Confession: I've never killed a spotted lanternfly
Irresponsible? Maybe. Immoral? I doubt it.
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Since 2020, New Yorkers have been advised to commit crimes against insects. Upon seeing an invasive spotted lanternfly in the wild, one should “kill it immediately by stepping on it or crushing it,” local authorities say. I’ll admit: I’ve been reluctant to do my part because they are so lovely to look at. But is it so bad that I also don’t want to stomp on them because I don’t want lanternfly juice on the bottom of my shoes…and therefore on my floor at home??
Anywho, welcome to Quality Sheet! Let’s jump in.
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“Intellectual humility was rarely discussed between 1800 and the early 2000s, but in the early 2010s, the number of mentions the trait received began to grow exponentially,” writes Rachel Fraser, an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Oxford. So…what is the point of being intellectually humble today—is it virtuous to admit when we don’t know something, or does it stop us from standing firmly in what we know to be true?
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Ever wondered what the teeny weeny brain of a teeny weeny fruit fly looks like? Here’s what happened when a global team of researchers mapped one out. "When you dive inside the brain it's just incredibly complicated and intricate at this microscopic level," Gregory Jefferis, neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge, said of the research.
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Mati Diop became the first Black woman filmmaker to compete at Cannes for her 2019 romantic drama “Atlantics,” one of my favourite films. Now working on her second movie, Dahomey, she chats to peer and pal Jeremy O’Harris about why she loves New York and the legacy she hopes to create as a French-Senegalese filmmaker.
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The influencer economy and ecosystem is wonderfully diverse. Not on farmtok yet? Here’s how farm workers are cultivating awareness on TikTok about their jobs as the “backbone of the U.S. food system.”
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Did you know actor Robert De Niro was instrumental in growing the Nobu empire? Well, now you do. Restaurateur Nobu Matsuhisa talks to Grub Street about what made him take the leap to expand his business decades ago, despite crushing setbacks in an intense industry.
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Thank you for reading. Share to sweeten someone’s day—and have a lovely rest of your week!
Isabel :)
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