SC Weekly – June 2026 – #2

Unlikely to have AI-infused robots in 3 years but maybe 5-10. Probably not living up to the hype or fear in the near-term for home use but more likely industrial use robots will be integrated into automation with robotics advances. They figured out early that it’s difficult to train robots to have precise dexterity. Think: picking up a glass carefully with just the right amount of grip so you’re holding it without (a) dropping it (b) shattering it.

::: Music :::

It was fun to see Taylor Swift at Knicks Game 4 with two of the Haim sisters and Mariska Hargitay (of Law & Order: SVU fame). Seemed like TayTay was getting to be almost a regular person experiencing joy in the moment and that’s nice to see for an A-lister. I’m guessing it’s rare A-listers can really feel free and in the moment in public. The price a person pays for fame/celebrity. It’s definitely not a good deal. I’ll take the money though.

‘End It Concertgoer In Banana Costume Tears Hardcore Community Apart’ (Stereogum)

Deep cut into the Baltimore hardcore scene and… “banana man”

::: Health & Wellness :::

“Researchers recommend finishing drinking coffee at least nine hours or so before you sleep, though some people have genes that boost tolerance.” (WaPo)

‘How Many Steps You Need to Walk to Feel Less Depressed, According to Experts’ (GQ)

Any movement is better than no movement.

A 10 minute walk can give you a boost.

“The bare minimum is the amount a person can repeat consistently, because depression often makes motivation, energy, and initiation much harder.”

“Try and get out there 2–3 times a week for at least a half an hour.”

“A separate 2024 meta-analysis published by JAMA Network Open reinforced the connection between walking and depression. After analyzing data from nearly 100,000 subjects, the researchers noticed that walking 5,000 steps a day (roughly 2–2.5 miles) was associated with fewer depressive symptoms, and walking 7,500 or more steps a day reduced symptoms by as much as 42 percent. The study also suggested a potential protective effect against developing depression. The results showed that subjects who increased their daily mileage by just 1,000 steps reduced their risk of developing depression by nine percent, and those walking 7,000 steps or more per day reduced their risk by 31 percent.”

::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::

Where do you fit in the political typology? (Pew Research)

A short quiz worth taking.

There are 9 typologies.

I fall into “Leftward Progressives” (at least according to this particular Pew quiz)

“You can also create a community quiz to compare results with friends, family or classmates.”

Pew’s full report (Note: take the quiz before you view this)

I hope you’ll take the quiz, share the verdict with me, and we can discuss.

‘Optimization’ (Prof G Media)

I’ve been thinking about the self-optimization craze, the “maxxing”, the obsessive nature of wanting to live forever that certain men are pursuing, and came to some related conclusions.

I’ll add the following—

It’s all wrapped up in a façade of control in a world that is out of control.

Self-optimization, with an emphasis on metrics, is a way of perceived control. It’s the last gasp of a person, or a people, living in chaos. Anyone with an eating disorder can attest to their relationship with control.

Am I saying that the self-optimizing craze is a lot like having an eating disorder? Yes, yes I am.

Something to keep an eye on…

AI tools + infrastructure and the continued rise of the solo entrepreneur. Apparently, the number of solo entrepreneurs is notably up since 2023. It’s expected that this number will continue to rise. It’s also easy to imagine small team startups that are capable of scaling at levels that would not have be foreseeable pre-AI tools.

The Cost of Killing ‘Silly Science’: The engine of American scientific progress requires fuel (Prof G Media)

“The Federal Reserve estimates that government-supported research from the NSF and other agencies has had a return on investment of 150% to 300% since 1950, meaning for every dollar U.S. taxpayers invested, they got back between $1.50 and $3.00.”

“The NSF is now funding fewer grants in every area of science and medicine.”

“China has now surpassed the U.S. in research spending (when adjusted for purchasing power).”

“iPhone lowered the birth rate, new paper finds” (axios)

Yeah I don’t think it was the iPhone...

“the economy rebounded after the 2008 recession — the birth rate did not.”

Ancient ground squirrels feasted on carcasses like ‘zombies of the Pleistocene’’ (Nature)

I can’t resist a squirrel story… especially with such a clickbaity headline.

‘The American Dream is to leave’ (Hanna Horvath)

“Four in ten Americans have considered moving abroad, but the ones who actually do it skew educated, mobile, and financially stable enough to make the jump.”

“It’s also worth pointing out that this fantasy is specifically a European fantasy, even though there are plenty of places that offer walkable cities, slower paces of life, affordable cost of living, and strong community. American taste hierarchies tend to put Europe at the top, and that’s rooted in whiteness and colonialism in ways I don’t have space (nor am I credentialed) to fully unpack here.”

“Essentially, this is a trend that is feasible for a subset of people, that carries a significant amount of privilege, that is shaped by dynamics of race and class.”

Meme of the Week?

“My mayor Muslim, my bagel’s Jewish, my Christian Dior, Knicks in four.”

Knicks did not pull it off in four— though Game 4 was INSANE, historic.

Update: They did it in 5!!

“Countries across Africa moved to restructure their borrowing as higher interest rates sparked by the Iran war added to heavy debt burdens. Zimbabwe tapped the African Development Bank for $150 million over missed payments. Meanwhile Zambia unveiled the world’s first debt-for-energy swap, whereby Lusaka’s savings will go to expanding its grid, which only serves around half of the country’s population. African nations already spend a huge share of their GDP on debt servicing, and Western central banks’ plans to raise rates this year will add further to the bill. The “global crisis is disproportionately burdening countries that did not cause it,” Chad’s former prime minister wrote in Project Syndicate. “The international community has a duty to respond.”

(Semafor)

You Have No Idea What a Trillion Dollars Is—and We Have Proof (WSJ)

Includes visual aids to make the point.

I’ve read commentary worth noting about Elon’s wealth.

A lot of folks have been saying things like “If he just gave up half of his wealth, we could solve all the world’s problems, and he wouldn’t even notice the difference in his bank account.” Others with financial literacy have responded that, the thing is, his wealth (like the wealth of many in similar positions) is wrapped up in companies in which he has a stake. Put another way, his assets are not liquid— he does not have billions of dollars (let alone trillions) at his disposal. On the other hand, this is the equivalent of limitless wealth (as in no one can spend this kind of money in a lifetime and, most likely, some of his children will be filthy rich). Current tax laws allow for borrowing against stock in companies in a manner that does not constitute a taxable event, in turn, allowing someone like Elon to have access to large sums of cash without selling his stakes in companies.

To be clear, I’m not defending Elon or the existence of billionaires. Billionaires are bad for Democracy as they are an obvious indicator of the tremendous wealth gap in the U.S. A true Democracy allows for all members in a society to have the ability to fully participate. That is not the present circumstances. Additionally, in a full Democracy no one is above the law. We have seen how power and wealth can buy your way out of trouble in contemporary America.

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