Satellite Haiku

MiLo shares an update on his grandbabies and uses that to riff on the constant versus the variant (nature versus nurture). We linger on parenthood for a bit, and then we talk about approaches to human learning, analogous approaches to training AI, Waldorf education, screen use and attention span, ADHD, the purpose of school and different college majors, STEM versus the humanities, the idea of the “collective” (i.e. society) and its obstacles, globalization, “fraternity” versus selfishness, whether selfishness is endemic (constant) or learned (variant), proxy debates in politics, Steven Pinker’s view of human progress, the need for certainty and cognitive closure, religious belief. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We talk about audiophiles, stereos of our youth, early portable music devices, white gentrification, artistic idiosyncrasies, writing, the pap smear test, videoconferencing apps, libertarians, Andreessen, Musk, Zuckerberg and the end of the Metaverse, the stupidity of supposedly smart people, the daily barrage of crime and scandal, fears about the midterms and 2028 elections.Mentioned in this episodeDr. Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek physician and pathologist who developed the “Pap Smear” screening method in the 1920s to detect cancerous cells in the cervixEx Machina (2014 film) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We talk about the challenge of focusing on normal life, Trump’s fundamental laziness and capriciousness, art after tragedies like 9/11, the diminishing returns of escapism, dystopia-induced anxiety vs depression, eschatological beliefs, children as an investment with delayed returns, society vs selfishness, the hierarchy of self-identification, what capitalism can and can’t solve, America as non-dualist, alternative energy opportunities and challenges.Mentioned in this episodeSpun (2002 film starring Jason Schwartzman, Brittany Murphy)Ill Fares the Land - book by historian Tony JudtSold a Story - podcast series about reading instruction in American schools (“whole language” vs phonics and the science of reading) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We talk about daylight savings, the war with Iran, ancient civilizations in North America, Lucy (aka “the missing link”), Charles Darwin’s bone collection, the brontosaurus, Amerigo Vespucci, John Hancock, chagas disease, science, freedom vs. security, Orwell, the S.A.V.E. Act, the Dunning-Kruger effect, the need for certainty and cognitive closure, James Talarico, consequentialism, secular morality, WWJD, loving your enemy, altruism, tragedies of the commons, Jeselnik’s rule of offensive jokes, the cultural equation for canceling someone (Elvis vs Jerry Lee Lewis; Michael Jackson vs R. Kelly). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We talk about MiLo’s new grandson, parenting, germaphobia, catastrophizing, panic attacks, our love language, learning the hard way, idiosyncrasies of houses, intuitive design and its opposite, the AI future as Terminator versus R2D2, the emerging techno-status gap, Luddites, AI use cases, Shawn’s journey down an Epstein Files rabbit hole, syndicates of capital, the Iran war, taxing the rich, and Obama in retrospect. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

Shawn gets a little salty about Trump’s SOTU address (which he avoided), while MiLo compares Trump to Liberace. After indulging that digression for a bit, we talk about the closeted 1980s. We come back to the state of US politics, then we talk about cults, theocracy, the ability to recognize truth, tolerating uncertainty, the Tucson rodeo, deconstruction (from the church), embracing mystery, the Golden Rule, the nature of faith and belief, Pascal’s wager, the impotence of prayers, charity and its motivations, indigenous justice systems.Mentioned in this episodeCovered with Night, A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America, by Nicole Eustace (awarded the Pulitzer Prize for history in 2022) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

Happy birthday to MiLo! Shawn is recovering from a cold, so we talk about that and about losing your voice, then about (the royal formerly known as) Prince Andrew, political accountability (former President of S. Korea Yoon Suk Yeol, former Philippine President Duterte and his successor), whether the Epstein “dominoes” are really starting to fall, Anarcho-Capitalism, breakfast sandwiches, the “cold start” sourdough technique, home renovations, designs that have single point of failure, getting an electrical shock, robot plumbers, doomsday prepping, Outward Bound, consciousness theory, the multiverse, the “Quantum Suicide Thought Experiment,” teleportation.Mentioned in this episodeCy Canterel, who has an excellent Substack and TikTok and appears regularly on Virginia Heffernan’s podcast, What Rough BeastLarken Rose, anarchist we know who has a YouTube channel and appeared in the HBO documentary, The AnarchistsInvestigative journalist Carol Cadwalldr and her excellent Substack, How to Survive the BroligarchyCormac McCarthy’s The Road (and the film adaptation)Hanna (tv series) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

