Critical Nonsense

Why do we expect the worst? 

This week, Aaron and Jess talk about simple solutions, Karen moments, assuming malice, Thanos, Falkland's Law, and lemmings. They don’t talk about the famous former power forward for the Boston Celtics or the Hamburger Peddler's rhyming buddy. 

references 

• Corrections Department: Camila Cabello "I'll Be Home for [Quizmois]" 
• Glee's Kevin McHale 
• Kevin McHale on the Loss of Naya Rivera 
• Hanlon’s Razor 
• Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein 
• Cringe Blvd. 
• Slow Horses 
• Falkland's Law 

How has technology made us less sure of ourselves? 

This week, Jess and Joey talk about technological change, Christmas cards, scraping, phone numbers, friendships, and FaceTime. They don’t talk about beepers. 

references 

• Ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop 
• Rolodex 
• propinquity 
• Don't lose that number, Jenny 
• Sternberg’s Triangular Theory and The 8 Types of Love 
• Mr. Postman 
• Desiigner "LOD Freestyle" 

Is it better to generalize or to specialize? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about polymaths, running, functional fitness, idea people, curiosity, and Starship Troopers. They don’t talk about dilettantes. 

references 

• Specialization is for insects. 
• Stardew Valley 
• Forbes: Going Pi-Shaped: How To Prepare For The Work Of The Future 
• 129 Ways to Get a Life 
• Robert A. Heinlein 

Are there actually interesting life innovations that are coming out of the content creation boom? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about homemade pop tarts, learning letters, the power of song, TikTok, mastering movements, and apple dumplings. They don’t talk about Action Bronson. 

references 

• The recipe is the sooonnggg. 
• cool.missp: ABCs Turn Up 
• EBITDA 
• What Are Popovers And What Do They Taste Like? 
• Pepperidge Farm Bakery Frozen Spiced Apple Dumplings Pastry 

How many other things do we have that we think of as imprecise but are actually pretty precise and agreed upon? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about box plots, New York neighborhood names, Australian colloquialisms, measurement language, baking, and square roots. They don’t talk about The Smiths. 

references 

• Box plot 
• Reading a Box and Whisker Plot 
• Perceptions of Probability 
• The New York Times: An Extremely Detailed Map of New York City Neighborhoods 
• The Journal of Neuroscience: Distinct Contributions of the Cerebellum and Basal Ganglia to Arithmetic Procedures 
• Goldilocks Zone 
• Square root 
• Spiral of Theodorus 
• Klein bottle 

What if we've become less willing to sacrifice our pawns to take the queen? 

This week, Jess and Joey talk about Ezra Klein, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Obama, game theory, defaulting to passion, and nuclear weapons. They don’t talk about David Lightman. 

references 

• The Ezra Klein Show: Ta-Nehisi Coates on Bridging Gaps vs. Drawing Lines 
• Nash equilibrium 
• Mutual assured destruction 
• A Beautiful Mind 
• Pareto principle 

What's in your notes? 

This week, Aaron and Jess talk about internet chalk, bottle lining, the Pantry Challenge, gold bars, word clothes, and golden milk. They don’t talk about Gold Bond powder. 

references 

• Heinz Breakfast Ketchup 
• Paris is Burning trailer 
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 
• Chinotto 
• Astral Chain 
• Bossa Bros and Nara 
• Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell 

How much do you think you can change your personality? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about life satisfaction, sad auras, nominative determinism, nature versus nurture, Martin Seligman, magical meat sacks. They don’t talk about marinade bags. 

references 

• Forbes: How Singer-Songwriter EJAE Found Rumi’s Voice In ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ 
• @thetalesoftayls' sad aura tweet 
• Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Most people's life satisfaction matches their personality traits: True correlations in multitrait, multirater, multisample data. [PDF] 
• Nominative determinism 
• Eeyore 
• Martin Seligman 
• Dungeon Crawler Carl 

What are places where wisdom exists where it shouldn't? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about the Benner Cycle, feng shui, jelly shoes, BMW dashboards, the bullshit asymmetry principle, and Hitchens's razor. They don’t talk about Christopher Robin. 

references 

• Human League 
• Benner Cycle 
• Bagua 
• Black–Scholes model 
• Joseph Henrich 
• Enneagram of Personality 
• Strauss–Howe generational theory 
• Brandolini's law 
• Hitchens's razor 

Why do we wave from trains and boats? 

This week, Aaron and Jess talk about kids, duck boats, kerchiefs, air travel, cruise ships, and roller coasters. They don’t talk about chucking the deuce. 

references 

• Knott's Berry Farm 
• Medieval Times 
• New York Transit Museum 
• L.A. Train Festival 2025 
• Some Kind of Quest