Reality? Meh. Safety versus courage. Mattering takes time. Sociological thermodynamics. Black, white, and gray. Gathering courage. You can't handle the abundance.
“I can’t quit now or I might get old.”
– Sally Mann
| Reminder / plug: I might be crazy, but I publish several different newsletters in addition to 7 Takeaways. The “day job”, Ask Leo! has one, of course. But I also publish Not All News is Bad, a daily reminder of exactly that, as well as HeroicStories, twice weekly examples of people being good to each other. If they sound interesting, check them out! |
1. “Everyday, ‘boring’ reality is mostly unnewsworthy”
The News Is Okay, Actually – Mike Sowden – (Everything is Amazing)
I deeply wish more people could understand just how important and true this statement is:
It’s easy to assume the news is always representative of the state of the world – and in doing so, fail to understand why it isn’t.
People build entire worldviews based on “the news”. The problem is that the news, by definition, reports the unusual. Even when it’s not manipulated specifically to generate rage, it’s reporting the exceptions to the true average state of the world. If it’s normal, it’s not news. If it’s news, it’s not normal. And there’s way, way, WAY more “normal” than there is news; you just don’t hear about it.
And yet people are afraid to leave their homes (or, in some cases, leave their homes unarmed) because their view of what the world is like comes from “the news”.
Do this: Understand the statement. Have perspective.
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2. “We may be raising a generation allergic to failure”
The End of “Risky Business” – Tom Greene – (Wit and Wisdom)
The essay feels like it’s about to go down the “in my day we didn’t need bike helmets” trope. And, indeed, Greene points out several differences related to how kids are raised, many of which I can relate to myself (particularly the “spinning wheel of death”). But in doing so, he raises an interesting point.
Nobody retells the story of the time they stayed home and went to bed early. Because the most exciting moments in life are just that: risky and adventurous.
His point isn’t about whether or not kids are safer today than they were; there’s no question. The issue is, what has all this safety, all this protection, also cost along the way?
Do this: Teach courage.
3. “For a brief window, everyone speaks the same language”
Nostalgia for the future (is hijacking our presence) – Stepfanie Tyler – (Wild Bare Thoughts)
As our attention spans get shorter, the things we have available to pay attention to seem to get shorter as well. The result is that we’re losing the ability to develop a deep, shared history.
… the ability to feel deeply about things that matter briefly, but the increasing inability to let anything matter long enough to change us.
Tyler uses examples of memes, which I’ve already thought to myself seem to fly by faster and faster. They used to hang around for, what, a few weeks? Months? Now it seems like even the most popular disappear in a few days.
Here’s the thing: it’s not just memes. It’s also our collective memory, and I daresay politicians are using this to their advantage.
Do this: Take the time to let things matter.
4. “Everything goes to shit, unless there’s an incentive for it not to.”
Why Things Go to Shit – David Pinsof – (Everything Is Bullshit)
The takeaway above is, in essence, the second law of thermodynamics, rephrased (which Pinsof does get around to acknowledging). The essay includes several examples spanning a wide variety of disciplines, where the law (the takeaway, or the thermodynamics one, whichever you like) applies in ways we rarely consider.
… there’s no Darwinian incentive for humans to act for the good of humanity. Instead, humans evolved to act for the good of themselves and their genetic relatives—and against their rivals. This has caused a lot of costly competitions that have made humanity worse off, and it might ultimately cause our species to go to shit.
It’s a both an entertaining and somewhat depressing application of the concept. But it boils down to one important concept: if you want things to change, incentives are everything. Otherwise, expect … well, you know.
Do this: When observing people’s often inexplicable behavior, consider what the incentives might be.
#incentives #thermodynamics #entropy
5. “You’ll have a more accurate picture of the world if you reject binary thinking”
When is evidence “sufficient”? – Travis M. – (ClearerThinking.org)
The essay touches on one of my hot buttons (binary or “black and white” thinking) from a different direction. The author applies it to beliefs.
One of the greatest improvements you can make to your critical thinking and reasoning skills is … instead of thinking of belief as binary, you can think of belief as probabilistic.
I consider that approach to be fundamental to all science and engineering, but it applies to almost anything you believe. Needless to say, we’re immersed in a world full of black and white thinking right now. And yet the truth is never that polarized, even though we may be.
The article talks about how it impacts even scientific research, where “statistical significance” and the “p-value” are often binary gateways to acceptance and dismissal of research ideas.
Do this: Think in terms of probabilities.
6. “Tiny flames defying the wind of doubt”
20 seconds of courage – Thomas Oppong – (Postanly Weekly)
I normally don’t gravitate toward simplistic “just do it” or “just start” kind of life advice. While this is close, it’s a layer deeper, giving structure to the advice that makes it more actionable. The model is to take 20 seconds.
That short span of time where you make up your mind, gather your strength, and take that first initial step changes everything.
So many things never happen because we’re afraid. What we’re afraid of varies, but it’s generally fear that prevents us from even starting. It takes courage. Modeling it as just 20 seconds required to get started can often lower the barrier just a little.
Do this: Have courage.
7. “Scarcity gives us a script”
Abundance Now – Joan Westenberg – (Blog)
An interesting reflection on the abundance all around us, and how we’re simply not prepared for that.
We are not prepared, culturally or psychologically, for a world of plenty. Our religions are built on sacrifice. Our moral codes are built on thrift. Our politics are built on grievance.
We live as if we’re playing a zero-sum game, where for every winner there must be a loser, without understanding that there’s plenty for all.
Do this: See the abundance.
Random links
- The AI Browser Wars Don’t Matter – I kinda feel the same way.
- jan.ai – Run the AI on your PC. (Played with a little. For privacy concerns it’s appealing.)
- Your Zodiac Sign Is 2,000 Years Out of Date – Wait, I’m not really a Virgo? Does this mean my personality changes?
- 8 Perfect Japanese Ambient Albums – Today’s background music.
What I’m reading now
- Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World – Anne-Laure Le Cunff
- Creative Intellegence – Greg Storey
- So Long and Thanks for All the Fish– Douglas Adams
- Swamp Spirits – Jana Deleon
- The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One 1929-1964 (Audio)(re-read)
My Reading List – everything I’ve read since 2021.
My Sources Page – the common sources I scan/read regularly.
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