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A framework for analyzing societal problems
A framework for analyzing societal problems I recently read What’s Our Problem by Tim Urban. This insightful book begins with a framework describing how people think in today’s society. This post breaks down the framework and explains how to use it for societal and political decision-making. {{more}} Two types of thinking There are two types of thinking: higher mind and primitive mind. Higher-Mind seeks truth based on evidence, while Primitive-Mind leans on experience and emotions. Continue reading →
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“Like planting a seed in nutrient-rich soil, and feeding it the water and sunlight it needs in order to grow, today’s productivity is about creating the conditions within your mind to have valuable thoughts. Being productive today isn’t about time management, it’s about mind management.” (David Kadavy, Mind Management, Not Time Management)
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“The first approach is to eliminate complexity by making code simpler and more obvious.” (John Ousterhout, A Philosophy of Software Design)
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Hide an email address on your webpage with JavaScript
Using some simple HTML, you can obfuscate an email address (or any other text) from a link on a web page. But when clicked, it will still work! It uses HTML data attributes to allow you to create your email address broken and then combine the pieces together when the user clicks the link. This should hide the email from unwanted visitors and bots. <a href=“#” data-name=“name” data-domain=“yourdomain” data-tld=“com” onclick=“window.location.href = ‘mailto:’ + this. Continue reading →
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“Embrace the parts of you that others call weird. Don’t hide what makes you different. Allow those parts to float to the top and be seen by all. Your uniqueness is what makes your creations original, effective, and memorable.” (Joey Cofone, The Laws of Creativity)
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Focus your reading on what's relevant to you now
When you read to learn, choose topics that interest you. This makes a significant difference in your reading experience. If you’re currently transitioning your team to SCRUM, read books about SCRUM. If you’re trying to create more technical documentation, read books on that topic. If you’re already a productivity expert, don’t bother reading books about productivity. Read to solve a current problem. You’ll be much more interested and will absorb the information like a sponge. Continue reading →
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Finished reading: The Product is Docs by Christopher Gales 📚 I skimmed through this one. Probably a good read for Technical Writers. I didn’t get much out of it.
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“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in. —Bishop Desmond Tutu” (Peter Attia MD, Outlive)
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“And if the robots don’t rise up, if our creations don’t come to life and take the power we have used so badly for so long away from us, who will? What we fear isn’t that AI will destroy us—we fear it won’t. We fear we will continue to degrade life on this planet until we destroy ourselves.” (Ray Nayler, The Mountain in the Sea)
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Boox Go Color 7
After experimenting with the Boox Go Color 7 and the Kobo Clara, the decision was made to keep the Boox for its versatility with Android apps and features. Continue reading →
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“Ultimately, that is all ChatGPT does technically—act as a very elaborate autocomplete like you have on your phone. You give it some initial text, and it keeps writing text based on what it statistically calculates as the most likely next token in the sequence. If you type “Finish this sentence: I think, therefore I . . . ,” the AI will predict the next word will be am every time, because it is incredibly probable that this is the case.” (Ethan Mollick, Co-Intelligence)
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“In the space between stimulus and response, one of two things can happen. You can consciously pause and apply reason to the situation. Or you can cede control and execute a default behavior.” (Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking)
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Gladiator II, 2024 - ★★★★
🍿 Gladiator 2 was a pretty good movie. Nothing unexpected. It was well done. Not quite as good as the first. Continue reading →
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“You can also think of complexity in terms of cost and benefit. In a complex system, it takes a lot of work to implement even small improvements. In a simple system, larger improvements can be implemented with less effort.” (John Ousterhout, A Philosophy of Software Design)
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“Real toughness is experiencing discomfort or distress, leaning in, paying attention, and creating space to take thoughtful action. It’s navigating discomfort to make the best decision you can.” (Steve Magness, Do Hard Things)
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“By focusing intensely on a specific skill, you’re forcing the specific relevant circuit to fire, again and again, in isolation. This repetitive use of a specific circuit triggers cells called oligodendrocytes to begin wrapping layers of myelin around the neurons in the circuits—effectively cementing the skill.” (Cal Newport, Deep Work)
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Two simple journaling techniques
I’ve never been one to journal much, at least not in the “deep reflection” approach where I would write pages about what’s on my mind every day. Interstitial Journaling The journaling technique I started doing naturally is Interstitial Journaling, which is a log of my day as it happens. I especially use Interstitial Journaling while I’m working. It has a couple of benefits (that may not apply to everyone): 1) At the end of the day, I know what I worked on and when, so I can enter the time in my timesheet. Continue reading →
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“Externalizing your thoughts through writing will both challenge and reinforce your beliefs.” (Bob Doto, A System for Writing)
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“Treat your to-read pile like a river, not a bucket. That is to say: think of your backlog not as a container that gradually fills up, and that it’s your job to empty, but as a stream that flows past you, from which you get to pick a few choice items, here and there, without feeling guilty for letting all the others float by.” (Oliver Burkeman, Meditations for Mortals)
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Finding the right time to exercise
One of my resolutions for 2025 is to exercise more. At a bare minimum, I aim to get a quick cycle in or walk at my desk (treadmill) for a while. I have the equipment, but I failed miserably in 2024. Perhaps the reason for this failure is that I either scheduled my workouts first thing in the morning or late in the day, after work. I find that in the early mornings, I don’t want to get out of bed, and when I’m finally ready, my mind is already working, writing, or occupied with some activity that I want to start right away. Continue reading →
