The Discover Weekly Explanation

December eighth. The thing about Simone getting a new phone is that she does not get a new phone quietly. There is a period, I would estimate it at somewhere between forty minutes and three business days, where every feature she has discovered becomes something she needs to demonstrate, ideally in real time, ideally with you sitting next to her so she can show you the screen.

The specific feature this time was Spotify's Discover Weekly. She had a whole position on it. The argument was essentially: the algorithm knows what you want before you do, and this is either a great thing or a troubling thing, and either way you should look at this playlist right now. I had a cup of coffee I was trying to finish before the next shift. I was not going to win this.

I don't actually disagree with her, that's the thing. The playlist it made for me, the three times I have used the app at all, was unsettlingly accurate in the specific way that feels less like recommendation and more like being watched. I told Simone this and she pointed at me like I had finally said something correct.

Simone explaining. Elena pretending to understand.

Which I had, probably. That part I'll concede.

It's December now and the climbing gym is closed for some kind of floor resurfacing thing through the weekend, so Tuesdays have been briefly formless. We ended up in the break room longer than either of us planned. That's the version of December I don't mind, the accidental extended lunch, the phone on the table, the algorithm quietly making its case.

Whatever she said, it landed.

Gerald is overdue for a water. The windowsill is the same as it always is. Everything's fine.