#5SmartReads - June 13, 2023

Hitha on dopamine, ranked choice voting, and redefining the fantasy genre

June 13, 2023

Ranked choice voting allows voters to vote for multiple candidates and rank them in order of preference. If a candidate does not receive a majority of the votes, the one with the fewest votes are eliminated and that candidates’ second choice votes are dispersed to the other candidates who earned them. This goes on until a candidate reaches a majority.

It’s become the norm in NYC primary elections, as well as in other cities and states around the country (Congresswoman Mary Peltola of Alaska won her election after the second and third choice ballots were counted).

It’s a logical approach to voting, and has shown to increase both voter turnout and more diverse candidates running for office. So why have four states - South Dakota, Idaho, Florida, and Tennessee - essentially banned the practice?

There are claims of it being confusing at best, or that the practice is akin to rigging elections at worst. But the real fear around ranked choice voting is how it challenges who typically runs for office and is elected.

“Ranked-choice voting challenges the status quo and challenges elected leaders to campaign differently,” she [Deb Otis, director of research and policy at FairVote] said. “And so, I think support from elected officials tends to be a lagging indicator of support from the voters.”

The data shows that ranked-choice voting is not the Democrat-boost that critics make it out to be. It is a boost to democracy and in better representing the will of the people.

The most effective policies are the least buzzy - like increasing subsidies for Medicaid access, funding the ATF adequately, and ranked-choice voting. The reporting in this piece is clear, detailed, and shows how far we’ve come - and how far we have to go.

Sophia Nomvete was the best part of Rings of Power for me - she brought the laughs and the tears, and made the show for me.

Representation in media has long been an issue, especially in Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films. Rings of Power flipped that script and made women - especially women of color - central to the first season of the show. These characters had depth, drove the plot, and contained multitudes.

As a longtime fantasy fan, it made me feel like I was finally included in the genre I’ve loved so much. And the reaction to these characters - especially Nomvete’s - was both heartbreaking and unsurprising.

“When the announcement came out and pictures went up about just our faces of who we were playing, I was statistically the most attacked castmember of the entire show,” she continued. “There were N-bombs, I had no place here. ‘You’re too fat, you’re too black. Why are you here?’ I had one that was actually very polite, who said, ‘I’m sure that you’re a wonderful actress and a really lovely person. I just, I don’t think you should be part of this, it’s not right. If you could potentially just send a letter to Amazon with your resignation, I’d be very grateful.'” Nomvete joked, “I thought, ‘No, I’m not going to do that, I can’t.’ I can’t afford to resign for you, so sadly I’m here to stay,” even as her family was threatened.

In deciding to remain on the Amazon series, “I realized that my place in this show is not just a celebration, it is an act of defiance against a reality that is simply not true, which is that we have no place on screens or in fantasy spaces,” she said…

“I realized that for her [Nomvete’s daughter], and for the future of our industry and the generation, it is a must that I stand in my power and my light and do as much as I can with this character,” the actress said. “And so I marched to the showrunners and I begged them to make this moment matter. I begged them not to make her subservient or just the wife-of or the funny fat friend. I begged them to make her quite a sexual titan.”

Fantasy is the ultimate suspension of reality. I would hope that the so-called fans who felt compelled to attack Nomvete (and the other women who own these lead characters in other fantasy franchises) learn this lesson, because she’s not going anywhere. And we - diverse fans of fantasy - have always been and will be here.

What I would give for Quinta Brunson to adapt this story of Philadelphia nurses going into the community to deliver COVID vaccines and administer tests and builds a one-of-a-kind public health practice into a sitcom…

I’d give all the jawns. But until that happens, I’m glad I have the documentary Angel Dose, and that Tarik Khan - one of these public health heroes - is now serving in Pennsylvania’s state legislature as the representative of the 194th district.

The short doc follows Khan’s second shift of vaccinating homebound Philadelphians, as well as shining a light on the broken public health infrastructure that was revealed during the active phase of the pandemic, and has largely been forgotten again.

Khan’s experience as a nurse has already made an impact in the legislature - the Patient Safety Act (which mandates unit-specific staffing ratios and establishes committees to oversee and update these standards) passed the House’s Health Committee and is moving to the floor for a vote.

How Cereal Transformed American Culture (Mental Floss via Pocket)

That cereal went from being non-existent to owning entire aisles of the grocery store in less than 200 years is a history lesson worth learning about.

Cereal was the OG wellness fad, and so much of this story is what we continue to see in the latest food and wellness trends. The cycle follows as such:

  • research unveils a white space in the market, and a physician jumps on it from a therapeutic perspective.

  • another health leader (this one having a stronger brand and more business savvy) adapts the idea for greater appeal and marketability (and delivering a solid profit - cereal’s is about 50%), and continues to grow that market with new products supporting the messaging.

  • other companies jump on this trend and produce their own versions, citing new claims and advancements over the current market leaders.

  • investors jump in and fuel said growth, turning a niche product into a booming industry of its own.

  • market expansion is fueled by growing the customer base - in cereal’s case, children (with the help of sugary varieties and memorable characters).

  • growth begets growth, and companies invest heavily in marketing and advertising to their most promising customer bases (TV ads during Saturday morning cartoons, activities on the boxes).

  • this particular market contracts to make way for a new fad, with the strongest players surviving and enjoying reliable profits from this now established business.

While I’m heartened that the predatory marketing tactics focused on kids are not as blatant as they used to be (instead, we have 2-day delivery and subscription models), this cycle repeats itself constantly. And once you see it, you can’t help but talk about identify which part of this cycle various brands are in.

Cereal is but one dopamine booster that is a normal part of our lives - along with the engagement notifications on social media apps, beating a level in a video game, watching certain shows, and sugar rushes in general.

“Turns out, smartphones and sugary foods do have something in common with drugs: They trigger surges of a neurotransmitter deep inside your brain called dopamine. Although drugs cause much bigger spikes of dopamine than, say, social media or an ice cream cone, these smaller spikes still influence our behavior, especially in the long run. They shape our habits, our diets, our mental health and how we spend our free time. They can also cause much conflict between parents and children.”

Dopamine was previously believed to boost happiness or increase pleasure. But new studies - and my own observations in our family’s behavior - is that dopamine triggers desire, and to seek out more of whatever’s causing said desire.

Recognizing what spikes your dopamine levels and rewiring the dopamine pathway that has likely become our default takes some time, and the tactics shared in this piece definitely help. This is one to save and reference in the future.

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