The value of science, the future of media, and so many wines to choose from

Postcard #7

Fortepan / Urbán Tamás

Hello and welcome back to another edition of THE POSTCARD, Unregistered’s fortnightly roundup of recommendations.

Thoughts, tools, and treats

• Wine in numbers

  Peter Keller, the NZZ’s legendary wine critic, informs his readers that around 2,500 different grape varieties are approved for wine production worldwide, of which only about 50 are genuinely significant. Wine production in all wine-producing countries was 237 million hectoliters in 2023. France was at the top with a value of 48 million hectoliters.

• The value of science

  In 1955, Richard Feynmann reflected on the value of science. He closes his highly topical remarks by underlining the responsibility of scientists „to teach how doubt is not to be feared but welcomed and discussed and to demand this freedom.“ You can read the Nobel Prize winner’s address here.

• The future of media (and its consequences)

  New York Magazine published a very long story featuring 57 interviews with some of the most powerful people in media. Key takeaway: There is The New York Times („the Amazon of legacy media“) subsiding news with health, recipes, and games, and there are – niches. Money quote: „What actually has succeeded this year are operations — many of them run through Substack — that have low overhead and a focused appeal.“

  Meanwhile, Sam Kahn offers a convincing take on the political consequences of not adjusting to the new media landscape.

• Modern architecture, continued

  My post on what living in houses built by modern architects feels like continues to create controversy. Thanks to Freddie deBoer for featuring it in his latest subscriber writing roundup.

• Futzbucker

  Fellow Substacker Felix Futzbucker celebrates his name. A must-read.

Noteworthy

“I actually think the most important thing we can tell new college students is that they are privileged. In fact, they are amongst the most privileged people in human history. That’s not an insult, or a scolding, it’s just a fact. If you have potential, and are in an environment that provides you with opportunities to realize your potential, you are amongst the most fortunate human beings to walk this planet. Your life is not characterized by oppression; it’s characterized by agency.

The question before every college student, really, is simple: What will you do with your agency?“

—Eboo Patel, in a post titled How I Learned To Stop Criticizing Everything

A mystery link leading into the unknown

Believe it or not, being human is quite beautiful.

• Explore!

As always,

Dirk

P.S.: Feel free to send me pointers to articles, books, sites, pods, tools, and treats that could be interesting for this roundup. While I cannot promise to link them, I read and appreciate every hint.