FT Weekend Magazine - June 11, 2022

44 Pages·2022·13 MB·English

JUNE 11/12 2022 Who
wants
to own
a hotel
now?

June11/122022
FEATURES
18.
Checkingin
Alittle-known,fast-growing
Americanhotelchainaimsto
changethefutureoftheindustry.
Canit?ByBrookeMasters
24.
Americanodyssey
WhatphotographerJimDow’sroad
epiccapturesabouttheUS
36.
▶ Positivelymedieval
Anancientmanuscriptyields
delectablesecrets.ByPollyRussell
A
EL
U
R
Y
A
B
AL
INTELLECT APPETITES WIT&WISDOM
9 TimHarford 14 SimonKuper 33 TimHayward 44 RobertShrimsley
Learningtothink Sport’smeritocracyvs Discoveriesfromafunkycellar Thekeytohappiness:effective
requirestheheart politics’chumocracy 34 Recipe advanceplanning
10 LeoLewis 16 GillianTett Spaghettivongole 45 Games
Ourhouseholdis TheTaooftraintravel 41 JancisRobinson 46 TheQuestionnaire
hopelesslydeadlocked Cinemasparadiso EdwardCarey,authorandartist
12 Gallery
GarethMcConnell’sflowers
Issuenumber975•Onlineft.com/magazine•FTWeekendMagazineisprintedbytheWalsteadGroupintheUKand ONTHECOVER
publishedbyTheFinancialTimesLtd,BrackenHouse,1FridayStreet,LondonEC4M9BT©TheFinancialTimesLtd2022 IllustrationbyLisaSheehan
Nopartofthismagazinemaybereproducedinanyformwithoutthepriorexpresspermissionofthepublisher
Marginaliaby
PPurobdliuschtiniogn::DDaapnhnnyeMKaocvkalcins,,ahdevaedrtoisfiandgvperrotidsiuncgt,ioFnT–Wdeaenkieenl.dmMacakglianz@infet.–codmapohrnme.akgosvcaocps@[email protected] NadineRedlich @FTMag
FT.COM/MAGAZINE JUNE11/122022 5
Letters
Finedining’sreckoning Weallneedtomovemoreand byincreasingtheirelectrification
byImogenWest-Knights somehowmimicwhatourancestors withsaferdesignandmanaging
IhadwantedtogotoNomafor didtopromotebetterhealth.The congestionthroughpricing.All
years.DuringCovidtimes,they chairwasfirstrecordedabout meansoftransporthaveaplace
prettymuchfiredtheirentire 3,000BCwhenpeopleweremuch inprovidingmobilityforcertain
“family”withlittlenotice.Alotof smallerandlighter,andhadalife purposesattherightplaceandtime.
poorlypaidyoungpeoplewithno expectancyofperhaps35years. Increaseofpersonalandfreight
savingswhoseidentitywasbuilt Theysatinthemnottowork,more mobilityisaconditionforincreased
aroundtheprestigeofNomagot likelytorestbriefly.Yetsomehow prosperity.Spatialmonopolies
brokenthatday. thissimpleobjecthasmorphed areonlybrokenbyimproving
TheemailIgotaboutitwas intotheaccepteddefaultpostural transport.Ifwereducemobility,
suchaloadofPRwafflethatany solutionforthehumanrace. wefallpreytomonopolistic
half-intelligentpersoncouldread StevieD123viaFT.com employers,shopkeepersor
betweenthelinesandseewhat landlords.Thatwasthecondition
theyreallythoughtoftheirstaff. Nitrousoxide,madnessand intheMiddleAgesanditonly
I’mnotinterestedingoingthere Roget’sThesaurus improvedwithindustrialisation
anymore,especiallyafterreading byThomasWHodgkinson andmoreeffectivetransport.
thisarticle. Anexcellentpiecewithasplendid ▶ JUNE4/5 MarcialEchenique,
AndyKaufmannviaFT.com cartoontoillustrateHumphry Copenhagen’sculinarydemons UniversityofCambridge
Davy’slossof“allconnectionwith
Myexperiencesasakitchen externalthings”followinghis Canaugmentedrealitytakeoff
seasonalworkerinCornwallyears experimentswithnitrousoxide. whereVRhasfailed?
ago–longhours,poororillegal Irecallamasteratschooltelling byTimBradshaw
payrates,abusiveconditions– usaboutDavyandtheclerihew: Weliveinaworldoftoomany
areencapsulatedbythememory SirHumphreyDavy people,toomuchcarbon.Techsuch
ofthewaiterwhoregularly,with Abominatedgravy asvirtualrealitycanhelppeople
unanimouskitchenstaffapproval, Helivedintheodium toexperiencethingsthatwould
spatontherestaurantowner’s Ofhavingdiscoveredsodium otherwisenotbeaffordable,either
eveningmealbeforeservingit. AlastairConan,Coulsdon forthemorfortheplanet.
