Tim Ferriss interviews Leo Babauta for his podcast. A couple concepts that stuck with me: the tension in balancing contentment with a desire to improve and the importance of being guided by your own learning desires (when done through unschooling with kids it can be a way to meta-learn comfort with uncertainty).
Links
A running list of links I find worthwhile, RSS feed included. Previously these were saved to Pinboard but more recently they're saved directly to this site through a simple WordPress plugin. This section of the site is still a work-in-progress.
Thinking About Thinking with Tyler Cowen →
This 2-year old Farnam Street interview with Tyler Cowen is excellent. Two big ideas that stuck with me:
- Read “quake books” to shake up the core concepts you hold. These are those foundational books that, if read at the right time, can uproot your system of thought.
- Reading, and continued learning, is like compound interest for knowledge. Small gains run over a long stretch of time can build into something quite large.
January 5, 2021 podcast, thinking
Cargo cult analytics →
Stijn’s post from 7 years ago is still one of my favorites. As he writes, “Good analytics focus on numbers that matter, that you can do something about, and that reflect your performance.”
December 27, 2020 data, journalism
Shigeru Miyamoto Wants to Create a Kinder World →
The interesting thing about interactive media is that it allows the players to engage with a problem, conjure a solution, try out that solution, and then experience the results. Then they can go back to the thinking stage and start to plan out their next move. This process of trial and error builds the interactive world in their minds. This is the true canvas on which we design—not the screen. That’s something I always keep in mind when designing games.
Shigeru Miyamoto
December 27, 2020 interviews, video games
Distance Learning Has Been Part of American Culture for 100 Years. Why Can’t We Get it Right? →
“It’s really not about technology,” Shousha said. “And I will say this forever to anyone who will listen to me.” Shousha doesn’t focus on getting better internet or more devices to kids; instead, she encourages schools to adopt a few analog practices that UNHS has employed since its founding.
November 27, 2020 education
Blake Pagenkopf: Rebooting Our Political Operating System →
Fantastic discussion about how to re-visualize political positions. It draws from Blake’s book which I’ve also ordered.
November 27, 2020 podcast, politics
Six Lessons from Six Months at Shopify →
Solid set of reflections from a new-hire at Shopify. The first one, about learning how leadership makes decisions, is an oft-overlooked one for large(r) organizations.
November 9, 2020 work
A Glance at Daily Life Among the Caretakers of Britain’s Small Islands →
Beautiful photography and vignettes in this New York Times story about people who protect and maintain the many small islands of Britain’s coast.
November 9, 2020 photography
The Death and Life of the Greatest American City →
The decline of New York has long been exaggerated, yet the city’s energy remains. The future may be uncertain but the city is far from dead.
November 9, 2020 cities, society
The Real Hunter Biden Story Everyone is Missing →
The media is still under some illusion that fairness and balance means devoting equal attention to allegations about, and stories potentially damaging to, both candidates–rather than devoting proportional attention to allegations and stories according to their credibility, scale, scope and importance.
Zeynep Tufekci
November 9, 2020 journalism, politics