The Monday Mix (13/12/2019)
Hi friends,
Not much to report this week. We’re all being urged to get booster jabs for Omicron here in the UK and I’m getting mine tomorrow.
I do have a nagging feeling we may see more restrictions here, much like last Christmas when we were put in a form of lockdown. With the hapless and woefully incompetent Boris Johnson running the show, anything is possible.
If the pandemic has taught me anything about governance it’s that competence is a much more valuable commodity for running a country than you can imagine. When you have to check the news constantly to see what your leader has done next, that’s a good sign you’re in bad hands.
Skin in the game - Here’s an essay I wrote earlier in the year about the concept of skin in the game. After nearly two years of living through a pandemic, I feel this concept is as relevant as ever.
Cocaine in Rotterdam
No matter how much governments try, people are going to take drugs. It’s happened for thousands of years and it will continue to happen for thousands of years. This story about men risking their lives to transport cocaine from shipping containers in Rotterdam highlights the absurdity of modern drug policies. Surely, it’s better to regulate the industry, take it out of the hands of criminals and into the hands of the state? Or is this simply wishful thinking on my part?
The war on drugs has failed, why not try a different policy. As the numbers in the article show, people are only going to continue to take more and more drugs. It’s a problem that isn’t going away.
Life After Death
Not an article about the afterlife but how we relate to death in the here and now. One of the curiosities of the modern world is our relationship with death. For something that is guaranteed to happen to every one of us at some point, it’s almost become taboo. We have an unhealthy obsession with pushing death to the margins of society. Since Covid, it’s been at the forefront. Maybe the pandemic will inspire a rethink on our relationship with one of the certainties of life. I certainly hope so.
Tiger King
One of the hits of the first lockdown was the Netflix series, Tiger King. I watched it and was riveted by the ridiculous characters, their backstories and what followed. It was great TV and pure entertainment. But do I need to watch another series? In a word, no.
I believe this is one of the main problems with culture and popular entertainment today. We’re hurtling toward a dead-end where creativity is throttled and metrics and money are chased over art. Endless reboots, sequels, prequels, cinematic universes. All geared towards more and more content. Where’s the originality and standalone pieces?
I feel like this is a topic for a wider essay but our obsession and stasis when it comes to culture is a reflection of society has shunned big ideas and decided to stick to what we know instead, for better or worse.
Book I’m reading - The Art of Statistics by David Spiegelhalter
Still making my way through this interesting book on the world of statistics. It’s a great primer on the subject if you feel you’d like to understand the world of numbers and how easy it is to misunderstand them. With concern with Omicron ratcheting up, it’s as good a time as any to better acquainted with statistics.
Quote I’m pondering: “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” – St Augustine
That’s all for this week.
Until next time,
Tom