Critical Nonsense

What's to come in 2025? 

This week, Wild Prognostications returns! Jess, Aaron, and Joey make their predictions for the new year, discussing micro-social media [3:30], platform madness [6:52], nihilistic design [13:10], weaponized compliance [18:32], graphic realism pivoting to novel gameplay [24:05], dressing up [30:38], blockbuster novels [33:15], and a runaway AI crisis [36:56]. They don’t talk about supervillain Daniel Dumile. 

references 

• The Atlantic: We’re All in ‘Dark Mode’ Now 
• Unreal Engine 
• Hazelight Studios 
• Techradar: Nintendo Switch 2: what we know about the next-generation system so far 
• The New York Times: Rebecca Yarros’s ‘Onyx Storm’ Is the Fastest-Selling Adult Novel in 20 Years 
• A Good Day To Die Hard 
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines 
• The 2024 CrowdStruke outages 
• Vulture: The Brutalist Is Half of a Great Movie 
• "Missing" by Everything But the Girl 

How do we respond to the competing incentives of hybrid work? 

This week, we revisit our conversation from Critical Nonsense 290! Hybrid Work, this time with special guest and workplace design leader Amanda Stanaway of ERA-co. She joins Joey and Jess to talk about belonging, productivity, the corporate Kool-Aid, burnout, human connection, and hammocks. They don’t talk about hard-boiled eggs. 

references 

• Amanda Stanaway 
• ERA-co 
• WORKTECH Academy: Flight to character: a fightback begins against homogenous global offices by Amanda Stanaway 
• The Atlantic: The Anti-Social Century by Derek Thompson 
• Chicago Booth Review: Humanity Is Carried on the Voice by Nick Epley 
• The Egg Pod 

Why would you break up with your best friend? 

This week, Joey and Jess talk about para-romance, frenemies, communication styles, emotional proximity, work relationships, and boy and girl bands. They don’t talk about Whodini. 

references 

• Oprah: Should You Really Break Up with That Friend? 
• Black Love: How to Grieve Women Friendships That No Longer Serve You 
• Elle: We Need to Talk About Our Ex-Best Friends 
• Friends: Understanding the Power of Our Most Important Relationships by Robin Dunbar 
• Connectome 
• The Atlantic: The Anti-Social Century by Derek Thompson 

Why do people love rituals so much?

This week, a rerun from the Nonsense Wellspring (archive)!

Again, Jess, Aaron, and Joey talk about medicine, Lunar New Year, habits, disease, leg washing, and flossing. They don’t talk about Jane's Addiction. 

references 

• twitterpated 
• Yale School of Medicine: Phenylephrine, a Common Decongestant, Is Ineffective, Say FDA Advisors. It’s Not Alone 
• Gregorian calendar 
• Ritual, Play and Belief, in Evolution and Early Human Societies by Colin Renfrew 
• National Geographic: "Why do humans embrace rituals? Disease and danger may be at the root of the behaviors." 
• cephalocaudal 
• Gonggong 
• Not-so-late-breaking: OSU microbiologists propose updates to the Linnaean System 
• Recapitulation theory 

When is it okay to correct someone?

This week, a rerun from the Nonsense Wellspring (archive)!

Again, Jess and Joey talk about Vander-ism, otaku, pedantry, language, Ryan-ing, and comments sections. Thankfully, they don’t talk about the Oxford comma. 

references 

• Otaku 
• Corrections Department (because of course): Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English by Valerie Fridland 
• easter eggs 
• propinquity 
• Merriam-Webster on X 
• Seth Meyers' Corrections on Late Night 

How did our predictions play out in 2024?

This week, Aaron, Jess and Joey look back at their prognogs from Episode 247, discussing AI hardware, energy optimism, Scarlett Johansson, AI slop, EV, algae-based biofuels, the gelatin market, and wide shoes. They don’t talk about Jamie Foxx. 

references 

• Wired: "Everything You Need to Know About Microsoft Copilot+ PCs" 
• Micosoft Blog: Introducing Copilot+ PCs 
• Marques Brownlee Rabbit R1: Barely Reviewable 
• Reuters: Amazon to pilot AI-designed material for carbon removal 
• Milli Vanilli 
• Ashlee Simpson on SNL 
• Energy 101 | Algae-to-Fuels 
• Viridos 
• Retro-Chic Coffee Jelly 
• Kizik 
• The Plucky Squire 

What kernels of truth are there in sci-fi content today that can maybe predict what our smart technological futures will look like? 

This week, Jess and Joey talk about retrofuturism, the Otis elevator, all things Dymaxian, AI, post-scarcity society and ship names. They don’t talk about our dystopian present. 

references 

• Christmas in Connecticut 
• Otis Elevator 
• Dymaxion 
• Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson 
• Corrections Department: Neuromancer by William Gibson 
• Iain M. Banks' Culture series 
• Post-scarcity 
• Neural Lace 
• Neuralink 
• The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks 
• Humans 
• Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky 

What do we do with Cultural Beige? 

This week, Aaron and Joey talk about cultural homogenization, algorithms, local commerce, international culture, outliers and Charli XCX. They don’t talk about Christian Bale or J. G. Ballard. 

references 

• Empire Of The Sun "Walking On A Dream" 
• Empire Of The Sun "Alive" @ The Hollywood Bowl 11/23/24 
• Sabrina Carpenter "Espresso" 
• terroir 
• Sammy McCormack: "How Janet Jackson Made 'If'" 
• Sammy McCormack: "How Britney Spears Made 'Break The Ice'" 
• Froggy Fresh 
• Timbaland feat. OneRepublic "Apologize" 
• Cam'ron and Mase: It Is What It Is 

Why haven't we figured out hybrid yet? 

This week, Jess and Joey talk about remote working, cost structures, collaborative tools, individual flexibility, speaker microphones, and body language. They don’t talk about sensory processing issues and how they impact in-person productivity. 

references 

• Yegor Denisov-Blanch on software engineering productivity 
• Reddit response to Yegor Denisov-Blanch 
• Entenmann's Donuts 
• Torus 

What varietal of mind wine are your grapes lately? 

This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about pattern breaking, the restorative power of boredom, bird brains, pajama day, the productivity mindset, and seizing rest. They don’t talk about when Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. 

references 

• Feng Shui Modern by Cliff Tan 
• Boggle 
• Five Senses Exercise 
• How to use 4-7-8 breathing for anxiety 
• Yahtzee