What I'm reading: July 2022

What has fascinated me this month is the fleeting nature of our idea of time.

I wrote about this in No Point B: how the stories we tell about our sense of time (“We’re almost there!” “Wow, this month flew by fast.”) conflict with the mathematical precision with which we’re taught to measure its passage. In fact, neither are exactly true. Einstein said time and space are modes in which we think, not conditions in which we live.

The concept has been top of mind for me as the anticipation of my book launch on August 9, combined with a busy summer travel schedule, has made the past few months feel like a blur. But also, the things I’ve been reading make time feel circular: like how we’re shifting back to owning digital assets, not just streaming them.

Some other things I’ve been reading:

• NEW GLASSHOLES – Google Glasses were a famous flop, but tech on your face is inevitable: all major tech companies are working on spectacles of some sort.
• ELECTRIC DELIVERIES – Not only is Amazon starting to deploy its Rivian all-electric delivery fleet, Walmart announced it is ordering 45,000 vans from electric car maker Canoo.
• DIRTY SECRETS – This is why we can’t have nice things: as we reach a tipping point in EV demand, serious environmental impacts are becoming a concern as manufacturers hunt for rare minerals to power their batteries.
• POST-MORTEMS? – Turning dead men into fathers. Stories being read by dead relatives. Tech is increasingly reaching beyond the grave in creepy ways.
• RING FOOTAGE? – Amazon admitted this month it sometimes shares Ring doorbell footage with law enforcement – without the user’s consent. It’s not the first time the Ring has been called out as problematic.
• IRL WORDLES? – In a fun turn of events, The New York Times is turning the popular web-based word game Wordle into a board game. (How will I track my streak though?)

PS, Don’t forget to pre-order your copy of No Point B before August 9 in order to get your free copy of the 18 Coffees Changemaker’s Toolkit module. It’s almost here!

What has been keeping your mind busy this summer?