Why not take a break from the fire hose of Twitter and RSS and check out our weekly roundup of essential writing from around the web about technology, culture, media, and the future? Sure, its one more thing you can feel guilty about sitting in your Instapaper queue, but its better than pulling in vain on your Twitter list again. Rachel Aviv reports on herbicide maker Syngentas attempts to discredit biologist Tyrone Hayes. Following the announcement of new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, John Gruber offers fantastic perspective on what went wrong at the software giant.