This blog is like a Masterclass except the production values are close to zero, it’s free, and we don’t claim that reading it will make you better at anything.

“From a biochemical perspective, wakefulness is low-level brain damage”

So, I picked up this week’s New Yorker and saw an article on an online “edutainment” platform called Masterclass. Masterclass . . . that rang a bell . . . I googled and found this post from last year, recounting a breathless ad for a Masterclass from famed sleep expert and data misrepresenter Matthew Walker.

The New Yorker article, by Tad Friend, was fine, a mix of warmth and gentle skepticism. Eventually, though, it reached the point that I was fearing:

The best classes give you a new lens on the world. . . . Matthew Walker, the site’s sleep expert, warns against caffeine, alcohol, and naps—three of my favorite things. “From a biochemical perspective,” he observes, “wakefulness is low-level brain damage.”

“A new lens on the world,” huh? Yeah, anybody could give you a new lens on the world too, if they’re willing to make stuff up and pretend it’s true.

Let’s play that one again:

“From a biochemical perspective,” he observes, “wakefulness is low-level brain damage.”

First, what the hell does that mean? Does it mean anything at all? “From a biochemical perspective,” indeed. From a theological perspective, I think this is B.S.

Second, I’m disappointed that the reporter took off his reporter hat in writing that sentence. The appropriate word is “states” or “pontificates” or maybe “claims,” not “observes.”

OK, this is just a tiny part of a long article. It just happens to be the one part I happen to know something about. So I’m ranting.

This blog is like a Masterclass except the production values are close to zero, it’s free, and we don’t claim that reading it will make you better at anything.