Anonymously
I have never once spelled that word correctly on the first try. Plus, it's opposite day here at Understandably. And 7 other things worth your time ... and also an important link to check out.
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Most days, I send you a roughly 1,500-word email. Today, with the weekend coming up, I’m going to ask you to send me something.
It’ll be quick: a fast, easy 15-question (anonymous) multiple choice survey, which you can find here.
When you hit “submit” on the survey it will forward your answers to me anonymously. (Have I sufficiently emphasized anonymously?)
Why am I asking for this? Well, Understandably has grown quite a lot in the last few months, and I’m thinking about two things:
Growth and how to manage it—improving this newsletter (and the other related projects I want to do) without undermining the things people already enjoy.
Sponsorships. Yes, I’ve been talking with some potential sponsors. They’re interested, but also eager to know a bit more overall demographic data.
I really hope you’ll fill out the survey. But, even if you just click through to read the questions, you’ll learn something about the direction I hope to take this all in.
One last thing before you click that button. It’s been nearly a month since we added member subscriptions. To those of you who have become paid members, thank you!
I promised we’d do extra things for members (besides the free newsletter), and I’m excited to say the first thing is that we’ll be resuming the group video interview series, much as we did with ski champion Bode Miller in December.
My #1 criteria for these interviews is that the guests have to be compelling and worth your time. (Members are invited to join over Zoom, ask questions, etc.) Among our initial lineup:
Dr. Bruce Greyson, who was mentioned in an earlier newsletter (sparked quite a debate), and who is the author of After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond.
Sabrina Dax, who has not yet written a book (but should!); we’ll be talking about her experience moving from Los Angeles to Budapest during the pandemic despite not speaking Hungarian, and the big paradox she’s found while running a business from 6,000 miles away.
Turney Duff, consultant on the Showtime series Billions, and author of The Buy Side: A Wall Street Trader's Tale of Spectacular Excess.
Exact times and dates are TBD but we will be starting soon. Oh, and we’ll have book giveaways and other things like that for members who participate. (Suggestions for more guests are welcome, of course.)
OK, that’s it. I tried to make the survey easy and maybe even a little entertaining, so I hope you’ll check it out.
7 other things worth your time
Keeping these a bit short today because… well, because I really hope you’ll check out the survey!
Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease fire, which should be in effect by the time you read this Friday. (NBC News)
Apple CEO Tim Cook takes the stand today in his company’s court case with Epic Games, which was “kicked out of Apple's App Store last summer for flouting Apple's rules on digital payments.” (CNN)
The U.S. Army had to disable comments on a series of new recruiting videos, after commenters attacked the videos for depicting a soldier (a real person) who discussed growing up with two moms. Army spokesperson: “Out of respect for our soldiers and their families, we have disabled the comments.” (Task and Purpose)
New York and Maryland joined the vaccine lottery trend: NY has a $5 million prize for people who get the vaccine; Maryland is doing something similar with a $2 million prize. (Axios, CBS Local)
Pediatricians say they’re seeing “alarming weight gain” in kids during the pandemic. “I’ve been really shocked,” said Rachana Shah, medical director of the healthy weight program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. (WSJ)
Bidding for the one free seat on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket (Jeff Bezos’s company) has reached almost $3 million for the roughly 11 minute trip (about 4 or 5 minutes of weightlessnes). (Business Insider, Blue Origin)
Lou Ferrigno, who played The Hulk on TV in the 1970s, and who has dealt with hearing loss almost his entire life, is sharing the story of getting a cochlear implant at age 69, and "hearing some sounds for the first time.” (People)
Thanks for reading. No stars, no hearts, no “comment below” today: Please: Check out the survey!
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Mr. Murphy, I love Understandably. Thank you for providing excellent content!
I completed your survey, and after today's Understandably, I was inspired to write my first comment:
In "7 other things...", you state, "The U.S. Army *had* to disable comments on a series of new recruiting videos..." (emphasis mine). I noted that in the original article from Task & Purpose, the header was simply, "Army disables comments...", as a statement of fact. This leads me to presume that the use of the words, "had to" were your choice.
I've been reading Understandably for a few months, now, and you play well down the middle, even on controversial topics. -But to claim that the Army 'had to' to shut down comments is taking sides- arguably taking the side of limiting speech (even if it is offensive, ignorant, idiotic speech).
The U.S. Army didn't HAVE to disable any comments. The U.S. Army could have posted a disclaimer stating that the comment section was not representative of positions of the U.S. Army or Department of Defense... Or, the U.S. Army could have invested the energy (they have an entire career field/functional area for Public Affairs Officers, for heaven's sake) to combat individual comments in the public forum, take the high ground, and WIN in the court of public opinion. There are multiple other options for shaping opinion, having discourse, making arguments, and hosting a forum, even among hopeless trolls. -Dismiss the trolls after they exhibit trollish behavior, and engage the rest.
Again- the Army didn't *HAVE* to shut down comments. Doing so only confirms the complaints against the advertisement. In other words, shutting down comments is seen as a method of choice for those pushing the "woke" orthodoxy, because 'wokeness' doesn't stand up to the scrutiny of discourse. You are supposed to just believe and agree, or be dismissed as backwards, some form of "-ist", or some sort of deplorable individual.
TL;DR: I was 'triggered' when I read that the Army "had to" shut down comments. If the Army is supposed to be able to defend this country from deadly, existential threats who wield the cutting edge of unthinking death deliverance technology, then it is sad that they seem to not have the moral confidence to win a spirited argument on-line against those that they claim are ignorant or unworthy adversaries (or trolls).
In regards to the content questions in the survey; I like the fact you have a nice variety of topics so it is different and not predictable. This way you hit on more interests of people but it gives you and expanded focus while they are short enough to be of interest to most who still walk upright.