What do you do about the missing Lego piece? And how does this become dumpling? [25:32] 

This week, Aaron and Jess talk about customer service, bike sharing overages, significance imbalance, invisible wisdom, dumpling teamwork, and apprenticeship. They don’t talk about My Squishy Little Dumplings. 

references 

• Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night 
• [email protected] 
• rubber baby buggy bumpers 
• Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking by Fuchsia Dunlop 
• Mark Rober: Pranks Destroy Scam Callers 

How can we better leverage awards in our everyday life? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about the Boston Celtics, recognition, distinguishing, benchmarks, The Infatuation, and Hitch. They don’t talk about Ali Shaheed Muhammad, my man. 

references 

• Because maybe ... 
• Michelin Guide 
• The cure for the common man 
• The Hitch Tomatometer® 
• The Annual Dundies! 

How can we take advantage of Assembly Theory in our lives? And where are the six elemental marshmallows best applied in life? [31:46] 

This week, Joey, Jess, and Aaron talk about corn dogs, Kafka, Homer, brown sugar, extrusion, and Peeps. They don’t talk about that famous DJ fella. 

references 

• Lex Fridman Podcast: Alien Debate: Sara Walker and Lee Cronin 
• Assembly Theory 
• The best ketchup (ahem) 
• A Critical Nonsense favorite: But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking about the Present as If It Were the Past by Chuck Klosterman 
• Core samples 
• Wacky Physics: Why Do Particles Have Flavors? 
• Jet-Puffed Marshmallows 
• Kraft 1958 “New Jet-Puffed Marshmallows” print ad 
• The New York Times: Who Made That Marshmallow? 
• Reader's Digest: What Are Marshmallows, Exactly? 
• Jet-Puffed Lucky Charms Magically Delicious Marshmallows 
• Revisiting Critical Nonsense #165, when Ilana schooled us on Goblin Mode 
• Also, mallows (sans "marsh-") are plants. 

How does one navigate the journey from Ask Culture to Guess Culture, and vice versa? And what are your ideal working hours? [27:50] 

This week, Aaron, Jess, and Joey talk about privacy settings, politeness vs. safety, the Midwest, philosopher hours, exercise, and zoos. They don’t talk about Tears For Fears. 

references 

• Have we told you that we believe in a thing called The Darkness? 
• Adam Neely: The most elegant key change in all of pop music 
• Céline Dion's Emotional Breakdown While Performing "All By Myself" 
• The legendary Space Cowboy Jay Kay 
• In case you need some canned beans … 
• Are You Ask Culture or Guess Culture? 
• The Atlantic: 'Askers' vs. 'Guessers' 
• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott 
• The New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson 
• Phineas Gage 
• Legal Sciuridae 

Why choose casual chaos? And what is the standard way to frame a vacation photo? [31:50] 

This week, special guest Cara Lohman joins Jess to talk about Super Mario Bros., chickens, selfie bombs, order and structure, people vs. vistas, and chaos theory. They don’t talk about the Cocoa Brovaz. 

references 

• Everything Everywhere All At Once trailer 
• Bierki (and Bierki, and Bierki, and Bierki) 
• Ennio Morricone 
• Benoit Mandelbrot 
• BBC: How Mandelbrot's fractals changed the world 
• Fractal Foundation: What is Chaos Theory? 
• Melittology 
• Adobe: How to use, and break, the rule of thirds. 

Is it healthier to be a little bit more ignorant online? And how do we all build a discomfort diet? [28:26] 

This week, special guest Nora Mestrich joins Joey to talk about TikTok, Twitter, admitting ignorance, dopamine hijacking, ice plunges, and the benefits of pain. They don’t talk about DIIV. 

references 

• MMT 
• Armchair Expert interview with Anna Lembke 
• Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Anna Lembke 
• Seek Discomfort on YouTube 
• Yes Theory on YouTube 

Why is failure the best way to learn a lesson? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about New York laundry, errant emails, the instant amplitude of the feeling of failure, "Fail fast!," biffing and flop sweat, and overlearning. They don’t talk about Sonic Youth's Washing Machine LP. 

references 

• Critical Nonsense Merch! 
• Fortune: How an NFT creator lost $34 million due to a smart contract error 
• The Atlantic: Pandemonium and Rage in Hawaii 
• Rube Goldberg machine 

How can we better tap into inspiration from weirder, wilder places?

This week, Joey and Jess talk about The Office, diverse sourcing, walking away, "do it now," and ... thots. They don’t talk about Chicago. 

references 

• HAIM "Right Now" 
• Corrections Department: Pronunciation Guide: HAIM Teach You How to Say Their Name 
• Just FYI: How Caribbean People Eat Mango 
• Corrections Department: Who vs. Whom 
• Neuroscience News: Unique Connectivity Lets Highly Creative People’s Brains Take ‘Road Less Traveled’ to Their Destination 
• The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar by Maurice Leblanc 
• Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson 
• Simplenote 

Which CCU team should get our backing? 

In the latest installment of Nonsense VC!, Jess pitches Cereal Cinematic Universes to Joey. They talk about Kellogg's vs. General Mills, character strength, biome corners, villains, tummy troubles, and the rampant commingling of ice cream and cereal. They don’t talk about cereal commas. 

references 

• The lineup card: Kellogg's vs. General Mills 
• Yesterworld: The History & Downfall of McDonaldland and the Disney-McDonalds Happy Meal 
• The Wacky Adventures Of Ronald McDonald: THE COMPLETE SERIES! 
• The A.V. Club: A thorough history of Honeycomb’s bygone mascot monster 
• "currently on leave" and "previously a dog" 
• Teen Vogue: Ben & Jerry's Now Makes Cereal-Flavored Ice Cream 
• See also: Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, Lucky Charms, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch ice creams 
• The limited edition Cocoa Puffs Neopolitan colorway: a review 
• Peeps cereal: a review 
• Ice Cream Pebbles cereal: a review 
• Look away, Joey: Cereal ice cream sandwiches 

How far can we take malicious compliance? And what happens when a nothing turns into a need? [26:12]

This week, Joey and Jess talk about Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law, rules, Originalism, lip balm, deodorant, and skin care routines. They don’t talk about Judas Priest.

references

• A look back at Teen Beat 
• Selena + Chef on HBO Max 
• Selena Gomez & The Scene "Un Año Sin Lluvia" 
• Critical Nonsense on YouTube 
• The teacher template letter in response to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law 
• Baader–Meinhof phenomenon/Frequency illusion 
• Diana Taurasi couldn’t stop making dick jokes on ESPN during the Final Four 
• What Is Originalism? Definition and Examples 
• Corrections Department: The questionably worded common law marriage bill in Tennessee (not Kentucky) 
• Real, wrath of God type stuff 
• Again, Baz Luhrmann's "Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen" 
• Reuters: You may be eating a credit card's worth of plastic each week: study 
• Wikipedia's list of generic and genericized trademarks