"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."-Arthur C. Clarke
1. Subscription Affliction - Everything is $10/month (YouTube, PolyMatter)
How many subscriptions are you paying monthly? Right now I have Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple Music, and I pay for Apple iCloud space. That's around $40 per month which isn't terrible. I learned that Apple has begun to incentivize app creators to make their apps subscription based. If an app is a one time purchase apple takes 30%, but if they make it a subscription based app Apple only takes 15%.
I'm curious to know how many people are paying for subscription software like photoshop. This video made it seem like subscription software is a major problem. People in the comments addressed this by saying they are paying monthly for countless softwares to edit their movies, videos, or books. I know the comment section of this video is biased because a lot of these people are creators, where as most of society is not.
PolyMatter proposed a solution of paying for software only when you need it, and I love this idea. Imagine if you could use Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere for just a couple dollars per use. This would lower the barrier to entry and increase the amount of people able to create. The people that use the software daily could still benefit from a monthly subscription, but those who can't afford the subscription could still use it a couple times a month. Another possible solution allowing everyone to win is to make subscriptions that aren't for the full month but per use. You could subscribe for 4 days per month and use the software every Saturday. This way the company is still only losing 15% from Apple because they are technically a subscription service. The last solution proposed was doing bundles like Amazon Prime where the user gets several services at a discount.
2. 3 Reasons Why Marijuana Should Stay Illegal (YouTube, Kurzgesagt)
The title is clickbait to entice those against decriminalization. The video deconstructs the popular arguments against legalization, and supports legalization and regulation.
The following reasons are debunked/examined:
- Cannabis is a strong drug that may cause psychosis
- Marijuana is a gateway drug
- Marijuana is unhealthy
Fun fact #1: The THC content in marijuana continues to get stronger while the CBD content decrease.
Fun Fact #2: Prohibition leads to stronger drugs, during prohibition hard alcohol was more popular. The reason the drugs are more potent is because you can ship a more powerful dose in a smaller container and charge more.
Interesting question: Why do people use drugs in the first place? Apparently, "difficult childhood, early trauma, depression, low social status, and genetic factors."
3. San Fransisco's Homeless Crisis Is Now a Poop Crisis (Vice)
"Whenever friends tell me they’re visiting San Francisco for the first time I always advise them not to pack their open toed shoes. The sidewalks are full of hazards like human shit and used syringes."-Matthew Terrell
A map of the poop problem: Human Wasteland.
One solution: public restrooms called "pit stops" where an employee is paid $16 an hour to maintain the bathroom. Employees are often former prisoners returning to the work world.
4. This book imagines what animals might look like if humans went extinct (the Verge)
“Why save the tiger? If the tiger becomes extinct, something will evolve to take its place. That’s how evolution works.”- Dixon's father
The book has a ton of really neat images worth checking out. I like this highly imaginative stuff, and who knows maybe these types of creatures exist on some other planets in our universe.
This is a daily blog post from my blog simulationearth.org