Morfternight #38: Ebbs and Flows

We discuss correlation, causality, humour, time crystals, and Mr. Beast.

Giraffes? - More Photos

👋 Hello Friend, and welcome to Morfternight.

Correlation is not causation, as we all know, and no amount of words or charts can explain the concept better than one single meme:

Well, actually, there’s still this old but classic site showing some fun examples.

All this to explain that last week, as I was gathering some personal data to feed my notes for a presentation, I realized that since I started working at Automattic, I traveled 1.2 million kilometers and wrote 1.2 million words on our internal P2 network of blogs.

And it is pure coincidence. 🙂

🌍 It’s ebbs and flows, all the way down

The universe is based on difference and movement.

Particles, waves, energy, mass, atoms, molecules, cells, it’s all super complicated stuff with one thing in common: when it’s not constantly moving from one state to another, it’s more or less dead, and when there’s no potential difference, there’s no energy left.

From the microscopic to the cosmic level, with us in between, nothing is ever absolute and perpetual. There’s no love without loss, no joy without sadness, no music without silence, no light without shadow.

I think about that frequently.

In the good moments, to remember I should enjoy them while they last, and in the bad ones, to remember it’ll get better.

Today I just realized that there’s one thing I really enjoy in traveling, and it is coming back home. As I said, it’s ebbs and flows all the way down.

🪩 Humour, magic dust, and time crystals

I have been a reader of The Register for more than 20 years.

I love something in their tone at the crossroads of technology, British humour, and nerdiness.

For instance, when I read:

Every time I try to explain what a quantum computer is to an acquaintance outside our industry, I get one of those out-of-body experiences in which I can hear myself talking a load of impossibility bollocks.

The reaction of my listener is usually along the lines of “WTF?!” This is good sign: it means I have probably explained it accurately

in an article titled No more fossil fuel or nukes? In the future we will generate power with magic dust, I want to know more.

The comment section is generally hilarious.

Some links are time traps and can lead to explorations beyond my understanding, like the seemingly inoffensive “created two "time crystals" leading to a publication titled “Nonlinear two-level dynamics of quantum time crystals,” but that’s part of the adventure.

🫧 The Incredible Mr. Beast

Imagine a parody of a Netflix show that gets more views than Netflix has subscribers. That’s what Mr. Beast achieved about six months ago with his Squid Game in real life (no violence, no blood, just fun, 258M views).

How does someone in just ten years on Youtube and at barely 24 years of age get to a place where he can ask Gordon Ramsay to taste and judge terrible deserts?

I am sure there are many factors, but the one that seems apparent is how much fun Mr beast and his team seem to have while shooting those videos. Nothing beats passion and sincerity, even when everything around is entirely fake and temporary.