Generations, Tracking, Truth, Change, Tyranny, Guilt, & Boring.

Running around the mountain, giving up on books, trolls, note-taking, truth, growing old.

Remembering, Optimism, Power, Reading for Comprehension, Writing is the Only Thing, Brain Food, Hope.

Dan Rather, “OK, Boomer”, doing the work, falling (and getting up), pandemic future, monkeys, life after 64.

1. “. . . care more than everybody else . . .” Ignorant, but curious – Austin Kleon – (Blog) The full quote: If you care more than everybody else, you pay better attention, and you see things that others don’t see. To ask the questions that need to be asked, you have to care more than others about what happens, but care less about what others might think of you in the moment. I got here via a circle of curiosity: Rob Walker on curiosity (Kleon) -> The Art of Noticing (Rob Walker’s Newsletter) -> Curiouser? (Rob Walker) -> … Read more

1. “The thing we often forget is that humans value freedom over truth.” When 1 + 1 = 3 – Lawrence Yeo – (More to That, blog) This is another in a series of items I’ve encountered in recent weeks trying to make sense of the incredible divisions in the world today. I think I’ve mentioned before the concept that community trumps the truth. Yeo adds yet another item that resonates, particularly here in the United States: for many freedom is more important than the truth. But keep in mind that the disbelief you may feel about the other tribe’s … Read more

A special welcome to the This is True readers who signed up this week after Randy made mention of my little side project. The 7 Takeaways homepage does a fine job of describing what this is, but if you’re curious about its background, shortly after I started I described what I’m up to over on my personal blog. Again, welcome. I hope you find some value or inspiration or something worth pondering or . . . well, something. 1. “All it needed was just a spark” ‘I am broken’: South African communities are gutted by a wave of looting, arson … Read more

1. “We treat ideas like possessions” The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable – Nassim Nicholas Taleb – (audio & ebook) The full quote: The problem is that our ideas are sticky: once we produce a theory, we are not likely to change our minds—so those who delay developing their theories are better off. When you develop your opinions on the basis of weak evidence, you will have difficulty interpreting subsequent information that contradicts these opinions, even if this new information is obviously more accurate. . . . Remember that we treat ideas like possessions, and … Read more

1. “Words matter” How to Think like Shakespeare – Scott Newstok – (ebook) If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything. I love this sequence. I love that it dates back to Confucious*. Do this: Watch your language. Literally. 2. “The truth is … Read more

1. “We are the legacy of our nation’s tainted past” Cousins – Lucian K. Truscott IV – (Facebook post) I found this a stirring essay by one of the descendants of Thomas Jefferson about the relationships between the descendants of Martha Jefferson, his wife, and the descendants of Sally Jennings, his slave. It’s as disturbing as you might imagine. Those who claim others are erasing history seem dead set on . . . erasing history. Do this: read the essay. Reflect. And if you’re in a position to, act. 2. “a compromised cultural immune system” The Cause of America’s Post-Truth … Read more