Might seem weird for a bag company, but grappling with tech and how it fits into travel is always on our mind. At its best, it connects and unleashes potential at civilisational scale.
At its worst: Candy Crush, 24/7.
Technology is a thread connecting almost every story this month; too much, not enough, used well, used badly. Be deliberate.
And as always, the $100 survey is down below π
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Congrats to Bryant, our latest 3x3 winner!
"My favorite place in the world is New York City. I was fortunate enough to live there for eight years and I miss its energy and adventure every day. I was back last year and had the perfect day on the Upper West Side with family." |
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- Vancouver is one of NatGeo's best places to visit: World Cup co-host, orcas, a dumpling trail, 1000 acres of parkland, an on-campus nudist beach, and most importantly, home of both of our co-founders for all of 2005 (somehow this fact didn't make the final edit).
- Airbus is testing a technique where planes fly in pairs like migrating geese, surfing each other's wake to cut fuel burn by 5%. Flights could start doing this by the 2030s.
- A month-by-month guide (via Minaal user Eric!) to the best vacations for kids, from Antarctic penguin encounters in January to Finnish Lapland in December.
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We hug our partners to release oxytocin. We walk in nature to boost creativity. We read to live longer. Julian Baggini's essay for Aeon asks a question you might've felt already: when did everything good in life become a means to something else?
It's not that health or productivity are "bad" goals. It's that treating every experience as a lever turns life into an optimization project instead of an experience. The walk stops being a walk. The hug stops being a hug. And the ends we're optimizing (health, wealth, wellbeing) aren't even inherently valuable.
A bit of a painful read, i.e. "I see myself in this picture and I don't like it".
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Tech companoes argued devices would democratize education. Schools bought in. One middle school in Kansas gave all 480 students their own Chromebooks to use freely in class and at home.
What they got was YouTube binges and kids using school Gmail accounts to bully each other. Now, the laptops live in classroom carts, used only when a teacher assigns something specific. The kids take notes by hand.
An NYT investigation reports that at least 10 US states have recently introduced bills to restrict school screen time. The principal in Kansas: "This technology can be a tool. It is not the answer to education." |
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That's the entire population of Tristan da Cunha, a volcanic island in the middle of the South Atlantic, 1,500 miles from its nearest inhabited neighbour. No airport. A handful of ships per year. One settlement (named, excellently, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas.)
NPR's visual essay follows a single day on the island: lobster tagging at dawn, sheep herding on the cliffs, a christening with 22 godparents, and an 86-year-old clocking in at the processing factory. Everyone does everything, all at once. |
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If you like the sound of a $50 store credit, throw your name in the virtual hat by answering 2 quick questions.
Enter here π
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As always: let us know what you liked, what you'd like to see more of, your favourite Atlantic island, that sorta thing.
J, D, & the Minaal team
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Kuala Kubu Bharu, Malaysia |
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Made with β€οΈ all over the π by the Minaal crew.
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