NY Times on Fire

First, Douthat's column on the age of extinction is a must read. I remain a hair more optimistic - my general feel is that things can change quickly for both worse and better. So this notion that we all voluntarily stop procreating and life ends can easily be turned around by simply turning off video games and porn, I think. But he's really onto something about how physical life has become so much more difficult whereas online life so much more easy. To give a simple example - little league vs video games. The fortnite video game costs something like $50 and could entertain (if I let it) my kids for 2 hours each a day. They will be safe and happy in the short run. To compare, baseball practice can similarly entertain them for 2 hours, but it takes driving 15 minutes each way, it takes me doing coaching training and filling out tons of paperwork, costs hundreds of dollars each for league fees, hundreds each more for bats, helmets, gloves...it takes tremendous coordination and effort by parents, coaches, league volunteers, parks and rec for field access, etc. It is at least 15% more difficult than when I was a kid. And that's for a well-organized system with deep roots. I can make a similar point about skiing. 

My point - recreation in the US is by some measure worse than when I was a kid whereas the video games are clearly like 5x better than when I was a kid. It's only one example, but shows why we are being pushed more into the virtual and must remain intentional to get out.

Next, this ADHD article feels urgent and important. Two things to note - the "disease" is diagnosed by behaviors and cannot be identified by any biomarker. And the disease is treated with amphetamines for kids with notable side effects. It remains unclear in a lot of cases whether the ADHD diagnosis can be separated from other issues - example being anxiety disorder. Kids may display ADHD "symptoms" and be diagnosed with ADHD when in fact they have anxiety. Well worth a read for the many folks dealing with doctors and teachers telling you your kid has ADHD.