Happy Monday!

Forgive my tardiness. I struggled writing today’s newsletter. I had a lot of loose ideas rattling in my head about AI use among college students, performative reading, the art of criticism, the devaluation of expertise, and the anti-intellectual times we’re living in (which is masked by the persistent pseudo-intellectual tone of the internet). 

I think these issues are all related to the purpose of and approaches to education, although it was hard for me to thread the needle. I’m not so sure I totally did it, but I’m happy I took a swing, even if it’s not perfect. 

I thought about how much easier it would be for me to plug all these ideas into some sort of AI service that would connect the dots for me. In this way, I empathize with students who use AI to assist their coursework. However, as a writer, I think there is so much to learn from untangling these threads myself. As difficult (sometimes painful) as it feels, there is a satisfaction to crafting your own analysis and opinions. Hot take, I know!

Anyways, some imperfect musings about all of that below. Also in this newsletter: a video essay reviewing reviews, YouTube eyeing the Oscars broadcast, a Roblox lawsuit, and an uncharacteristic 8Tracks playlist on YouTube.

We are in the midst of back-to-school season. I’ve been thinking a lot about how much schooling, especially college, has changed in the past five years alone.

I graduated college in 2020 so I experienced most of my education in-person, pre-COVID, and without generative AI tools. There was still somewhat of an illusion that you could pick a “safe” major that would guarantee you a job after graduation. 

Much of that semi-certainty has disappeared, as the recent economic downturn has led to slashes across sectors including aspirational industries like tech or engineering. This prompted a very interesting discussion on X recently: If you were to advise an incoming college student on picking a major that is “the safest path to the upper middle class,” what would you choose?

I don’t think there’s a correct answer to this, especially as the world is changing faster than higher education curriculums. When talking to students, I struggle to impart any wisdom onto them. Because even five years out of school, I cannot predict the next year of my life or career. However, I think one thing has remained constant about college throughout the generations: What matters most is what you put into the four-year experience. 

One of the greatest things about college is that it exposes you to very radical, different, and diverse perspectives. Hopefully, this helps you move through the world a little better. While I studied journalism and practiced it in my extracurriculars, some of the most valuable courses in my college career had nothing to do with my future profession. I am grateful that I got to learn about different theories, philosophies, and cultures just for my own personal understanding.

I, like many people, have been handwringing about generative AI among college students. Does the ease of AI take away from the rewarding friction of learning? Are students actually absorbing information? What is the purpose of going through four years of college if you have a tool that does all the learning for you?

This year’s senior class has gone through the entire four years with access to AI. Ian Bogost reported on some of these students for The Atlantic, exploring how AI has changed the college experience. It is ubiquitous and has added to the pressure of getting as much done as possible.

With all of my worries about AI, I’ve had to remind myself that cheating is not new. In fact, there have always been ways to get other people to do your work. But now, instead of paying another student to do your essay or give you answers on an assignment, you can just use AI. 

In either case, students are usually balancing an increasingly demanding schedule. Bogost writes: “Whether or not this is realistic, students have internalized the message that they should be racking up more achievements and experience: putting in clinical hours, publishing research papers, and leading clubs, for example.” This was even the case when I was in college. Many of us were encouraged to cut corners on education to prioritize our other activities. 

There simply isn’t enough time in a day to accommodate all the demands that students face. This is true even for those of us who aren’t in college. The increased pressure to speedrun learning has made education an increasingly empty experience. Still, we are expected to appear cultured even if the demands of capitalism have left us very little time to sit with media in any meaningful way.

Our culture has long prioritized efficiency and productivity over learning for pleasure. The current online age is full of fast, easy-to-consume, bite-sized pieces of information, all of which is hurled at us at lightning speeds. This digital environment has fostered an aversion to anything that might take up too much time, whether that’s writing, reading, watching, or listening to things that aren’t instantly gratifying or useful. 

Education and learning are often framed as means to an end, rather than an opportunity to open oneself up to new perspectives. That’s why there are apps for blazing through “100 books a week” and constant discourse about “performative” reading. The projection of knowledge is more important than the actual act of acquiring it. Why invest the time into learning something when you can pretend to know the gist with very little effort?

