Digest, 12/11/2022: The Doppelganger
the seventy-fourth digest post
Check me out:
This Week’s Posts
Monday, December 5th - Who Cares Where the Holidays Come From, If the God They Celebrate is Dead?
Immediately after this published I realized I should have named it “Missing the Forest for the Christmas Trees.”
Thursday, December 8th - Yes, Supply and Demand Applies to Computer Science Degrees
We need to have a far more intelligent conversation about perceived educated labor shortages and the job market.
Friday, December 9th - Terrence Malick, Ranked (subscriber only)
A ranking of the films of my favorite director, plus little capsule reviews.
We also continued our Book Club for Jesus’ Son.
From the Archives
On knowing and knowingness in Jacobin.
Song of the Week
Non-Garbage Online Reading
Book Recommendation
The Cult of Smart, Fredrik deBoer, 2020
Forgive the gimmick. My first book didn’t sell, at all really. It had both internal and external forces working against it. Internally, it’s just a very hard argument to summarize; almost two and a half years after its publication, I’m still doing podcasts about it and still struggling to summarize its core argument. It also happens that several elements of the text are quite controversial. Externally, there was the fact that the person I sold the book to left St. Martin’s some three months after we closed on the deal. The people at St. Martin’s were great to me, and I’m grateful to them, but it was always going to be a blow. And the book was released during the height of the pandemic, preventing me from doing a single in-person event for promotion. There’s also the fact that I myself am a somewhat controversial figure. But I believe in the book and I’m proud of it, and you should check it out if you haven’t. Makes a great gift!
NFL Picks of the Week
The Dallas Cowboys have been absolutely blowing teams out, and the Houston Texans are easily the worst team in the NFL. But I just can’t stay away from the Texans +17.5 over the Cowboys. The number’s just so so thick. I can’t stay away from big juicy lines like that. It’s a sickness.
Season record: 8-4-0
Comment of the Week
I adore Terry Malick’s movies. Until recently, I made a point to always see his movies in the theater. I always had to go alone (completely fine with that, btw). I would sometimes see other people there alone. One time I struck up a nice conversation with an elderly man after we’d watched Tree of Life. My oldest brother had died a few months before. I didn’t realize the movie involved, among so many other things, Malick’s brother’s suicide. I was both exhilarated and devastated by Tree of Life. The elderly man could tell I was upset and he took the time to talk to me in the lobby, as I cried.
It was just so nice. - Cynthia
That’s it. Domani.
I’m sure all the reasons you list for The Cult of Smart not doing well are truly contributors.
But there’s also this: the world is not ready for this truth. It requires people across the ideological spectrum to grapple with shibboleths they are not even remotely prepared to release.
You’re ahead of your time.
I bought The Cult of Smart. Interesting take that I haven't otherwise come across. Bummer on losing your key contact at the publisher. Those behind-the-scenes activities can have a huge impact that I don't know if people always understand or appreciate. There are countless films, records, and books that go unwatched, unheard, unread due to almost bureaucratic happenstance. I have a feeling your thesis will land in the future when the time is right.