Mike's List 238

10 ways to think for yourself in the age of groupthink; Amazon watching you sleep; coffee toys; perfect posts and more

Jan 08, 2021

Pardon my quotation marks, but everyone these days is "consuming" a lot more "journalism" and other "content" than ever before.

Quantity is pushing out quality.

(Which is not to jump on the "journalism sucks" bandwagon. Our best journalism has never been better than it is now. What's new is the sheer volume of bad journalism shoveled in our direction.)

Meanwhile, the "content creators" and "journalists" are competing with each other using bold, shocking, opinionated headlines and tweets to grab attention.

Because everyone is skimming, angry and partisan, people are forming strong opinions without knowing anything — and without realizing that they don't know.
Received opinions replace knowledge.

But you don’t have to participate in this process. Here are my 10 ways to fight back and think for yourself in the age of groupthink. (Paid subscribers only)

Mike's List of Brilliantly Bad Ideas

1. Letting Amazon watch you sleep

Amazon is creating a device that uses radar to watch you sleep. Code-named "Brahms," the Alexa-enabled device millimeter-wave radar to sense and track your breathing. It can alert you to signs of sleep apnea and other sleep disorders. It could also scan your bedroom to figure out what else you might need to buy on Amazon.

2. Coffee-themed children’s toys

Starbucks Korea is offering customers one of eight limited edition Playmobil toy figurines each time they buy select drinks. The figurines are Starbucks baristas. Who is the target for this promotion? Coffee-loving toddlers? Adults who like to play with baristas? I'm confused.

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