Idoubtmuchhaschanged. Sobringiton,thesesnapglasses
RB,Cornwall Evenwhenyoudosucceed, soundcool!
sometimesitpaystotryagain SecretLemonadeDrinker
Thisisanimportantstory byTimHarford viaFT.com
especiallyforallofus“foodie” TimHarford’spiecebroughtto
touristsandchampionsofwork mindmusicproducerJimSteinman Saladcreamdays(May28/29)
ofchefs. (ofBatOutofHellfame),whoafter byTimHayward
@omviaTwitter asuccessfultakewouldsay,“That Iloveyou,TimHayward.Your
wasperfect.Let’sdoitagain.” articlesareinformed,dogmatic,
Thebestchairforworkmightnot JohnKelly,LittleRaveley fullofpeppyjoiedevivre.
betheoneyouthink Myprawncocktail(coldwater
byHarrietFitch-Little Thecheap,green,low-tech prawnsonly)hasbeentransformed
Sittinginachairisalearnt solutionfortheworld’smegacities accordingtoyourstricturesbythe
behaviourandthusprobably bySimonKuper useofhome-madesaladcream
unnaturalforhumanbeings. Iagreethatcarspollute,generate madeusingasmallspringywhisk.
Thisiswhyyoungerkidswilldo congestionandcauseaccidentsbut Bytheway,Iwasreliablytold
TOCONTRIBUTE
anythingbutsitinthemproperly. theyincreasepersonalmobility bythelocalpostmanthatMadame
Soallchairschallengehuman enormously,whichleadsto Youcancommentonourarticlesonline Cradockcouldnotmakeadecent
[email protected].
musculoskeletalbehavioural increasedprosperity.Thesolution cupoftea.Teagown?I’msureyou
Pleaseincludeadaytimetelephone
norms.Mindyou,sodoesspending isnottoabolishcarsorlorries,but wearitwell.
numberandfulladdress(notfor
40+hoursaweekatadesk. tomakethemlesscontaminant publication).Lettersmaybeedited. YvonneBristow,Carnyorth
DidyouknowFTWeekendhasapodcast?Weexploretoday’s sregoRynneK=sregoRhtuR+ynneKadnE
culture,bigideas,nuancedquestionsandwhatitmeansto ziuqerutciP
enaJytimalaC.01
liveagoodlife.Joinusforinspiringconversations,in-depth ainrofilaC,yellaVhtaeD.9 )buD-buD-a-(buR.8
ehcatraeH.7selbuorTehT.6aeSdeR.5enutroFnhoJ.4
storytelling,abitofescapismandalotoffun.Search sworrAdeR.3dniM.2noitseuQrelkniFehT.1
‘FTWeekend’whereyoulisten,orft.com/ftweekendpodcast yuqolilos”ebottonroeboT“s’telmaHnisnuonsawknilehT
srewsnaziuQ
6 FT.COM/MAGAZINE JUNE11/122022

IInside:Wnhatpoliticscanlearnfrometlitefootballp14ellect
UndercoverEconomist
TIMHARFORD
Intellectualvirtuestohelp
sharpenyourthinkingskills
Whatdoesitmeanto“learnhowtothink”?Isitamatterof
learningsomeintellectualskillssuchasfluentreading,logicand
clearexpression?Doesitrequirefamiliaritywithsomecanonical
textsorhistoricalfacts?Perhapsit’sallaboutcorrectingcertain
biasesthatcloudourjudgment?
Irecentlyreadathought-provokingessaybythepsychologist
BarrySchwartz,bestknownforhisbookTheParadoxofChoice.
WritingafewyearsagoinTheChronicleofHigherEducation,
Schwartzarguedthatoneofthegoalsofauniversityeducation,
especiallyaliberalartseducation,istoteachstudentshowto
think.Thetroubleis,saidSchwartz,“nobodyreallyknowswhat
thatmeans”.
Schwartzproposeshisownideas.Heislessinterestedincogni-
tiveskillsthaninintellectualvirtues.“AllthetraitsIwilldiscuss
haveafundamentalmoraldimension,”hesays,beforesetting
outthecaseforninevirtues:loveoftruth;honestyaboutone’s
ownfailings;fair-mindedness;humilityandawillingnesstoseek
help;perseverance;courage;goodlistening;perspective-taking
andempathy;and,finally,wisdom–thewordSchwartzusesto
describenottakinganyoftheseothervirtuestoexcess.