MiLo (“Abu”) welcomes a new grandson, and we talk about pregnancy and birth. Then we talk about discrimination and personal blind spots, “cooperative interruption,” daydreaming, optimizing yourself to perform better, lifehacks, material wealth and happiness, striving versus self-acceptance, envy, commute time as a predictor of school success, the power of intention, classical yoga versus kashmir shaivism on transcending versus ‘being’ the pile of dung, and gratitude as a practice. At the end we wonder about the optimal form of government and what that means for whom.Mentioned in this episodeBrené Brown and Tim Ferris on the tension between striving and self-acceptanceDr. Gül Dölen on “critical periods” of brain development and the effects of psychedelicsHayek’s B******s (book) by Quinn Slobodian — “How neoliberals turned to nature to defend inequality after the end of the Cold War” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We have thoughts about sleep. Then we talk about movies and entertainment—Quentin Tarantino’s films, Elmore Leonard adaptations, The Matrix, F1 (movie), Justin Timberlake, K-Pop Demon Hunters, the preteen years, Brian Eno’s definition of charisma, The Talking Heads, being different to be cool, Star Wars, Mon Rovîa, Mazes & Monsters (1982 Tom Hanks film), the Renaissance of female acting roles in the streaming era, THX 1138, The Life of Chuck. We discuss the the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie and Elizabeth Smart, the general question of stranger danger, and free-range parenting in the 1980s vs today. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We talk about what’s happening in Minneapolis and debate whether the Trump administration is pursuing a strategy or just sort of chaotically pushing against civil norms and legal boundaries. Shawn sees a method in the madness and points to the existence of Project 2025 as evidence of coordination and a commitment to establish something durable. Milo plays devil’s advocate, dubious that this collection of MAGA clowns could coordinate breakfast, let alone a political strategy. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We talk about helping elderly parents with tech support, situations when AI unhelpfully offers help, the unnatural mix of high and low quality in AI output, machines vs the human experience of creating art, the engineer/STEM perspective on art and creativity, the real revenge of the nerds, dad jokes, living in the lie; living in the truth.Mentioned in this episodeTed Chiang: Why A.I. Isn’t Going To Make ArtJohn & Paul: A Love Story in Songs (book by Ian Leslie)Miracle & Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon (Malcolm Gladwell)Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion film “Pinocchio” (Netflix) and Shawn’s piece, In Praise of Slow ArtThe Last of Us (HBO series)The Power of the Powerless by Vaclav Havel This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We talk about works we created long ago, old tech, operant conditioning oneself, checklists, the memory palace, MiLo’s dad’s collections of stamps and old baseball cards, Warren Buffet’s stock market advice, the scammer mindset as a strange superpower, Elizabeth Holmes and Bernie Madoff, trying to learn options trading, trying to time the market, sneakerheads, Yeezeys, Minneapolis and its precedents (like Kent State), social movements, the Trump administration response to the killing of Renee Good, the NRx movement (Curtis Yarvin, Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance), and the billionaire bubble. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We talk about being creatures of habit, aging parents, purpose and meaning in the context of work and AI, and what it feels like to live in this age of rapid and accelerating change. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We talk about family gatherings and family estrangement, the horseshoe effect in political ideology, the nazi problem on the right, incels, women in politics, misogyny, super-wealthy welfare queens, the rise of leftist economic populism, right-wing populism, wearing shoes in the house, Filipino family parties, gravy, family estrangement (redux), confirmation bias, scientific consensus as a heuristic, making quality arguments, and how these days it feels like corporations resent that they have to go through us to get to our money. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We talk about conflicting nutrition advice, confirmation bias, Jedi mind tricks as a parenting technique, our visceral aversion to blaming and shaming, consequentialism in parenting, older/younger sibling dynamics, being triggered by criticism and corrections, back seat driving, thinking out loud versus in your head, chemistry in relationships, psychopathology versus polygraph tests, the persistence of history, and MAGA Jesus.Mentioned in this episodeBrené Brown’s work regarding vulnerability and shame, and in particular a story she tells in her Netflix special, The Call to Courage, about a time she and her husband both experienced shame, for very different reasons, during a swim on a lake. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We talk about creating, procrastinating, collaborating, seeing our own past work with fresh eyes, discipline and the lack thereof, arts & craft fairs, art criticism, having your beliefs challenged, alternative energy, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and leaving work unfinished because you are finished with it.Mentioned in this episodeDon’t Look Up (2021 Netflix film)Landman (Paramount+ series)Elizabeth Kolbert reviews Ed Conway’s book, Material World: The Six Raw Materials that Shape Modern CivilizationBreakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com

We talk about atmospheric rivers, The Doobie Brothers, suburban myths and life before the internet, Rush Limbaugh, the American Revolution, Simón Bolivar, the Haudenosaunee confederacy, the decline of language, and MiLo’s voiceover career that could have been.Mentioned in this episodeL.A. Story (1991 film written by and starring Steve Martin)Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary The American Revolution (new Ken Burns documentary series) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit satellitehaiku.substack.com