Rollins's Review, September 16

On my favorite Substack columns this week

Photo by Eyasu Etsub on Unsplash

I’ve linked to Michael D. C. Bowen before. He’s lyrical and witty and angry and petty and generous and always, always eminently readable. His positions on the issues are often unexpected, but they’re always well-argued.

Everybody Hates A Level Playing Field

Grant Smith continues to push for religious freedom exemptions to the COVID jabs for members of the armed forces. I like Grant, and I’m inclined to listen to him when he talks, because he does his homework. But the main reason I think this article is worth reading is methodological. He’s arguing for what many people find to be a fringe position, but his argumentation is based on principle and pragmatism rather than emotionally manipulation of his audience. It’s a sober, measured approach, and it’s admirable given his passion for the subject that he’s able to make the arguments he does. Worth a read.

Religious Freedom is Important for Readiness

Read Garbage Day if you want to understand what your kids are giggling about on the internet, or, if, like me, you’re a student of egregores and you want a solid backgrounder on the methods by which they propagate and the substrate in which they percolate.

Our brave new venture-funded brand culture

If Neil Gaiman is our greatest storyteller, Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, is our greatest practical linguist. And he’s on Substack! How fucking cool is that!

Even the Best Laid Plans

If you are not reading Rob Henderson, you are not reading one of the smartest, most insightful conservative voices writing today. His takes on human psychology are consistently among the best and most original I’ve ever read.

Cuisine, Emotional Faces, Tattoos

If Garbage Day is high on my list of “best snarky, insider takes on internet culture,” Platformer’s Casey Newton is equally high on my list of the best journalists writing about the business of the internet. Highly recommended.

Is TikTok's time running out?

I think Effective Altruism is a cult. Having said that, Effective Altruist Holly Elmore has written a highly thought-provoking article about the concepts behind strategic propagation of information that I know will interest a significant proportion of my readers. I don’t endorse her organization, but she’s a smart writer and it’s a useful concept.

Optimizing seed:pollen ratio to spread ideas