”What are the chances? That a lapsed luck philosopher meets an unluckiness magnet on Tinder and falls for her? That she falls for him?” For New York magazine, Eric Boodman explores the complex nature of luck through the life trajectories of a sociologist prone to misfortune, Holly Davis, and her husband (and luck scholar), Lee John Whittington. Is luck real? It’s a tough question, but Boodman tackles it in this intriguing piece.
We live in an era of boundless data, an empiricist’s fantasy. Apps count our steps and track our breaths. Websites watch our scrolls and clicks. Scientists trace the viruses and chemicals that get flushed with our urine and feces. We recognize the structural forces at play in our lives, the long tail of history and policy swishing around in the everyday. Our world should be at its most analyzable, explicable — but still it can feel like sorcery. That a hurricane’s path was plotted by satellite and dropsonde, radar and big-data modeling doesn’t dull the eeriness of one house destroyed and its neighbor still standing.
More picks from Intelligencer
What Is It Like to Be a Cucumber?
“The biologist Michael Levin has spent his life trying to prove that minds show up in places we’d never think to look.”
What If It All Came Out?
“We’re each attached to years of texts, searches, and photos, an archive of humiliation that could detonate at any time.”
Frankenstein’s Sheep
“Cloned and genetically modified animals are entering the black market, possibly forever altering our ecosystems.”
The Crypto Maniacs and the Torture Townhouse
“How two men charged with an outrageous kidnapping scheme introduced a new kind of crime to the city.”
“People Want That African Euphoria”
“Black Americans are moving to Ghana — and driving up the cost of living for everyone around them.”
Zero Zen
“A great exchange rate, ChatGPT, and kimono-wearing bros have turned Kyoto into the loveliest tourist trap on earth.”
