“Everyone has to eat, obviously, and so “cooking” is much more of a central human life-activity than “compiling a Linux app from source.” However, the parallel here is that to someone who’s not at least a semi-skilled computer user and who’s never faced down a bash prompt, compiling that application seems not just intimidating but actually impossible. And that same feeling of hopelessness is present for people who have never learned how to properly cook. Both activities ultimately boil down to a discrete series of steps guided by a mix of instruction, experience, and intuition; both look equally impenetrable to an outsider”

— The psychology of Soylent and the prison of first-world food choices | Ars Technica

Some interesting thoughts about Soylent in this piece, but this paragraph stuck out to me. It reflects some thoughts I’ve expressed before about skill acquisition.

And now I’m back to giving serious thought about getting some Soylent to use as quick, easy breakfasts.