Your Stuff's Stuff! Do Our Phone Cases, Pet Halloween Costumes, and Metal Straws Represent Human Achievement or Flaw? Does Buying Stuff's Stuff Explain Why We're Often Posers Instead of Masters?

The Best Paragraph I've Read: YEARS AGO, I asked a friend what kind of case she planned to buy for her shiny new flip phone. She paused, a little offended. “I don't like to buy stuff for my stuff,” she said. Those words drilled directly into my hippocampus, never to depart. She's right! I thought. Don't buy stuff stuff! So simple! ... ... ...  The problem is that certain kinds of stuff simply attract more stuff. The home is an obvious one: It craves sofas, sweaters, buffet cabinets, chandeliers. Computers are another; they grow USB tendrils. Smartphones beget earbuds, cloud backups, and music service subscriptions. This paragraph comes from an essay in Wired Magazine by Paul Ford.  The essay is titled: "A Grand Unified Theory of Buying Stuff."  You can read the article here: https://www.wired.com/story/a-grand-unified-theory-of-buying-stuff/ Zac and Don talk about the idea of Stuff's Stuff.  They talk about all of their stuff's stuff and wonder if this is a reason for many of the human caused problems in the world.  At the same time they wonder if Stuff's Stuff represents why life is so great for people - so many cheap items that can be thrown away after one use!  They also debate the merits of Mr. Ford's theory on stuff and how it can be a mask that hides actual mastery.  Finally, they wonder if education is a place that can get blinded by stuff's stuff instead of learning.