'Eras are an imprecise tool to make sense of the messy past'

'The game that shows we're thinking about history all wrong'

Spencer Kornhaber at The Atlantic

The game "Civilization VII" makes a "radical change by firmly segmenting the experience into — here's that word — eras," says Spencer Kornhaber. "Eras are an imprecise tool to make sense of the messy past." Game developers have "argued that the eras system is realistic," but in the most recent version of the game, "history also feels overdetermined." Playing "Civilization" used to "feel like living through an endless dawn of possibility," but this time, you're not in command of history; history is in command of you, and it's assigning you busywork."

Read more

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

'Learning cursive is an important skill, but should it be mandatory in today's tech age?'

Yvette Walker at The Kansas City Star

Some "think cursive is an important skill," but there's debate over whether it should be required in the modern technological age, says Yvette Walker. One "factor against it is the extra level of rigor for left-handed students." You "might not be able to write it, but you should be able to read it." If there is a "way to build an understanding of cursive into the system without busting the budget or losing another important skill, I'd be up for that."

Read more

'What anti-Musk Democrats can learn from Steve Bannon'

Ross Barkan at Intelligencer

Steve Bannon has made it his "mission to destroy Elon Musk, the new bête noire of Democrats," says Ross Barkan, and "liberals who share that goal — and want to boost their working-class credibility — might want to pay attention to how he's doing it." Bannon's "attacks are potentially potent because he understands the stakes of this battle." Musk "cares far more about his business and tech interests than the fate of working-class America."

Read more

'Cut climate emissions by ticketing the worst offenders, like speeding drivers'

Antoine Rostand at The Hill

If the world "rolls over on methane regulations, we'll need to change tack to bring down methane quickly," says Antoine Rostand. The "best way to do this is to narrow the scope of the regulations and target so-called 'super-emitters.'" Holding "methane super-emitters to account, as opposed to scrutinizing the entire lifecycle emissions of fossil fuels, would be a much more straightforward and effective policy" than the "more arcane rules that the United States is set to tear up."

Read more