Ruby Justice Thelot presents a talk at Gray Area asking why there are no new aesthetics emerging in contemporary culture.

According to him, new aesthetics:

• exist in new media
• emerge from synthesis
• require a philosophy
• require search
• require a shared vision of the future

I find this take interesting and inspiring. Especially as it comes in direct support on the common complaints about tech.

1. Popular platforms such as Instagram and Twitter are notoriously difficult to search. AI slop is flooding the google index and it becomes increasingly labor-intensive to find good quality results.
2. The constant focus on hyper-personalization of digital experiences is a massive friction to our ability of sharing a common vision of the future as it makes difficult to even share the same present reality.
3. Geopolitics and product management dominates big tech decisions. Philosophy isn't really on the menu.

A wholesome surf documentary about the Granny Grommets group in West Australia. This group of mature woman find community and belonging through surfing the ocean together.

A French paragliding documentary following someone's traverse across Nepal by paraglider, combining fly-camping through the Himalayas. The route covers major peaks like Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, and Machapuchare, essentially following parts of the Great Himalayan Trail by air. The expedition is done in full autonomy.

I posted about State of the Art. I just found this gem on youtube that shows the original source videos that were sampled and remixed into the demo. The footage includes side-by-side clips from Felix's "Don't You Want Me", Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, and James Bond "License to Kill".

Wikipedia article about the friendship recession: the documented decline in close friendships and social connections, particularly among Americans since the 1990s. Data shows people have fewer close friends and spend less time socializing than previous generations.

Possible causes

• Bad urban planning which led to the destruction of inexpensive third places.
• Economic factors: as the value of wages have stagnated, people may choose to focus on work instead of investing time in friendships.
• Increased technology and social media usage: there are links between heavy social media and internet use and fewer friends and time spent with others.
• The COVID-19 pandemic: people were forced to limit their physical contact with their friends and could have lost touch.

The article also touches on the heavy health impact of loneliness. Interestingly enough, the article is rather light on details and has only been translated to one other language.

Update: Nick Gray created a dedicated website on the Friendship Recession. It is well worth your time.