Note: Written in early February 2026. The Forecasting Paradox On January 9, 2026, the latest polling for Paris's March 15 municipal election showed a five-way race: Emmanuel Grégoire (Socialist, 33%), Rachida Dati (Republicans, 26%), Pierre-Yves Bournazel (centrist, 16%), Sophia Chikirou (far-left, 11%), and Sarah Knafo (far-right, 9%). Standard political analysis treats this as a "fluid" … Continue reading Paris 2026: The Reform Test, Can Electoral Engineering Break Polarization Traps?
Author: cafebedouin
The Presence Assumption: Digital Wellness and the Community It Presupposes
When a St. John's College student described a six-day phone fast as revelatory—"presence with nearby people became necessary"—they echoed a thirty-year-old prescription: reframe digital detox from "anti-tech" to "pro-community" by filling screen-free space with genuine presence. Melissa Kirsch made the same argument in the New York Times Morning newsletter, opening with a 1996 artifact ("netaholism," … Continue reading The Presence Assumption: Digital Wellness and the Community It Presupposes
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