The Links You Liked The Most in 2023 [#130]
A look back at some of the topics you were most curious about this year.
Hello from Hong Kong!
Hope you are having a restful holiday week(s) and that your family hasn’t broken out into all out brawls like mine did at Thanksgiving 2018, the one we all collectively recall as “The Reason My Sister-in-Law And I Can Never Have Thanksgiving Together Again.”
Before we close out the year, I went back to find the Hu’s Letter links y’all clicked on the most. Here’s the list, in case you missed any of these…
Millennials have hit middle age, so now what?
A third of Americans are getting a “sleep divorce.”
NPR’s veteran women foreign correspondents shared wisdom from the road.
How Trump’s getting worse and not enough people care.
My Korean sunscreen recommendations.
Sci-fi writer Ted Chiang on ChatGPT.
My $99 water bottle somehow got a lot of clicks, probably because you were incredulous as I was about the pricetag. And rather surprisingly, a lot of you clicked on Rob’s LinkedIn page, where he shares wisdom from the TV writers room.
Ideas I Return To
In 2024, I want to pay closer attention to the ideas I encounter that change my thinking or stay with me in a way that affects everything. A few from recent years that I come back to:
“Parenting is a hostage situtation…” from philosopher Agnes Callard.
Another is a classic that’s arguably become more relevant these days: The fear we will come to love our oppression. This is from the forward of Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death.
What do YOU often return to? I’d love to learn from you. And thank you for being in connection and correspondence with me this year. For longtime readers, thank you for all the other years. I’m grateful we have this channel to stay in touch.
Merry merry,
Elise
I have a feeling 2024 is going to be another wild ride in a lot of ways. May you and your family be healthy and joyful headed into the New Year. I've enjoyed your posts and look forward to reading your thoughts and observances as we make our way through the turn of the calendar pages. All the best to you and your family!
Happy holidays!
I remember years ago reading an FT piece on Huxley v. Orwell that concluded we've ended up in a dystopian mashup they called Huxwell. Five years on it seems even more true. https://www.ft.com/content/aa8ac620-1818-11e9-b93e-f4351a53f1c3