#5SmartReads - August 26, 2022

Hitha on future of living, the problem with self-care, and restraint collapse

"Cities of the future," built from scratch (Axios)

I’m all for advancements in urban development - but these cities of the future frankly seem like a waste of money and time, and funds could be better served in scaling carbon sequestering and battery technology and desalination of water, investing in more city cooling technologies, etc.

“The hope is that development will increase the land's value, and then the foundation eventually would be able to create a market for it — investing the proceeds in an endowment-style vehicle that would fund education, job training, health care, housing and more. This structure "allows us to offer these incredible social services without having to increase taxes. That is the Holy Grail," says Lore.”

Certainly, we could try to test some of the technologies proposed in these cities in the cities that already exist and have people living in, yes?

If you’re in the mood of a bit of science fiction, give this a read (and then read the phenomenal cautionary tale in The Thousandth Floor series by Katharine McGee).

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States dependent on Colorado River wonder if desalination could help the water supply (NPR)

Speaking of desalination, it seems like it’s a no-brainer (and something I was actually talking about with my dad earlier this week). Our planet is mainly composed of the salty ocean - so it seems like a logical move to remove the salt from that plentiful supply for our consumption and use.

But there’s a catch - desalination is expensive and requires a lot of energy. This podcast and transcript outline how desalination should be a part of our water supply solutions, but not the entire solution.

Getting rid of lawns is one option, as is capturing stormwater and recycling wastewater. Another solution is fallowing - paying farmers and ranchers to pause growing on their land for a period.

The best solutions are ones with a number of options. A single factor didn’t cause the challenges we’re facing, and a single solution won’t fix them.

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Why Self-Care Hasn’t Cured Your Burnout (Bustle)

In the wise words of my friend Pooja, you cannot meditate or yoga your way out of a lack of structural support (preorder her brilliant book on this very topic, Real Self-Care)

I think about this quote a lot, especially when I find myself circling around a burnout spiral and get overly obsessive about the cliché self-care practices that I feel like I’m phoning in.

But what if we’re looking at it wrong? That’s the point Heather Havrilesky is making in this very smart read:

“In misunderstanding work, we’re also misunderstanding burnout. Instead of signaling lethargy, maybe sometimes burnout signals a desire for more life, not less. Your burnout might mean that you’re much more ambitious than you think — about everything in your life, not just your career.”

If I’m being honest right now, I feel a misalignment between myself and my work that requires some reflection and to think about what I want in my life, and not just what I have to do at work. If you’re in the same boat, I invite you to read Heather’s smart words and join me back here to share your comments.

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‘Pre-bunking’ shows promise in fight against misinformation (Associated Press)

I rarely use algebra or my knowledge of every English ruling monarch since William the Conqueror in my day-to-day life. But critical thinking? All day, everyday baby.

I also deeply wished I had personal finance and news literacy education in primary school, but that’s another topic.

The beautiful thing about ‘pre-bunking’ is that it can be taught anywhere and anytime, and has proven extremely effective as quick video segments before watching a longer news segment or reading an article. It complements fact-checking efforts by publishers and social media networks, but tackles the problem by addressing misinformation in general and not in specific claims.

“Pre-bunking videos, however, don’t target specific claims, and they make no assertions about what is true or not. Instead, they teach the viewer how false claims work in general — whether it’s a claim about elections or NASA’s moon landings, or the latest outbreak of the avian flu.”

Now how do we get these playing in primetime ad slots on “news” networks?

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Restraint Collapse is So Real (So Many Thoughts)

I honestly thought I was alone in my kids just coming undone and going feral when they get home from school. Turns out I’m not, and this transformation into Tasmanian Devils has a name - restraint collapse.

And now that I know what it is and why it’s happening, I can do something about it (for them AND for myself).

Elizabeth shares some really helpful advice on how she’s proactively meeting restraint collapse head on, many of which I’m adopting for myself. I’ll be bringing Goldfish or a granola bar to school pick up, giving Rho a little decompression time to color or read until dinner, and reserve homework for post-bath (which worked for us last year). I’ll do the same snack ritual for Rhaki, and not hesitate to pop him in the bath when he starts jumping on the couch and running around the home screeching. With the boys having two different pick-up times, I’m going to give myself some space to figure out what works for us and what keeps the evenings as calm as possible.

And for me? A quick meditation or audiobook listening in viparita karani (legs against the wall) before pick-up has served me well this summer, and I’ll take an Equilibria rapid calming melt on more stressful days.