A thread through the archive

historical artifacts

Essays tagged “historical artifacts”. Follow an idea across the archive.

Essays on historical artifacts

2 essays

May 8, 2026ACX

Three Model Organisms For Taste

Scott examines three "model organisms" for understanding aesthetic taste: vexillology (flag design), movie plot holes, and tech company naming, using each to explore different aspects of what makes something tasteful or tasteless.

14 min read 2,142 words

Apr 30, 2021ACX

Your Book Review: Double Fold

The review examines Nicholson Baker's 'Double Fold', a critique of libraries replacing original books and newspapers with inferior microfilm copies.

47 min read 7,145 words

bad science book review historical artifacts