Philosophy
fromThe Atlantic
1 week agoThe People Who Think Introspection Is Dumb
William Shatner's space experience led him to reflect on humanity's insignificance and the need to cherish life on Earth.
The first time antiimmigration legislation was approved was likely in 1879, in a country where antiimmigrant sentiment tinged with racism had always lurked beneath the surface, despite the wellknown fact that foreign labor was essential to its development. That country was the United States, whose Congress and a Republican president named Chester A. Arthur enacted, in 1882, the socalled Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited the arrival of Chinese workers for at least 10 years.
Not me, thanks: children need the human connection the love that gives life meaning. As he works towards launching SpaceX on to the stock market, in perhaps the biggest ever such share sale, the world's richest man has every incentive to talk big. Yet as Musk waxed eccentrically about this robotic utopia, it was a reminder that major decisions about the direction of technological progress are being taken by a small number of very powerful men (and they are mainly men).
The Meta CEO overtook Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos to become the world's second-richest person for the first time in October 2024. His net worth has advanced to $229 billion since then, but he's slid to sixth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of Wednesday's close. Zuckerberg - whose company owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp - only trailed Elon Musk by $50 billion in October last year.
As we wrap up 2025, we're looking at the year's biggest winners: the people, companies, products and trends that made the most impact over the year. Almost at the top of the pile, of course, are the tech billionaires. According to a recent report by Oxfam, the 10 richest US billionaires (who are all tech leaders, save for Warren Buffet) increased their wealth by $698 billion in 2025. Some of that has been spent treating and lavishing donations on President Trump.
With no lyrics, the nearly silent clip is set to a guitar instrumental that recalls his 2003 Crazy Horse track "Be the Rain." The video opens with coverage of the White House's East Wing demolition during the government shutdown before flashing a banner that reads, "The 1% ruins the world." It then cuts to footage of Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk on stage before displaying a tweet that reads, "The oligarchs gather & so starts the looting of America."
Size doesn't always matter, but it absolutely does in the rarefied world of superyachts. Palaces at sea have long been a status symbol for the masters of the universe, a place to live a life of excess and network, far removed from the prying eyes of ordinary people. As the rich get richer - the world's 10 richest people are $500 billion wealthier this year - their boats are getting longer.
The OpenAI co-founder and CEO's Big Island residence is now for sale, with a new listing that touts a "blend of luxury and natural beauty" - and many amenities of the ultra-rich. The estate looks out on Kailua Bay and the Pacific Ocean, with the listing boasting 10 bedrooms across a main residence and a guest house, a helicopter landing spot, staff quarters, a screening room, a private harbor, and "advanced security systems [that] guarantee peace and discretion."