Even when we do read, watch, or listen to things in full, there can often be a pressure to show off how much you got from a piece of media. We have all become critics with our Letterboxd, StoryGraph, TikTok, and X accounts. We’re all doling out stars that mean nothing, but might suggest something. 

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it would be nice to consume more culture and literature for our own pleasure — without the pressure of public reviews, grades, or whatever. I think this also helps us reclaim some sort of individuality of thought or taste in this increasingly flattening culture. We don’t always have to think about keeping up with what’s trending or what people might think of our takes.

We can all learn from people like the late Dan Pelzer, a normal Ohio man whose 3,500 reading log had no ratings on it, and Dua Lipa (yes, I’m serious), who seems to prioritize travel and cultural enrichment over her actual job sometimes. (Of course, Dua Lipa has all the resources in the world to do this, but many people would not take the opportunities to learn that she has if they were in her position.)

I hope, in and out of formal schooling, we get back to a place where we encourage genuine curiosity. It is rewarding to trudge through challenging concepts and creative works. I think that inquisitiveness, willingness, and patience to learn will become more valuable as we move further into this new information era. I think it shows a desire to grow at a time when we all act like we know everything there is to know.

Every Monday letter gets a playlist. Yesterday was the seventh anniversary of one of Ariana Grande’s best albums, sweetener. I often think about songs that have been shopped around to other artists, including “R.E.M” which was once floated to Beyoncé. Today’s playlist features demos of popular songs that I like. This is a YouTube playlist since the demos understandably aren’t on streaming.

In this week’s playlist:

• Wake Up - Beyoncé 👉 R.E.M. - Ariana Grande

• Same Old Love - Rihanna 👉 Same Old Love - Selena Gomez

• Sweet Melody - JoJo 👉 Sweet Melody - Little Mix

• Nothing On (But the Radio) - Lady Gaga 👉 Nothing On (But the Radio) - Addison Rae

• Telephone - Britney Spears 👉 Telephone - Lady Gaga ft. Beyoncé

• Bleeding Love - Jesse McCartney 👉 Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis

• Wasted Hearts - Bebe Rexha 👉 All Hands on Deck - Tinashe

• Born Again - Raye 👉 Born Again - Lisa ft. Doja Cat and Raye

Other things I want to share with you.

• I recently watched this video essay by the YouTuber Shloop that is “a video reviewing reviews reviewing reviews.” In essence, it is a video about the function, form, value, and entertainment of criticism. One part that particularly stuck out to me was this idea of the review scale, or ranking something out of five stars. Shloop argues that, in our culture, four to five stars indicate “the entire range of acceptability” of a service, product, or object. This renders the entire scale virtually meaningless, as adequacy is conflated with excellence.

• YouTube is looking to buy the rights to the Oscars. Another big push by the platform to be considered as one of TV’s major players.

• The Louisiana AG Liz Murrill is suing Roblox for not protecting children from predators, saying: “Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety. Every parent should be aware of the clear and present danger poised to their children by Roblox so they can prevent the unthinkable from ever happening in their own home.”

• Yap Year oomfie Anna Iovine breaks down why age verification laws could destroy the internet as we know it. 

• If you too are intrigued by King Princess and Christine Baranski’s friendship, here is their Interview Magazine conversation from May for more insight. KP gave Christine Baranski shrooms for the first time… Wow.

• MSNBC is becoming MS NOW. CNBC is staying CNBC. They are both splitting off from NBCUniversal and none of this is confusing at all <3 

• SJP is doing what we all wish we could: Pulling from Carrie Bradshaw’s closet.

• Clue is returning to theaters for its 40th anniversary. All of the alternate endings will have showings. I love Clue and had the DVD as a kid. Very pumped for this!

• This woman on TikTok documented her various attempts to get into Berghain in Berlin and the outfits she wore. I love videos like this. They’re so fascinating! Here’s what got her in.

• Karl Bushby has been on a mission to become the first person to complete an unbroken walk around the world for 27 years. He’s in the home stretch and he’s explaining some of his hardest challenges on TikTok. Here is his video explaining how he swam across the Caspian Sea.