Clear understanding. Your foibles as "won't fix" bugs. Local independent journalism. Countering social isolation. Hanging on to beliefs. Remember to be friendly. Think better. Your opinion.
Journalism is what we need to make democracy work.
– Walter Cronkite
1. “You can’t write a clear sentence about a thing you don’t understand”
The pitch deck is dead. Write a pitch.md instead. – Joan Westenberg – (Blog)
As the title implies, the essay is about the death of the pitch deck — that collection of slides used to pitch an idea to a group of people. The canonical example is an entrepreneur pitching an idea to a collection of potential investors. The deck often has lots of pretty pictures, diagrams, tables, buzzwords, and so on. The catch is that it’s often so high level as to be superficial, and almost content-free.
But the concepts here apply to more than just pitching an idea. It’s about the relationship between understanding something and being able to articulate it.
If you can’t explain your idea clearly in writing, you probably can’t explain it clearly at all
Writing is thinking. It’s that simple. And it’s a critical tool to not only developing new ideas, but understanding whatever it is you’re currently trying to get your head around. No pitch deck required.
Do this: Write more.
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2. “Self-improvement culture is a perpetual second-system rewrite of the self.”
“Won’t Fix” self help – Joan Westenberg – (Blog)
Westenberg draws a distinction between Stoic acceptance of who we are versus aggressive self-help fixing who we are. She posits a third option: using software engineering terminology, she describes an approach to dealing with our “bugs” by declaring them “won’t fix”, followed by “workarounds” to address their impact.
Honestly, that feels like something based on Stoic acceptance, to me. Accept what you are, and then, rather than changing it, deal with it.
Most of the things you’re trying to fix about yourself are only problems relative to some imagined ideal of a person you were never going to be.
Sounds like radical self-awareness and Stoic acceptance to me.
Do this: Deal with your bug reports appropriately.
#self-awareness #self-improvement
3. “Extraordinary chronicles of daily life called newspapers”
The Return Of The Local Newspaper – David Todd McCarty – (Blog)
The current media landscape is a mess, to put it mildly. Information sources that we used to be able to rely on are either gone or under the influence of individuals or organizations using them to shape opinion and promote less than objective agendas. The few independent sources that might remain are struggling to survive. The search for truth has never been more difficult.
The press has to be free from corporate control and governmental corruption, and the only way that’s feasible is if it’s financially sustainable and independently solvent.
And therein lies the dilemma: who’ll pay for it? More accurately: who’ll pay for it without undue influence?
Do this: Support local and independent press.
4. “A raging inferno of social isolation.”
Twenty-Five Years of Bowling Alone – Tom Greene – (Wit & Wisdom)
More Americans than ever were bowling. But fewer people were bowling in group leagues. It was a simple observation. Bowling Alone is a metaphor for our post-modern decline of human connection.
Here’s the kicker that got me:
There is irony in the observation. It was made twenty-five years ago, before the pandemic, work from home, videoconferencing, streaming entertainment, the iPhone, and the Peloton were invented.
We are isolating. We’ve become comfortable isolating. It’s become our default setting. We’re not spending the energy it takes to do something different.
We, as a society, are poorer for it.
Do this: Seek out “face time” — in-person interactions with real people.
5. “Belief isn’t binary.”
How to Find Your False Beliefs (Without Creating a Paradox) – Travis M. and Spencer Greenberg – (ClearerThinking.org)
The essay starts off a little dense — a discussion on something called the “Preface Paradox” that supports believing both sides of a contradictory issue. Where the essay shines, though, is in its list of “Reasons To Think Your Beliefs Might Be Wrong”. More people need to take these to heart. For example:
If you discover that your belief is something that many smart, knowledgeable people claim is false, then that (by itself) is some reason to consider reducing your confidence in it.
That one alone could change the world and even save lives. Sadly, most will work it backwards: if someone disagrees with me, then they must not be smart and knowledgeable.
The takeaway above — belief isn’t binary — is a reflection of one solution to managing contradictory ideas: assign them a confidence percentage.
Do this: Accept that your beliefs might be wrong. (Please)
6. “We don’t need to learn to be friendly. We need to remember to be friendly.”
It’s Easier Than You Think – Sylvia Boorstein (re-read) – (ebook)
This observation struck me:
“How am I feeling threatened?” is the question I ask myself when I’m not feeling friendly toward someone. There is always something.
If you pay attention to your reaction(s) you may find that you’re feeling threatened more often than you think. As Boorstein says, there’s always something.
Most of the time, that feeling probably isn’t warranted. Regardless, it’s at least worth paying attention to, with the goal of becoming more friendly more often.
Do this: Pay attention to how you’re feeling.
7. “The slow, tedious, difficult work of figuring something out for yourself”
26 Rules to Be a Better Thinker in 2026 – Ryan Holiday – (Blog)
It’s been too long since I featured a listicle, and this is a good one. Several good reminders of not just what it means to be a better thinker, but steps to actually become one. Interstingly Holiday uses AI as one justification. Not avoiding AI, but being able to use it effectively.
The irony of AI, this cutting-edge technology, is that it makes the humanities more valuable than ever. It makes brainpower even more important. Reading. Knowing things. Having taste. Understanding context. Detecting lies or nonsense. In short: being a discerning, critical, clear thinker.
He shares something I experience frequently, and wish more people would internalize:
I’ve had ChatGPT confidently butcher things I know well. Why would I unquestioningly trust it on things I don’t? The problem is we don’t know what we don’t know. Which means we don’t know when we’re being fooled.
We don’t know when we’re being fooled. I find that powerful, and scary. And reason enough for another topic I return to often: a healthy dose of skepticism. (And, for the record, this applies to much more than just AI.)
Do this: Take little at face value; question. Be skeptical.
8. “Expressing your opinions tells the world who you are.”
You Are Entitled to Your Opinion – Leo Notenboom – (Blog)
It’s one thing to have differing opinions. Sadly, many don’t realize that expressing those opinions can have consequences. And then they’re surprised that they’re losing friends.
If people believe your opinions to be heinous, they may question your morality. If people consider your thoughts to be ignorant, they may think you less than intelligent. If people view your opinions as oppressive or prejudiced, they may consider you a bigot.
If people view your opinions as uncaring and insensitive to the needs of others, they may consider you a self-centered narcissist.
You absolutely still have the right to express your opinion — again, freedom of speech and all that. But holding and exposing an opinion, no matter how righteous you believe it to be, does not give you immunity from criticism or ridicule.
Do this: Understand that there are consequences.
Random links
What I’m reading now
- It’s Easier Than You Think – Sylvia Boorstein (re-read)
- F**k You Optimism – A User’s Guide to Optimism with Teeth – Joan Westenberg (I don’t have a link for this one.)
- Dungeon Crawler Carl – Matt Dinniman
My Reading List – everything I’ve read since 2021.
My Sources Page – the common sources I scan/read regularly.
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