5SR - October 19, 2023

Marisa is a corporate employee benefits account executive, a freelance writer and #5SmartReads contributor, a sometimes reluctant Midwesterner, and mom to a pre-school aged daughter. (And yes, you can send her your insurance questions and she will try her best to give you the "explain it to me like I'm 5" answer). Currently watching: The Frasier reboot on Paramount Plus. Currently reading: The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

40 Maps That Explain The Middle East (Vox)

This is a pretty old read, but one that I still find relevant.

The situation in the Middle East is incredibly complex and almost impossible to really understand, but these maps are a decent primer on some of the most important highlights of the history of the area.

I Secretly Let ChatGPT Take My Final Exam (Slate)

I have been a bit obsessive about figuring out how to integrate ChatGPT into my life and work this year, and so I was really interested in the experiment Dan Arena (a computer science professor at Vanderbilt) conducted this spring, when he let ChatGPT take his final exam alongside his actual human students.

The results speak for themselves, but I think the key takeaway is this:

In other words... ChatGPT and other similar models can synthesize a lot of information quickly, but the information is just the first step - it's what you do with it that matters in the end.

Nothing Defines America’s Social Divide Like a College Education (The Atlantic)

I generally think that most of the readers of #5SmartReads are probably already in tune with the basic premise of this article - that education, moreso than race or geography, has become the greatest predictor of a wide variety of measures of success, economic and otherwise, for Americans.

Some of the statistics around life expectancy it cites out of a recent research paper are nevertheless shocking: did you know that adults without a B.A. at age 25 have a DRAMATICALLY lower life expectancy than adults with a college degree? I mean like six or seven years lower? That's absolutely crazy - and raises some food for thought for both the policy wonks out there and the rest of us.

A New JFK Assassination Revelation Could Upend The Long-Held “Lone Gunman” Theory (Vanity Fair)

When I was a senior in high school, I had to do a massive, semester-long research paper on a historic American, capped with a presentation and what I think the kids now would probably describe as cosplay. I chose Jackie Kennedy, and thus began my lifelong obsession with all things Kennedy-adjacent.

I wouldn't call myself a conspiracy theorist necessarily, but the magic bullet theory has always felt a little bit fishy to me. So I was of course MOST interested to learn about the account of former Secret Service agent Paul Landis, and am excited to see what historians do with this information and what else we learn as a result.

Grace Atwood On Building And Sustaining A Career Online (Gloria)

I don't think I ever saw this interview with Grace Atwood posted much on Instagram, and honestly that shocks me.

Read it and then give her a follow if you aren't already! She posts about books and skincare and always has the best clothes... plus she just seems like a really nice and down to earth person which is frankly what I am looking for in my parasocial relationships. ;-)

From Hitha - Grace is a longtime friend and I can attest that she is one of the kindest, down-to-earth, supportive people I know.