Ads sell an aspirational state.

Consumers buy their next state.


UMich’s survey of consumers showed sentiment dropped, specifically post-Iran action. Before that the vibe was looking up.

I think this read from Northbeam captures it:

The vibes are in free fall. Conflict with Iran keeps spiraling, gas prices are about to explode, and the US lost 92,000 jobs in February, with more likely to come.

People have a visceral response to the numbers they see on the gas pump, and right now those numbers aren’t causing positive reactions. Shoppers now have less money to spend on discretionary purchases.

The vibecession continues.


This exchange from Another Podcast highlights a great way to use LLMs:

Benedict: I’ve written this, is this what anybody else would say? Is this just saying what everyone knows, what everyone thinks? Then I won’t publish it.

And now, I just say ‘well, is this what ChatGPT would have said? In which case it’s generic and average and it’s saying what everyone knows.

Toni: And there’s actually no opinion to it.

Use average engines, get average results.

What is it that you think?


If a student asked me what skills to focus on developing, I’d say:

  • Taste
  • Opinion(s)*
  • Discernment

This assumes a base of curiosity, but the act of asking suggests that’s not an issue.

*by which I mean informal hypotheses, not dogmatic beliefs for social flame wars

(not limited to students)


There’s universal praise for nothing in modern society

-Anthony Slater

You can’t please everyone. So why act like you can?

Build a brand for the fans.