Betterment

The real test for an idea, theory, or advice is utility. The more useful, the better.

We’ve sampled several avenues for getting a dose of nature and we’re ready to declare: car camping is the worst. At least relative to the other options.

Do you remember all the elements you didn’t used to notice? It might be the way you see typography now, or the tuning of an orchestra. Or the alignment in the mouldings of a house you’r…

Today, I want to sing the song of praise for a job that allows me to live a happy life, content and ahead of all my duties — especially so because I know different times. Not only have I worked in vastly different fields to programming before — which gives you a lot of perspective about the spoi

Man has spent thousands of years mapping, domesticating, and harnessing his environment. He has sailed the earth’s seas, climbed its mountains, plumbed its depths, and left its atmosphere. He has tamed the wilderness, supplanted thick forests with sprawling cities, cultivated agricultural yields that can feed billions. He has channeled electricity, routed many diseases, shrunk space […]

Lock-in persists. That’s why it’s so valued by monopolists, tyrants and cults. The ability to speak up always creates inefficiency. It’s easier to just shut up and drive. Or be dr…

Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. So, yeah, like most other people in creative and know…

Benchmarking involves looking at every element of what you offer and comparing it to the very best element of any of your competitors. So your door handle is as good as the Audi’s, and your b…

My first computer game design was in 1977–I came up with a version of Star Wars. It was almost nothing like the movie, but it was a pretty good game for something running on a mainframe. The …

Many strategy games involve researching technologies, and each technology has a set of prerequisites (except the starting technologies). These can either be arranged linearly (tech levels) or in a ...

You never look at a skill /tech tree and go “uggghhh I can’t believe I haven’t got any of this done yet.” It’s exciting that you still have so many improvements to unlock.

Whatever “it” is. That’s probably a mistake. People don’t know what you know, don’t believe what you believe, don’t fear what you fear. They’re not equally…

Who decided that this was a good way for a group to interact? It’s all the worst elements of synchronous and asynchronous discussion rolled into one. It prioritizes speed of reply over though…

The system is lazy. It focuses on the things that are easy to measure: How fast can you type, what was your score on the test, how many followers do you have? One way to move forward is to learn di…

A simple approach to learning how to solicit and receive feedback: Begin by showing a well-meaning peer someone else’s novel, painting, design or business plan… You might discover that …

When you’re traveling, various maladies may beset you, and you won’t have your home’s well-stocked medicine cabinet at your disposal to remedy them. You can pack a full first aid kit, but if you’re traveling light, and are only concerned about issues that have a high likelihood of occurring, there are really only a few […]

It’s scary. That’s the point. Pick a date certain. You’re on the hook. Describe a particular type of client, or even choose one by name. Be really clear about the change you seek …

It probably doesn’t pay to buy your prom dress when you are 12 years old. You’re not sure of the size, not sure of what styles will be like and not even sure you want to go. On the othe…

Burning my hands on the steering wheel.

Your co-worker gets the promotion that you applied for. You congratulate him while seething inside. Your friend goes on a fantastic vacation and shares pics of it on Instagram. You usually “like” his stuff, but this time you don’t. Your wife’s parents watch your sister-in-law’s children for the weekend. You’re ticked that they never do […]

You wake up early on a dark, cold morning to meet your friend for a run. But he’s a no-show at the trailhead. “Sorry, man!” he texts you later. “I overslept.” “No worries!” you reply. At work, Janet peeks her downcast face into your cubicle. “I was going through our records,” she confesses, “and it […]

🤖 When I was younger, I liked to build things (still do), and I was very often surprised that people were not just flocking to my fantastic new project once I released it. After some time, I understood the truth. 💡It really helps if you are good at two things - doing stuff and telling others about it. Being good at one of them is also acceptable if you have a partner who can support you with the other part. To start getting good at talking about things, I started writing and sharing my thoughts. Bits and…

Justin Beebe was a 26-year-old native of Vermont. He was killed firefighting in Nevada as a first-year member of the elite Lolo Interagency Hotshot Crew.

Marketing makes change happen. And for humans, the change is rarely linear. There’s a moment before and a moment after the decision is made. Some people find the moment thrilling, others are …

There’s a mythology around people with famous resumes. Folks who have worked for brands we’ve heard of and on projects that have been successful. We give the benefit of the doubt to som…

Vannevar Bush was the first trained electrical engineer to publicly proclaim in influential circles that EE’s are one engine of innovation and the driving in digital technology. As the early the 1930s, he viewed the entrepreneur and the engineer as twin forces for progress and technological advance.

Fascinating stuff in this “Ask Adam” segment where he talks about what it takes to master a skill and things the master of a skill knows how to do that a newbie can’t understand y…

The map might be correct, but that doesn’t mean it will work. The sign might be legal, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be effective. We’re surrounded by instruction manu…

The personal uniform is a look that you’ve settled on as your regular get-up. Today on the show I talk to two style writers, David Coggins and Michael Williams, about all things concerning this stylish-yet-bandwidth-saving approach to dressing. We discuss what a personal uniform is, how to develop one and why that development comes with […]