Magic + Loss

Magic + Loss

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Magic + Loss
Magic + Loss
Escape the Matrix

Escape the Matrix

The Internet is the uncanniest valley. Don't get trapped there.

Virginia Heffernan's avatar
Virginia Heffernan
Jan 29, 2021
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Magic + Loss
Magic + Loss
Escape the Matrix
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IN YOUTUBE’S EARLIEST days, when people were still blowing up Diet Coke with Mentos, responses to the site’s curious videos tended to fall into two categories: astonishment and skepticism. First came the huzzahs. “Better than Hendrix!” one commenter wrote in 2006, praising a shred guitar solo that was YouTube’s most-discussed video for a time. The comme…

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