Thinking in Public
After being pointed towards Adam Stokes’ essays on techno-crofting, I was motivated by his thinking in public style of writing to write the blog post you are reading now. The following is a living document: some questions about the world, and things I’m interested in, that I haven’t been able to answer myself. Most are on topics “outside of my area” — as much as I hate that phrase. So if you are more knowledgeable on these things, please do get in touch for a chat. Beers on me.
Is the Digital Markets Act the EU pushing back against technofeudalism, or quietly defending a cloud fiefdom of its own?
After seeing yet another instance of the Digital Markets Act being turned on US tech — most recently the €890 million (~$1bn) fine handed to Google in July 2026 for self-preferencing its own services in Search and the Play Store — my first instinct was an image of a courageous EU hacking away at the outstretched tentacles of a swelling, US-based cloud octopus, à la Standard Oil. Obviously not biased. But is that what’s actually happening? Is the EU genuinely refusing to prop up the cloud capitalists? Or is it clearing room for cloud capitalists of its own? I keep coming back to the EU’s push for home-grown alternatives to US tech, like Wero, the European Payments Initiative’s would-be rival to Visa and Mastercard.
The people yearn for masquerade
Recently, I visited the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow with my girlfriend. There was a small exhibit tucked away in the corner, behind some stuffed giraffes and a family of ocelots, on ritual masks from different cultures around the world. From reading the cards, it seemed that most rituals these masks were involved in were significantly centred around both 1) dance and community trance, like rituals involving a suspension of reality, and 2) the wearer doing some form of mystic transmutation into another being, for purposes of supporting the ritual.
It was a great exhibit, and got me thinking of other rituals I’ve seen of this form from around the world. Examples being the Irish tradition of the Wren Boys, the Hungarian Busójárás, or the tons of African trance-transmutation rituals (see Zangbeto as an example). It seems to me this core idea is ubiquitous across cultures. And at least on a surface level to a know-nothing like me, it seems like they all serve as some form of pressure valve for the community — whether that be warding off “evil spirits” or bringing in blessings or whatever.
So anthropologists, why does it seem to me that such traditions have ceased in the modern world? Or have they? I guess people go through a form of transmutation when they become a Laker, or furries. I see hints of this idea in things like club culture or entertainment-fuelled idolatry, but they seem to be missing this core sense of mysticism, anonymity, and transmutation that appears to be present in all of these examples around the world. Is this just pre- vs post-enlightenment? What is up here?
Did control over southern Lebanon really outweigh the damage done to one of Israel’s few remaining allies?
So I believe at this point in the conflict it’s quite clear that Israel’s pressure on America to initiate this conflict was largely to weaken Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and in turn claim territory in the area. That narrative seems relatively well-established given all of the information available at time of writing. What also seems clear is that America has taken a large chunk of hurt in this conflict; in terms of the financial burdens on its citizens, political costs to their relationships with allies and adversaries, tangible military costs largely in the form of critically depleted munitions, etc.
Holding these two things in mind, my query lies in the math of the whole situation. From Israel’s perspective, as a government quickly losing favour worldwide and with its own citizens, did the gains in the form of control over southern Lebanon really outweigh the damage to one of its few remaining allies? How does that math check out, or am I missing something important here? Is it really the case that they believed the whole conflict would be over and done with quickly, like the Twelve-Day War back in June 2025?