OneonlyhastoflipthelisttoseeSchwartz’spoint.Imagine
apersonwhoishugelyknowledgeableandbrilliantlyrational,
yetwhofallsshortonthesevirtues,beingindifferenttotruth,
indenialabouttheirownerrors,prejudiced,arrogant,easily▶
FT.COM/MAGAZINE JUNE11/122022 ILLUSTRATIONBYGUILLEMCASASÚS 99
Intellect
◀discouraged,cowardly,dismissive,narcissisticandproneto NotesfromtheCuttingEdge
everykindofexcess.Couldsuchapersonreallybedescribedas LEOLEWIS
knowinghowtothink?Theywouldcertainlynotbethekindof
personyou’dwanttoputinchargeofanything. Iregrettoinformyouthat
“Mylistwasmeanttostarttheconversation,notendit,”
thefamilygamesdebateis
Schwartztoldme.SoIsenthislisttosomepeopleIrespect,both
inandadjacenttoacademia,toseewhattheymadeofit.Thereac- stillastalemate
tionwasmuchthesameasmine:almosteveryonelikedtheidea
ofintellectualvirtues,andalmosteveryonehadtheirownideas
aboutwhatwasmissing.
TheCambridgestatisticianSirDavidSpiegelhalterraisedthe
ideaofintellectualvariety,sinceworkingondisparateprojects
wasoftenasourceofinsight.HetanShah,chiefexecutiveofthe Attheendofthismonth,house- Japan supplies have thus been
BritishAcademy,suggestedthatthisvariety,andinparticularthe hold negotiations over buying a unusuallythinand,sincethestartof
abilitytoseetheconnectionbetweendifferentpartsofasystem, PlayStation5willentertheir600th theyear,therehaveonlybeenthree
wasthemostimportantintellectualvirtue.Healsoarguedfora dayofdeadlock.Arrivalatthismile- weekswhereSonysoldmorethan
senseofhumour:ifwecan’tplaywithideas,evendangerousideas, stonemaywellbringallpartiesback 30,000unitshere.Inoneextraor-
Dwearemissingsomething. tothetable,butabreakthroughstill dinaryweekinMay,Sonysoldonly
feelsalongwayoff. 2,693PS5sinJapan–anindication,
ameFrancesCairncrosshaschairedseveralnota- Part of the delay is that global sayanalysts,thatthesupplycrisis
bleacademicinstitutions.Shesuggestedthatif economicforcesareplayinghavoc could actually be getting worse.
oneacceptedthepremisethatintellectualvir- withstock,ofcourse.Butthisisby ThoseJapanesegamersdetermined
tueswerealsomoralvirtues,agreateronewas nomeansourfirstversionofthe tosecureamachineareleftrelying
“humanity…asympathyforthehumancondition argument.Aseachenchantinggen- onstorelotteries,luckorasecond-
andarecognitionofhumanweakness”. eration of console (particularly ary market where “as new” used
Shealsosuggestedthevirtueof“gettingstuffdone”,notingthe those of Sony and Nintendo) has PS5stradeat70percentabovethe
linefromtheBookofCommonPrayer,“wehaveleftundonethose comealong,thequestionofthenew officialretailprice.
thingswhichweoughttohavedone.”Trueenough.Whatwould machine’scost-to-justifiabilityratio This absurdity has killed the
bethevalueofhavingalltheseintellectualvirtuesifwedidnot blazesaroundseveraltalkingpoints. debateinourhouse.Sinceitslaunch,
exercisethem,andinsteadspentourdaysmunchingpopcornand Isitreallythatmuchbetterthan the PS5 has sailed through two
watchingTV? theoneyou’vealreadygot?(Abso- Christmases and multiple Lewis
TomChatfield,authorofHowToThink,mentionedpersua- lutely, yes, the existing model is familybirthdaysbothhotlydesired
siveness.Whatisthepointofthinkingclearlyifyoucannothelp nowdecade-oldtechandjustlook anddefiantlyunpurchased.
