Five Things: Ukraine, Humanity, Moneyball, Memory, Musk
It's Sunday again. Read this now!
Hi and welcome back to Five Things! If you don’t remember why you subscribed or just somehow got here: my name is Nico Lumma, I read a lot online and I like to share the five most interesting articles with you, my esteemed readers. If you haven’t subscribed yet or if you finally decided to go paid, here’s a handy button to do just that.
This week Germany celebrated 75 years of having a democratic basic law, as our constitution is called: das Grundgesetz. It was not called a constitution in 1949 because it was only put in place in West Germany and the many men and few women who debated the basic law back then feld strongly about putting something provisionary in place that would keep the option of a reunification on the table. As I’m turning 52 this year, I really spent a lot of time with the Grundgesetz and I think it is an extremely well-designed constitution. It starts with this really wonderful article 1:
The human dignity is inviolable.
Obviously, this was four years after World War II and on this Memorial Day weekend I am very grateful again for the American soldiers who liberated Europe.
Speaking of human dignity, on Pentecost Weekend some young rich people went to a club called Pony in a village called Kampen on the Island of Sylt, which is like Germany’s version of the Hamptons, to party with other young rich people. On a video that surfaced a few days ago and which our chancellor Olaf Scholz called “disgusting” at a press conference, you can see those people singing “Germany for the Germans, Foreigners out” to the tune of the Eurodance song “L’Amour toujours”.
The people on the video who got identified lost their jobs almost immediately and the public outcry has been huge. While we value freedom of speech tremendously in Germany, we do not allow the usage of Nazi slogans and symbols, and for good reason. Obviously, I do not want those people to feel so safe that they publicly yell their racist and xenophobic crap. They now have the state security police on their backs and I sure hope they will get punished hard, both by the law and by society.
Meanwhile, the far-right parties in the European Parliament have cut their ties with the far-right German AfD, not because they are on Russias and Chinas payroll, but because they are too Nazi even for Europe’s far right. I guess some remember their history lessons after all. The AfD top-candidate for the European Parliament just tried to play down the role of the SS, which did not go to well with the other far-right extremists. He now is not allowed to publicly appear on the campaign trail, but as he has to remain on the ballot, he will be sent to the EP soon, where he will play a minor role in the disfunctional European far-right that can’t agree on anything.
I really like our Grundgesetz and I subscribe to what is called “Verfassungspatriotismus” - constitutional patriotism. It’s difficult to be a German with the history of World War II and the Shoa intertwined with it and one cannot be proud of it. Gustav Heinemann, who was West Germany’s third President (69-74) was once asked “do you love Germany?” and he answered “I love my wife.” I do think Germany has come a long way since 1949 and I sure hope we can become more of a beacon of light with the generations to come. We cannot take our freedom and our democracy for granted, we have to fight for it every single day.
With all this being said, please read Five Things now!
A Theory of Victory for Ukraine
“It is time for that to change. The West must explicitly state that its goal is a decisive Ukrainian victory and Russian defeat, and it must commit to supplying Kyiv with direct military aid and to supporting the country’s burgeoning defense industry. Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, must work to advance until they can expel Russian forces from all occupied territory, including Crimea.” - I think so, too. This war has been going on for way too long, way too many people have died and Putin needs to lose. We need to get Ukraine to win.
The Collapse Is Coming. Will Humanity Adapt?
“It is conceivable that if all of humanity suddenly decided to change its behavior, right now, we would emerge after 2050 with most everything intact, and we would be “OK.” We don’t think that’s realistic.” - ok, that’s probably not too good, I guess.
The Perils of Moneyballing Everything
“In many realms of the world, we pretend that we are playing by the rules of Moneyball when we’re actually playing Calvinball. Our world is defined by non-stationarity. So, how do we grapple with this problem? Well, I regret to inform you that most of the time, we just pretend it doesn’t exist. That’s why many of you have never heard the phrase “non-stationarity” before this instant.” -
is looking at how we deal with data and analytics to give us a better understanding how we should look at all the data we collect.How Much is a Memory Worth?
“If we want to consciously create a lasting memory, choose a unique (variety), exciting (intense) event that you already have an understanding or interest in.” - this is easier said than done. How do you create memories?
I Read Everything Elon Musk Posted for a Week. Send Help.
I notice Musk interacting with German far-right idiots from time to time. This makes me question the way he allocates time to things. Mildly put.
That’s it. Have a great Sunday! If you missed last Sunday’s edition of Five Things, have a look here:
— Nico