New Year Smashed Broccoli

20230103, #breakfastdiary 640, 0°C/clear, 0min/exercise The digital economy is a competition for stealing attention. Today's sharpest statisticians, psychologists, and developers are all racing to find ways to erode users' willpower, and the result shows up as persuasive recommendation algorithms. To that end, Netflix tracks which scenes people rewatch, and mobile game apps analyze the background noise around their users. Koo Bon-kwon, "New Year's Resolutions for the Digital Age" Tastes shaped by algorithms inevitably grow uniform. As #newyear arrives, it's worth pausing to ask whether the tastes I hold (these days) are really my own. 1. Blanch the broccoli in boiling water. 2. Lay the broccoli in a hot pan and press it flat. Drizzle with olive oil and sear thoroughly on both sides along with sliced garlic. 3. Move it to a plate, then finish with lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and a generous grating of parmesan. (For extra crispness, the oven might work better than the pan.)