“When information becomes abundant, attention becomes a scarce resource” — Herbet A. Simon, economist, psychologist and Nobel Laureate. — “When information becomes abundant, attention becomes a scarce resource” — Herbet A. Simon, economist, psychologist and Nobel Laureate. Scrolling is a relatively new behavior in the compendium of human doing. Humans have evolved through our ability to perform a series of singular actions unrivalled by any other species: throwing, clubbing…

How humans went from hunter-gatherers to long-form poets to compulsive screen scrollers. — The thumb. Small, mobile and often taken for granted, the pollical digit is arguably our most important anatomical tool for interacting with the world around us. The thumb is autonomous and structurally unique from its close neighbors, the largely uniform fingers. It enabled our ancestors to manipulate fine objects, grasp…

I’ve been zoning out a lot lately. — I’ve been zoning out a lot lately. I don’t really know where I go to. I just, sort of, leave myself. The weird thing is, I can see myself checking out. I can see the feeling of it. When I do it, I’m keenly aware of myself. …

Career limbo offers some surprising benefits. — Ever been stuck in career limbo? Ever taken a job that you thought was ‘beneath’ you? Ever cringed when hearing that tired anecdote about the recession-battered millennial-aged PhD working at Starbucks for the zillionth time? For a busy, Type-A personality like mine, floating in career limbo can be a disheartening…

I finally found a job in my field, and my self-esteem took a dive — I started a new job after an almost-twelve month hiatus, a break in my career I neither planned nor expected. When I finally found work in my field, I came in feeling out of practice, and out of my depth. It’s worth mentioning, too, that I was a relative latecomer…

The pandemic’s effect on material culture and consumption begs the question of how, and what, we’d like to remember from this past year. — The pandemic has had some pretty strange effects on material culture, consumer behavior, and our relationship with stuff. …

Christmas 2020 is the perfect opportunity to replace plastic waste and overconsumption with true tidings of comfort and joy. — When this year’s Norway spruce made its way to the Rockefeller Center in New York City to be hoisted and decorated for the annual switch-on, it drew scrutiny not only for its bedraggled appearance, but for its symbolism. The Rockefeller Center’s tree-lighting ceremony, a New York City tradition since 1933…

The onion family contains some of the culinary arts’ most prized, flavorful ingredients. Here’s how to get the most out of them. — The Allium family of plants contains some of the culinary arts’ most prized ingredients. Its most recognizable member is the onion, and in many ways, the whole clan is onionesque: they all have vertical grass-like shoots that stem from a subterranean bulb. Most have layers. …

In 1838, scarcely a year into Queen Victoria’s reign, writer William Howitt predicted that a ‘leisure revolution’ would soon be underway… — In 1838, scarcely a year into Queen Victoria’s reign, writer William Howitt predicted that a ‘leisure revolution’ would soon be underway in Britain. It came far sooner than he thought. After decades of hard toil building infrastructure and servicing a manufacturing boom that resulted in an industrialized Britain, the people…