Today's Articles (7/7/2025)

Jul 07, 2025

Just so happens that I'm making way (slowly) through Mansfield Park.
Women who dare to step outside the boundaries of what is expected of them are entirely crushed.

A Quiet Moment by Rowland Wheelwright

Sometimes I start my holiday reading before I go on holiday. In the run-up to a trip, it feels as though there’s never enough time to pack, clear my desk and do my laundry – but if I try to read a few pages every day, I feel the benefits as soon as I arrive. It can take a couple of chapters to get into a book, and it’s difficult to focus in a new environment, even if it’s supposed to be a relaxing space. But if I’m already invested in the narrative, I’m excited about picking it up as soon as I arrive. (And if I have been reading on the plane or train, I find the arrival process – waiting for luggage and going through passport control – a lot less stressful.)
The experience of losing myself in the novel was delicious, and it made me greedy for more. Reading for the sheer fun of it fills up my emotional tank and gives me the strength to attempt “challenging” books. Maybe even more importantly, they also give me the strength to deal with challenging real-life situations.
Reading always leaves me feeling better and calmer. I never regret picking up a book, and I’m so grateful to have discovered a hobby that makes me happy, as well as making me feel as though I’m on holiday.

[...] we recognize that AI is not sentient, that it’s management, not AI, that fires people, but also that there are many ways that AI can “kill” a job, by sapping the pleasure one derives from work, draining it of skill and expertise, or otherwise subjecting it to degradation.