Longform links: knowing stuff

Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. Wherever possible, free links for premium sites are used. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at the attraction of birding as a past time.
Quote of the Day
"Once you know something, it’s hard to put yourself back in the shoes of someone who doesn’t."
(Liberty)
Books
- Five insights from Ian Bogost's new book, "The Small Stuff: How to Lead a More Gratifying Life." (nextbigideaclub.com)
- An excerpt from "Young Money: A Field Guide to Wealth and Purpose in Your Twenties" by Jack Raines. (youngmoney.co)
- A Q&A with Colson Whitehead, author of the new novel "Cool Machine." (variety.com)
Business
- The U.S. is losing share in the global agricultural industry. (giftarticle.ft.com)
- In Chicago, neither cabbies or ride share drivers are making money. (chicago.suntimes.com)
- How your cookware got worse. (worseonpurpose.com)
Longreads
- Japan lived through decades of deflation. That era is over. (giftarticle.ft.com)
- The Trump administration has kneecapped the business of graduate schools. (bloomberg.com)
- What's behind the war on sunscreen? (menshealth.com)
- How dinosaur bones became a plaything for billionaires. (bloomberg.com)
- What's the explanation for 'terminal lucidity'? (nytimes.com)
- When music is so easy to access, we don't value it as much. (pigeonsandplanes.com)
- Why mentors seem less impressive over time. (libertyrpf.com)
- A profile of Pulitzer Prize winner Pablo Torre. (variety.com)
- Lessons learned from training an unruly dog. (theguardian.com)
- In praise of stone walls. (theatlantic.com)

Facts Only

* Thursdays feature long-form links on Abnormal Returns.
* Free links are used for premium sites where possible.
* A quote is provided: "Once you know something, it’s hard to put yourself back in the shoes of someone who doesn’t" (Liberty).
* Books featured include insights from Ian Bogost's book, "The Small Stuff: How to Lead a More Gratifying Life."
* An excerpt from "Young Money: A Field Guide to Wealth and Purpose in Your Twenties" by Jack Raines is included.
* A Q&A with Colson Whitehead, author of "Cool Machine," is featured.
* Business facts include the U.S. losing share in the global agricultural industry.
* Ride-share drivers and cabbies in Chicago are not making money.
* Content addresses how cookware quality has worsened.
* Longreads cover topics like Japan's deflation era ending, the Trump administration's impact on graduate schools, the cause of the war on sunscreen, the history of dinosaur bones as a plaything for billionaires, explanations for 'terminal lucidity,' the value of music access, diminishing respect for mentors, praise for stone walls, and lessons from training dogs.

Executive Summary

Thursdays feature long-form links on Abnormal Returns, utilizing free links for premium sites. The content includes a quote of the day from Liberty and links to books featuring insights from Ian Bogost, Jack Raines, and Colson Whitehead. Business topics covered include the U.S. losing share in the global agricultural industry, difficulties for cabbies and ride-share drivers in Chicago, and issues related to cookware quality. Longreads address topics such as Japan's deflation era ending, the impact of the Trump administration on graduate schools, the rationale behind the war on sunscreen, the history of dinosaur bones becoming a plaything for billionaires, explanations for 'terminal lucidity,' the devaluation of music access, diminishing respect for mentors, praise for stone walls, and lessons from training dogs.

Full Take

The compilation reveals a focus on juxtaposing high-level philosophical concepts, economic shifts, cultural shifts in value perception, and tangible observations about human experience—from biological history to modern labor economics. There is a consistent thread exploring perceived loss or devaluation: the shift in agricultural share, the end of deflation, the erosion of respect for mentorship, and the feeling that easily accessible things (like music) are undervalued. This suggests an underlying theme questioning established metrics of value and historical narrative. The inclusion of deep dives into concepts like 'terminal lucidity' alongside practical observations about daily life implies an engagement with epistemology—how we know what we know. The pattern suggests a response to accelerating change where stability is increasingly framed as illusion, forcing readers to seek deeper, often uncomfortable, explanatory frameworks. This framing invites inquiry into which structures—historical, economic, or social—are currently failing to account for lived experience. What systems are being redefined by these shifts, and whose perspective is intentionally excluded from the narrative of progress?

Sentinel — Human

Confidence

This text appears to be a curated list of links and quotes, exhibiting the high variability and specific cultural references typical of human editorial selection rather than machine-generated synthesis.

Signals Detected

Sentence length variance is high and uneven, reflecting a curated list format rather than uniform rhythm.

The content functions as an index or curated collection of disparate links and quotes, lacking the deep argumentative cohesion typical of full analytical prose.

No detectable repetitive argumentation or source-matching; it appears to be a log or aggregation of headlines/links.

The structure strongly mimics typical newsletter or link-aggregator formats, which are often human-curated.

Human Indicators

The use of disparate, high-brow cultural references (Bogost, Whitehead, terminal lucidity) blended with niche topics (birding, cookware) suggests a personal or editorial selection rather than pure algorithmic generation.

The informal structure and thematic scatter are characteristic of opinion-driven content curation.