News+ Efficiency is Aesthetically Pleasing

In Wired’s latest magazine, Clive Thompson writes that for some programmers, efficiency isn’t just a way to make a job easier. It’s aesthetically pleasing.

Many of today’s programmers have their efficiency aha moment in their teenage years, when they discover that life is full of blindingly dull repetitive tasks and that computers are really good at doing them.

I’m not a programmer, but I’m a big fan of efficiency and optimizing my life. I don’t go as far as the “optimized self” movement, but I like to automate whenever possible. The less time you spend doing repetitive tasks, the more you can spend enjoying life.

This is part of Andrew’s News+ series, where he shares a magazine every Friday to help people discover good content in Apple News+.

This Planned Parenthood Chatbot Can Answer Your Teen's Sex Questions

Planned Parenthood has a chatbot called Roo that can answer questions about sex your teens may have.

Many teens search for answers online, but the internet is rife with misinformation. As a result, reproductive health organization Planned Parenthood is releasing a chatbot that will provide teens ages 13 to 17–or anyone who has a question–with accurate information about their bodies and sexual health.

I wish I had had a tool like this. When I was a young’un I took out a library book to figure out what that weird puberty thing was all about.

Oak Offers Simple, Guided Meditations

Oak helps the monkey-minded decompress by transforming meditation practices from experiments into habits. It supports you from your first session to your 500th, with mindful, loving-kindness, and sleep meditations as well as unguided sessions and breathing exercises. Individualize your guided meditations by duration, and customize with silence or calming background sounds. Oak tracks your progress and encourages you to continue building a healthy meditation practice. Plus, the app can integrate with the Health app, allowing you to track your meditative minutes over time. App Store: Oak – Free