Subscriber Sunday!
It's your turn to talk.
Thank you so much to everyone who has signed up for the newsletter so far. I've gotten some great comments and feedback this week, and I just wanted to share a few of them here in the hopes that we can build up a little community and get a nice dialogue going.
If you're enjoying the content, it would mean a lot if you could just forward/share the newsletter with one other person this week who you think would like it.
Let's see what you had to say!
First up is a "letter to the editor," in response to Wednesday's "Do You Really Want the World's Best Burger?" from Lance:
"Matt --
Your recent thoughts about Ollie’s Trolley got me thinking about another innovation that seems to have failed: Google’s attempt at augmented reality via “Google Glass.” I felt like there was a small block of time where this innovation was acknowledged as the future for human and mobile phone interaction. The concept seemed logical. The reception, however, seemed to deviate from the (mostly) positive tone I expected.
Is this the tech iteration of Ollie’s Trolley?
It might be comparing apples to oranges - or burgers to glasses, if you prefer - but the parallel I see is the rejection of an objective upgrade in theory. Why would any rational person reject a better burger? And why would the same rational mind reject a technology advanced enough to pull our heads away from the habitual check of our mobile phones? Google Glass may have had various technical problems that complicate this crude comparison, but let’s assume it improved the quality of life for its users and people rejected the tech because it looked weird or “cramped our style.” This would be a poor decision by humanity and consumers, right?
Maybe we don’t always act rationally even when it’s to our benefit.
And if this irrational behavior is consistent throughout history, changing people’s perspective to encourage rational thinking might be an exploitable inefficiency. Then again, if we exploit every inefficiency, would we slowly push away the ability to have preferences? Maybe we’re meant to be irrational?
Drawing a line between burgers and augmented reality was a life goal of mine. Mission accomplished.
All the best."
--I think it's a great comparison! Those who didn't buy Google Glass chose "agreeableness" over optimization. Though as you said, part of the problem was that the technology didn't work as well as advertised.
In response to hearing next week's featured movie is "Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again," Justin writes:
"Grounds for me to unsubscribe. Think I'm just going to enjoy a nice refreshing glass of battery acid instead."
--Well, I guess you don't like smiling for two straight hours. Would love to hear what your guilty pleasure movie is?
After reading Monday's part one of "The Cinderella Code," which centered around George Mason's incredible upset over Connecticut in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, Dana and K reminisced on actually attending the fateful game:
"Two of the best sporting moments of my life, & I was lucky enough to attend with about 50 friends. We were behind the Wichita State bench for that game, & we were LOUD. Went to the Final Four too, and while we didn’t have the ending we wanted, GMU was the fan favorite!"
"Great article! Brings me back to when i was at that game. It was incredible. I was there for the sweet 16 and elite 8 games. Will always cherish the experience...at least until we go again."
--I'm insanely jealous of you all. If there was a Mount Rushmore for historical sporting events I wish I could've attended live, this would be on it (give me Miracle on Ice, the Laettner shot and Jordan's Game 6 dagger in 1998 as the other three). Would love to hear other readers' lists, so send them to me!
Chris agreed with my recommendation of Ian Karmel's Netflix comedy special:
"Ian Karmel is so, so good. "All Fantasy Everything" is my favorite podcast out there. It’s so good every single week. (On the special) I thought he was really good. I love self deprecating humor and his was really good. And the joke he ended with killed me."
--Karmel's delivery on that final joke is perfect. He's a star in the making for sure.
One of last Friday's movie recommendations resonated with Steve, who had a personal connection to it:
"Wind River is an awesome movie. My son and daughter both did mission trips @ the Wind River Reservation. ...and Renner should definitely get a Best Actor nomination."
--Unfortunately, the Oscars are not really merit-based awards. Wind River was released in August of 2017, which means the producers didn't expect it to be awards fare, so they didn't campaign for it as hard as they maybe should have. Renner's performance is worth a nomination (probably not a win).