On Being More Than a Persona
Authenticity, performance, and emotional truth online
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This letter comes to you through a bright late-spring Friday morning, the sun already loose upon the windows, the hour carrying that specific lightness only Fridays possess – as though even now, after years and years of working from home, the old machinery of office life still runs somewhere beneath the skin, insisting upon its celebration at week’s end. One does not quite escape these things. And today, too, David Attenborough turns one hundred, which lends the morning its own feeling of occasion. I briefly entertained the idea of beginning the morning with a shot of olive oil and lemon juice, but in the end made a strawberry smoothie bowl instead. Still haven’t tried it, though I already get plenty of lemon and extra virgin olive oil in my diet through salad dressings, and I’m not really one for trends. Yesterday I read an article that I’m still thinking about. It suggested something almost unsettling in its simplicity: that it has never been easier to live the life we say we want. The problem used to be how. Now, with everything we need to know sitting within reach, ‘how’ begins to sound less like a question and more like a hesitation.
This week’s letter explores the defence of nuance, human depth, disagreement, and interpretation; the increasingly urgent resistance to flattening, whether by ideology, algorithms, or AI. It is about the value of ambiguity in a culture obsessed with certainty, optimisation, and instant conclusions; about why lived experience still matters in an age increasingly shaped by synthetic identities, predictive systems, and prefabricated opinions. And beneath all of that, perhaps, a deeper question: what parts of being human remain irreducible no matter how efficiently the world attempts to scale, sort, or simulate us.
LAST TIME /at hyperreality
The Background Holding Everything Together
attention, artificial memory, ambient connectivity, and what appears when the signal falters
This week’s letter is filled with beautiful inspiration, from a small discovery about how the natural world listens more closely than we imagined, to a long-awaited cultural return after years of absence; from a moment in fashion history that reshaped silhouette and identity to a new piece of infrastructure designed entirely around human movement. Along the way, there are reflections on artificial memory, the disappearing boundaries of the internet, and the invisible systems that hold everyday life together until, suddenly, they don’t. Plus, a version of myself I never lived, and so much more.
THE WEEK /at a glance
○ Researchers are developing cleaner energy alternatives by using bacteria and plant waste to produce fuels. One team used bacteria fed with waste bread to generate hydrogen with far lower greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuels, while another extracted biofuel compounds from date-palm fibres, reducing both pollution and agricultural waste.
○ The Flynn Effect, which is the name for the steady rise in IQ scores that happened throughout the entire 20th century, has stalled. And in multiple countries it has reversed. Social media dependency and short form content consumption are contributing factors.
○ Norway is set to reshape coastal transport with the introduction of ‘flying’ electric ferries, as operator Boreal AS orders 20 Candela P-12 hydrofoil vessels. The landmark deal marks the largest fleet of electric passenger vessels ever commissioned and represents a significant step forward for zero-emission maritime travel.
○ Non-invasive devices like the Nuropod stimulate the vagus nerve through the ear and are backed by emerging research suggesting benefits for sleep, stress, and cognitive function, though they remain expensive and not yet mainstream
○ The Louis Vuitton Hotel London is a limited-time pop-up experience in Mayfair celebrating 130 years of the brand’s iconic Monogram through themed rooms, dining, and immersive showcases of its heritage and craftsmanship.
INTERIORS /cadaqués
Today’s interior inspiration whisks us way to the scenic fishing village and long-time artists’ haven of Cadaqués, where Architect Victor Bergnes de las Casas has transformed La Palmera, an 18th-century seaside house his family has owned for generations.
Originally formed from three fishermen’s cottages, the house was carefully renovated between 2020 and 2022 to preserve its layered history, childhood memories, and vernacular character while adapting it for modern family life. Bergnes simplified the previously overcrowded layout and introduced discreet contemporary comforts, seamlessly integrated through traditional materials and craftsmanship. The interiors were furnished with a mix of inherited antiques and bespoke nautical-inspired pieces, all intended to let the light, sea views, and spirit of Cadaqués remain the true focus of the home.
Read more about this charming space at The World of Interiors.
SUMMER /essentials
Below, for Paid Subscribers, reflections on the strange psychological side effects of hyper-connectivity and AI companionship; the luxury wellness trend merging neuroscience with ritual; the return of a forgotten 1990s beauty ideal; the unsettling elegance of soft apocalypse aesthetics in fashion and interiors; a fascinating new theory about why collective intelligence may actually be shrinking online; the summer destinations replacing the Amalfi Coast among fashion insiders; plus the books, objects, places, films, conversations, and small obsessions currently shaping my world.