February and March 2025 – Recommendations

February and March in a nutshell…

After a brief hiatus, my innie went back to work — leaving my outie with a lot less energy for personal hobbies and pursuits. (That’s a Severance reference, for those of you still living under a rock.).

I’m happy to report that after four weeks of agonizing sleep schedule recalibration — thanks to the morning larks who apparently won the schedule war by default — this night owl is finally adjusting.

The shift has meant fewer pages read, more screens watched, and a lot of podcasts binged during commutes and lunch breaks. Here’s a roundup of some of my February and March favorites:

Articles to Checkout

The End of Credentialism – Cremeiux
- Credentialism has become a growing pet peeve of mine as I’ve gotten more familiar with the knowledge economy. To be clear, I’m grateful that firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical personnel undergo rigorous training – society benefits when high-stakes jobs have high standards. We don’t want someone with a Dexter complex winging it in a hospital ER (although this still happens?!?!).
- But in disciplines where modern software and computers handle most of the computation, credentials often seem like diminishing proxies for actual skill. In my experience, there’s sometimes an inverse relationship between how credentialed someone is and the value they bring to the table. This might be because many credentials mirror standardized testing environments, whereas real-world problems demand critical thinking, clear communication, and political navigation – not rote memorization.
- Cremeiux’s recent piece outlines how and why credentialism is on the decline. It’s a smart read and a solid primer. I may write more on this myself, but for now, this one’s well worth your time.
Media Accounting – Craig Mod
- I came across Craig Mod recently after hearing him on a two-part episode of The Tim Ferriss Show (see more below). In this essay, he explores the enduring power of books and their rising appeal as sanctuaries from the noise of modern digital life – the infinite feeds, addictive notifications and algorithmic manipulation of our attention. Mod’s prose is a joy to read, and he thoughtfully unpacks the subtle, often invisible contracts between creators and consumers that shape our media experiences today. If you enjoy this, consider exploring Craig’s full blog archive.
Do US States with more renewable energy have more expensive electricity?
- I often hear common rhetoric that renewable energy is always more expensive, as though this is the definitive 4th Law of Thermodynamics. Hannah Ritchie’s analysis explores this in detail based on available electricity data for each US state. The outcome: there lacks any strong correlation – in many instances, a higher portion of renewables (as a % of electric grid power generation) led to lower electricity prices. It appears that other factors play a bigger role in the state-by-state variance including mandatory curtailments, transmission and distribution costs, market design, grid fees , taxes, etc. A comparative analysis between two extreme cases of the data would be interesting to help determine what regulatory factors thematically make a difference in energy costs. While I don’t view myself as taking a side in the highly-dogmatic “renewable” vs. “non-renewable” debate, I think it’s fair to say i) global energy consumption appears to be going up, not down and ii) cheaper and wider access to energy unlocks productivity. For the data geeks out here, see more of Hannah’s great work as the Head of Research at Our World in Data.
The Average Kid is Better Than the Average Adult – Bryan Caplan
- A great essay on what make’s kids special – an antidote to the anti-kid rhetoric of our times. Pairs nicely with Paul Graham’s essay on Kids.

Documentary – Fantastic Fungi

For the biology nerds out there, mushroom culinary enthusiasts and the aspiring psychedelic user, don’t miss this documentary. I’ve become increasingly fascinated with fungi and their mycelium networks – a few mind-bending factoids:

A species of fungi in Chernobyl is feeding off of the nuclear decay and removing radioactive waste.
Fungi have been used for decontaminating the environment in a process called Mycoremediation, including removing oil spills from soil.

Once you’re done watching this documentary, consider pairing it with this short article, where Prof Arturo Casadevall explores the remote possibility of fungi creating the next fatal pandemic in humans (enter “The Last of Us“).

Podcast Recommendation- Craig Mod on TTFS Episode 1 and 2

As noted above, my two favourite podcasts I’ve listened to in the past 6 months featured Craig Mod as a guest on TTFS. Craig embodies an #Essentialist mindset and approach to living. He is writer, photographer and avid walker living in Japan for the past 25 years. Craig offers an intimate look into Japanese culture, a lens obtained trekking thousands of miles across Japan into areas often not visited by Western tourists. These walks have turned into an outlet for Craig’s creativity and mindfulness practise, unplugging from digital distractions. If you had to just pick one, watch Part 1 and don’t miss Craig’s bizarre encounter in Nepal.

Show I Binged – Common Side Effects

This show was a wild ride, blending conspiracy, dark humor and a bit of fungi magic. The story follows two friends from high school who reconnect after discovering the “Blue Angel Mushroom” which appears to be capable of curing every ailment. Their adventure spirals as they uncover a major cover-up involving a pharmaceutical giant and the government. Some great, quirky characters, unexpected twists and hilarious moments. Highly recommend checking it out for your next binge!

Quotes I’m Thinking About

“If your compassion doesn’t include yourself, you’re incomplete.” – Jack Kornfield
“Trying to demand respect from the masses is a fool’s errand” – Naval Ravikant

Thanks for reading! If you have any recommendations for me to check out, send me a note at blog@encarno.com