Welcome to this week’s edition of weekly internet finds. Below is a curated selection of essays, videos, publications, and more to help you learn instead of scroll.
UnHerd is a publication that, quite fittingly to its name, “challenges the herd with new and bold thinking in philosophy, politics, and culture.” I’ve taken a particular liking to it because it isn’t contrarian for the sake of shock factor, but instead offers genuinely interesting perspectives on current affairs that I hadn’t considered before.
If you’re looking for a publication that doesn’t blatantly lean in one political direction, I highly recommend it. It is behind a paywall (£3.99 for the first three months), but you can read three pieces for free to decide whether it’s something you’d find worth paying for.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a gem. It has peer-reviewed entries on basically every philosophical topic you can think of, and is great for learning about complex ideas in a structured way. There’s also a ‘random-entry’ button, which is useful if you want to learn about something totally obscure. Click it and you’ll be redirected to a page on something like Plato’s shorter ethical works or knowledge by acquaintance vs. description. Perfect for going down rabbit holes.
One thing to note is that it’s quite academic in tone and not designed for quick skimming, but is ideal if you’re looking for a bit of a challenge. It was a go-to for me when I was studying philosophy at uni, and although I graduated years ago, I still go back to it (which I think says a lot). Plus, it’s completely free, which is always a bonus.
The Ghosts of Green Sahara - Miniminuteman
This was such a fascinating and engaging video essay. It explores the Green Sahara (also known as the African Humid Period), which was a time when the Sahara Desert was filled with lakes, wildlife, and human settlements. The video goes into detail about the civilisations that lived there and paints a vivid picture of what life might have been like.
Despite the fact that Miniminuteman has 3.25M subscribers, I actually hadn’t heard of him until this video in particular was recommended to me, but I’m very excited to watch more of his content.
Meditations on Moloch - Scott Alexander
I finally got around to reading this recently, and now that I have, I absolutely had to include it in this list. Meditations on Moloch is a fairly lengthy essay that explores why societies end up trapped in destructive competition, even when everyone would prefer a different, better outcome.
It shows this through a range of examples, including capitalism and modern scientific research, and might be even more relevant today given concerns about AI. If you’re looking for a thought-provoking read to sink your teeth into, I cannot recommend this enough.
That’s it for this edition. These are just a few things I’ve come across recently that made me think differently and kept me away from social media. If you enjoy the recommendations, let me know! Always curious to hear other people’s thoughts.
Thanks so much for reading,
The Feed Filter
I’m so excited to dive into all of these suggestions, thank you for doing all the leg work and finding all of these incredible things for your readers to enjoy! 🥰 I’ve loved every article so far.