Personal websites (just do it). Time and what matters. Knowledge work and AI. You are probably not entitled to an opinion. Helping others to keep yourself sane. Good ape. It's kinda like this...
The over-all point is that new technology will not necessarily replace old technology, but it will date it. By definition. Eventually, it will replace it. But it’s like people who had black-and-white TVs when color came out. They eventually decided whether or not the new technology was worth the investment.
-Steve Jobs
1. “It’s about putting things out on the internet for yourself.”
This page is under construction – Sophie Koonin – (blog)
Subtitled “A love letter to the personal website”, Koonin makes a case for returning to the personal web, where people, not corporations, built things, wrote things, and shared things.
You can be a creator anywhere on the internet these days, but there’s only a small handful of places where you actually own your own content. Your own website is one of them.
While I absolutely do wish more people would publish online, this thought dovetails nicely with the admonition I’ve been making of late to all creators: publish on your own turf first. Don’t rely on the online properties of others (social media, substack, medium, whatever else) to be there to support you forever. It can all disappear in the blink of an eye.
Do this: Create something and share it.
#digital-sharecropping #creating #websites
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2. “There’s never enough time for everything”
The life you want won’t schedule itself – Katie Hawkins-Gaar – (My Sweet Dumb Brain)
The full quote:
There’s never enough time for everything, but we can reclaim some of our time by deliberately making space for what matters.
Hawkins-Gaar outlines some of the steps she takes as she manages her day. My approach tends to be less granular. While I do have a routine, of sorts, I try to organize things so that I can step away for large chunks of time. As I write this, for example, tomorrow we’ll take the day to visit a dear friend and our Corgi breeder, Friday I have a routine where I hang with some friends over beers, and Saturday I’m spending the day volunteering to train volunteers. (These will have already happened by the time you read this.) All these things matter.
And I think that’s where things fall down for so many people: making space for what matters only happens if you understand what really matters. More often than not, it’s simply too easy fall into routines that, to put it bluntly, don’t matter at all.
Do this: Understand what matters.
3. “Degradation in the brothel of the printing presses”
How Knowledge Work Will Evolve in the AI Era – Rhea Purohit – (Every.to)
The takeaway / quote above is from Venetian scribe Filippo de Strata. After praising the incredible importance of the written word, he went on to take it literal: the printing press was evil. As a scribe, whose job was handwriting, it’s not surprising.
And it’s happening again. Or, rather, it’s never stopped happening. Whenever there’s new technology, there are those who, feeling either directly or indirectly threatened, jump to the “all new technology bad” camp.
New technologies often subsume human skills, and when those skills are things we take pride in, or rely on for our livelihood, we get scared. We tell stories about why technology is bad.
…
That is, until we evolve, adapt, and develop a new set of skills to take pride in.
We also fear what we don’t understand, and rarely do we understand new tech.
Do this: Evolve and adapt.
#adaptability #ai #change #evolution
4. “A gut feeling is not the same as expertise.”
Have You Earned Your Opinion? – Joan Westenberg – (Blog)
The premise is simple: everyone is not entitled to an opinion, at least not until they’ve earned it.
The loudest voices in the room often belong to the people who’ve done the least work.
Those who do the work are often more hesitant to express an opinion because they know how much they don’t know. While proper, that has the side effect of letting the loudmouths go largely unchecked.
Be curious. Be open. Do the work. If you don’t know, say so. And if your opinion isn’t built on effort, consider whether the world really needs to hear it.
Seriously, if you don’t know, say so. And then hold your tongue.
Do this: Do the work.
5. “How I went from an agent of change to an agent of care”
Everything is In-Between – Douglas Rushkoff – (Blog)
As we all struggle with how to cope with well, everything, Rushkoff shares an approach he’s adopted.
I’m less confident in the impact my activism might have on policy than I am about the impact my care may have on other human beings, as well as how they might trickle up to the systems that need changing.
I, personally, have no idea how I can impact policy, particularly given our either evil, or ineffective, government “representatives”. I certainly have little confidence in whatever recommendations I get to try. I do know that I can help people, and I have confidence in its effect.
Do this: Help people.
6. “Homo sapiens domesticated themselves”
The Self-Domesticated Ape – Kevin Kelly – (blog)
I find the observation (or analogy, if you’re not buying it literally) a very interesting one.
We chose the most cooperative, the least aggressive, the less bullying types, and that trust in others resulted in greater prosperity, which in turn spread neoteny genes, and other domestication traits, into our populations.
The essay precedes this with a discussion of domestication in general, with dogs of course being the prime example. When viewed from that perspective this evolution makes a lot of sense. (And yes, before you object to “we chose the most cooperative, the least aggressive , the less bullying …”, remember that this is a trend, not an absolute. Of course there are counterexamples. There’s just fewer of them.
Do this: Pet your dog. You’re more similar than you might think.
7. “What works in one situation is likely to work in similar situations”
Analogy and the Roots of Creative Intelligence – (The MIT Press Reader)
The editors of the MIT Press Reader discuss the book Analogy and the Roots of Creative Intelligence, with its author Keith Holyoak. Their focus is primarily on the cognitive roots of analogy, using examples typically based in problem solving.
Thinking by analogy can foster creative thinking when something puzzling triggers the recognition of a similar situation that is easier to understand.
They didn’t go far enough. Or, rather, they overlook an important use of analogy in the opposite direction: explanation and education. It’s something I rely on heavily when attempting to make technical topics more digestible. (A favorite example of mine.) It’s an incredibly powerful tool. So powerful, that I’d recommend anyone trying to teach learn more about them, how to construct them, and how to apply them in ways that work.
Do this: Be on the lookout for good, simple, comparisons.
Random links
- starlinkmap.org – realtime visualization
- Do Not Be Bamboozled By The New Fluffy Mouse – But what if I want it to be true?
- With Great Power Came No Responsibility – Lengthy, but Cory Doctorow discusses, among other things, the current turmoil in the US being an opportunity for other countries to create fairer regulations to protect users and promote competition.
What I’m reading now
- Swamp Santa – Jana DeLeon
- Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear – Elizabeth Gilbert (re-read)
- Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and It’s All Small Stuff – Richard Carlson
- Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life (Audio)
My Reading List – everything I’ve read since 2021.
My Sources Page – the common sources I scan/read regularly.
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