Reliable Croissant


Unreliable Parts Make A Reliable Whole

Kasra | Bits Of Wonder | 17th August 2025

“In living things, unlike in machines, unreliable parts make a reliable whole.” A “mechanical mindset emphasises reduction into simple parts and total control over every aspect of the system” whereas the “organismal mindset emphasises creative autonomy over predictability”. In a society overrun by machines, we should be careful not to let the mechanical mindset take over (1,300 words)


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The Pistachio Croissant And Meaning Of Life

Michael Shindler | Et In Arcadia We Go | 17th August 2025

Why do French patisseries recoil from pistachio croissants, when they are perfectly at ease with pistachios in their macarons, eclairs, and financiers? A delightfully absurd exploration, featuring a potted history of the croissant, an encounter with a man whose face could be a “caricature of a gloomy Teutonic philosopher of the 19C”, plus wild excursions into Kierkegaard, Jung and other worthies (7,300 words)


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