Longevity and Synchronisation

Learning About Longevity

Aria Schrecker | Works In Progress | 10th February 2026

“There are several measures by which humans are strangely long-lived: size, heart rate, and reproductive window. In general, the more intelligent the species, the longer its lifespan. The average lifespan of a species, across all kingdoms of organisms, tends to increase as it gets bigger. But longevity has tradeoffs, and many of the super-long-lived creatures make big sacrifices to achieve their lifespans” (4,500 words)

Puzzle: Play Nomido, the Browser’s daily word game.

The Mass-Synchronisation Of Framings

Marco Giancotti | Aether Mug | 12th February 2026

On how people living in a culture synchronise their behaviour in arbitrary and self-reinforcing ways — examples ranging from train-boarding in Japan and Italy to English sarcasm. “The basic force behind all culture formation is imitation. This ability is innate in all humans, regardless of culture: we are extraordinarily good imitators. Indeed, we are overimitators, sometimes with unfortunate consequences” (2,900 words)