anyoneelsetodolikewise?Thisisfair,althoughpersuasiveness atgameX.)OK,butisitworth$500 ItmaybethatSonyhasaninterest
isperhapstheintellectualvirtuethatmosttemptsusintothe whenthegamesalsocost$60?(Well, inkeepingitsJapansaleslow.Calcu-
vicesofarrogance,partisanshipandanunbalancedtreatment yes.Seepreviousanswer.)Really? latedglobally,itmakeslittlemoney
ofthefacts. Andyetyouwhinge on the hardware
Almosteveryoneraisedtheomissionthatwasmuchonmy aboutthecostofthe sales of PS5 units –
InoneweekinMay,
mind:curiosity.CuriositywasnotonSchwartz’slist,exceptper- kids’trainers.(Yes, no problem, given
Sonysoldonly2,693
hapsbyimplication.Butcuriosityisoneofthecentralintellectual but that’s totally thattherealmoney
virtues.Curiosityimpliessomehumility,sinceitisanacknowl- different.) And so unitsinJapan–asign ismadeonthesoft-
edgmentthatthereissomethingonedoesn’tyetunderstand. on. The support, thatthesupplycrisis ware.InJapan,says
Curiosityimpliesopen-mindednessandaquesttoenlargeoneself. thistime,ofanaggy couldbegettingworse oneanalystwhohas
Itisprotectiveagainstpartisanship.Ifwearecurious,manyother 12-year-old in my covered the com-
intellectualproblemstakecareofthemselves.AsOrsonWellesput lobbying effort has panyfordecades,it
itaboutthefilm-goingaudience:“Oncetheyareinterested,they beenuseful,thoughnotdecisive. isprobablymakingalossofabout
understandanythingintheworld.” Butthecoredifferencebetween ¥2,000oneverymachinesold.
Very good. Range, systemic thinking, humanity, humour, thisandpreviousiterationsofthe Pelham Smithers, another vet-
gettingthingsdone,persuasiveness,curiosity.Otherplausible argumenthasbeenthePS5itself.In eran Sony-watcher, suspects the
virtuesweresuggested,too;alas,thiscolumnistmustalsodisplay Japan,Sony’shometurf,itsgames spewofredinkcouldbeevenmore
thevirtueofbrevity.Butoneofmycorrespondentshadasharply machinehasbeenverydifficultto severe,withmaterialcostsrisingsig-
differentresponsetoSchwartz’semphasisonexplicitlymoral buyfromamainstreamretailer.Nor- nificantlyamidglobalinflationand
intellectualvirtues–tellingly,theonemostactivelyinvolvedin mally,thereisaninitialpost-launch highenergyprices,andwiththeyen
teaching.MarionTurner,professorofEnglishliteratureatOxford stampede and ensuing shortages plungedtoa20-yearlow.Thatcom-
university,putitfrankly:“I’mnottrainedtoteachstudentshowto thatallformpartofthehype(and bination,saysSmithers,couldmean
begoodpeople,andthat’snotmyjob.” fun). Within a year, though, the thatSonyislosingabout¥15,000
It’safairpoint.Itisverypleasanttomakealistofintellectual casualbuyercangenerallyfindone oneveryPS5itsellsinJapan.That
virtues,butwhyshouldwebelievethatacademicscanteachstu- withouttoobruisingaquest. couldbeanincentiveforittoensure
dentscourage,humilityoranyothervirtue?Yetifnotacademics, Not so with the latest PlaySta- thatstoresandonlineretailersare
thenwho?Parents?Primaryschoolteachers?Newspapercolumn- tion.LaunchedinNovember2020, notfloodedwithmachines.Sony’s
ists?Perhapsweshouldjusthopethatpeopleacquirethesevirtues despitethewell-knownheadwinds gamingchiefdidrecentlyannounce
forthemselves?Iamreallynotsure. ofaglobalsemiconductorshortage, “asignificantramp-up”inPS5pro-
BarrySchwartzisontosomething,thatisclear.Facts,logic, ithasbeenbuffetedbysupplychain ductionthisyear,butfornow,I’ll
quantitativetoolsandanalyticalclarityareallverywell,butthe difficulties.Sony,whichhasareal havetomakedowithourPS4–itself
artofthinkingwellrequiresvirtuesaswellasskills.Andifwe battleonitshandsagainstMicro- theresultofasuccessfulroundof
don’tknowwhowillteachthosevirtues,orhowtoteachthem, soft’sXbox,hasbeenfunnellingits householdnegotiation.
thatexplainsalotabouttheworldinwhichwenowlive. machines to particular markets,
principallytheUS,whereitbelieves LeoLewisistheFT’sAsia
TimHarford’slatestbookis“HowtoMaketheWorldAddUp” victorywillbedecided. businesseditor
10 FT.COM/MAGAZINE JUNE11/122022