and I thought I'd share them in this thread, in case anyone's curious about how we think about our relationship. (1/N). Together:
We are grateful for all that led to this moment

Geoffrey:
We are grateful to this universe that sparked life,
and that sustains the evolution of endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful.

Here's the new 'Inclusivity Statement' that's in the syllabus for all of the college courses I teach. The goal is to promote genuine diversity of opinion & to nudge students to respect each other's freedom of speech & freedom of conscience... (Thread, 1/15) "You’re welcome in this class! I will try to make this class a truly inclusive and mutually respectful place – not just in terms of demographics, but in terms of background, sexuality, family circumstances, values, interests, religion, politics, and other beliefs.

While you're distracted by riots, activists are trying to censor & fire every professor who disagrees with PC orthodoxy.

Dozens of professors suddenly face cancellation this week.

This is the Purge. This is the Zerg Rush. This is it.

We need your support, or academia falls. PS in terms of how people can help, I'm discussing some possible strategies with friends & colleagues, & will share some ideas in due course.

It's not easy, given the circumstances.

Start by following @TheFIREorg, @HdxAcademy, @Quillette, & @SpeechUnion

An honest US federal government would say all of the following (thread, 1/N):

1) We messed up about as badly as any government can mess up when confronting this crisis;

2) We should have planned much better for pandemics in general, and we utterly failed you in that duty; 3) We should have followed the Covid-19 threat much more closely, much earlier, but we were preoccupied with petty partisan squabbles & PR;

4) The emergency measures we've taken violate the US Constitution, violate many of your rights, and violate the Oaths of Office we took;

I hate gyms & 'workouts'. Here's my exercise regime while working from home.

It just requires a timer, some dice, & some basic equipment like kettlebells & power tower.

It violates some (largely untested) folk wisdom from 'exercise science', but it works for me...
(thread) 1) When working on your computer or whatever, set a timer to go beep every 20 minutes.
2) When it beeps, throw some dice to randomize which exercise you do next
3) For each exercise, just get up & do _one_ set, as many reps as you can (with good form), or as fast as you can....

My #coronaprepping list (long thread).

This pandemic means you might be stuck indoors for weeks, working from home, kids out of school, worried & bored.

Here’s some stuff that might be useful to get now, before shortages, so you & your family can survive & thrive. Health basics:
Thermometer: amzn.to/2WfLvNx
Hand soap: amzn.to/2wJoWWB
Hand moisturizer: amzn.to/38Ht1rx
Nitrile gloves: amzn.to/2uTKa3r
Dishwashing gloves: amzn.to/2Q6pgpe
Baby wipes: amzn.to/39IjT7B