Tariffs and toddlers
Postcard #19
Hello and welcome back to another edition of THE POSTCARD, Unregistered’s fortnightly roundup of recommendations.
Thoughts, tools, and treats
Another week of narcissism, nihilism, and a few things to brighten the mood.
Tariffs and everyday life
The New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov explains that tariffs raise prices on foreign and domestic wines, harm small businesses (like American winemakers), and lead to less diversity and choice.
Another round of love-hate
Nora Gomringer, a German writer, comments on what is going on in the US: „Time and again, the line from Hoffmann's 'Struwwelpeter' comes back to me when I think about German bewilderment: 'And the mother silently looks all around the table.' The poor woman can do no more when confronted with this Fidgety Philip. With every line I write here, I distance myself further from the admired, beloved, wild, hilarious, heartfelt, impressively clever, and bloody stupid country.“
ChatGPME
Shalom Auslander: „As for ChatGPT, the hundreds of millions of dollars invested in this technology sounded mostly like what I expected: a lousy nightclub impression of me by someone who doesn’t know me at all. ChatGPME didn’t think to use ChatGPT to compare our voices. It didn’t discuss my mother. It didn’t mention my underwear. It didn’t discuss the challenge of writing of humor, and it didn’t express my appreciation for this twisted little community of ours.“
Why Philosophy?
Céline Leboeuf is a professor who loves applying philosophy to everyday life. On her Substack, she asks philosophers how they were introduced to philosophy and why the discipline matters today. You can subscribe here.
How to win an argument with a toddler
This 286-word post by Seth Godin is simply the smartest I’ve read in a long time. Learn how to argue with defensive bureaucrats, bullies, flat earthers, folks committed to a specific agenda, and radio talk show hosts.
Noteworthy
„Or Jordan Peterson versus some lefty person. It's just the Kardashians for people with three-figure IQs. Like, that's all it is. It's just, it’s reality TV for the Substack generation.”
—Chris Williamson in his Modern Wisdom podcast #805 on the fourth of July, 2024
A mystery link leading into the unknown
Beautiful video from a new Substacker:
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.
I was actually and really wondering how you COULD win arguments with toddlers. But - as expected - also Godin says "you can't." On the other hand, it isn't that only the "other" dumb people have ego-investments and act like toddlers when you challenge them on these topics. The truth is, we all have them. We're all toddlers in one way or another ...