Betterment

Add up all the senses you use and the things you notice: that’s your umwelt. It’s pretty obvious that your dog has a different one than you do. They see fewer colors and smell far more …

Humanity’s lasting separation from its surroundings, and the catastrophic subjugation of all that lives.

Note: This is a rebroadcast. You want to declutter. You want to downsize. You want to live more simply. So what’s been holding you back from getting closer to those ideals? My guest today sorts through both the psychological and practical roadblocks that can get in the way of living more minimally, and more in […]

In 1959, three years after Columbia Records spent a fortune rolling out stereo recording, a senior A&R executive named Ward Botsman told the New York Times, “Let’s face it, the craz…

Most of us know what enough happiness feels like. But some people are stuck in an endless cycle of seeking more money. That’s a bad trade. Because after a certain threshold, it’s hard f…

During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was besieged on all sides by those who thought the president was doing too much, too little, or simply making the wrong moves. In response to one critique, Lincoln told an anecdote about a cowboy who got lost while traversing the frontier. Darkness fell and a furious storm came […]

…of course, if you’re lost on purpose, you’re not lost. Lost is only possible if you are fixed on getting somewhere specific.

A divo (or diva) is an opera singer with skill. Sometimes, though, that skill comes in a package that also includes imperiousness, skittishness and a fair amount of unpredictable drama. It’s …

The future creeps up on us slowly. But when it leaps dramatically, we notice. One spam phone call a day is an irritation. 1,000 of them destroy the utility of the phone. One photographer undercutti…

Most of us know the wonderful 1966 TV Christmas special, “How The Grinch Stole Christmas,” based on the 1957 children’s book by Dr Seuss. It’s the story

Automate the job hunt to make more money & get better work-life balance.

While building a project, I found that a key part was stuck. I tapped it with a mallet, then harder, and eventually whacked at it. No luck. Then I got smart and put three clamps around the part, ge…

As the great Charlie Munger said in 1995 in his famous Psychology of Human Misjudgment speech at Harvard: “Show me the incentives, and I’ll show you the

The desire for 11 is proof that we often want to go all the way to ten. While 11 is silly, there is a lot of pressure to give our all. But there are problems. The first is that if you try to sprint…

There’s a huge difference between drifting through life and strategically planning your future. It all comes down to habits. The right habits can propel you forward, helping you outpace everyone […] More

Previously: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 This was an eventful year. My son went to preschool, I joined Carta, left Calm, and wrote my third book. It was also a logistically intensive year, with our toddler heading to preschool, more work travel, and a bunch of other little bits and pieces. Here is my year in review summary. I love to read other folks year-in writeups – if you write one, please send it my way!

Where we choose to direct our gaze determines not only what we learn or believe, but how we choose to see the world. Typing is a skill. Juggling is a skill. So is project management. It’s eas…

“I’ll remember it later.” I’ll confess, I rarely do. It turns out, it’s easier to remember questions than answers. And tools like Google Docs and photos in the cloud g…

James shares tips for developers on how to use AI to build better products faster but not blindly copy and paste from ChatGPT.

Can I bring my emotional support dog?

If the signal is very weak and the noise is large, it’s easy to imagine that there’s no signal at all. AI and computers can be used as lenses now, which means we can strip away the nois…

Everyone has an intuition, but some people seem to have a sixth sense that guides them through life with an uncanny accuracy. You may know someone like this, or perhaps […] More

As Emperor Palpatine said in a galaxy far far away, “your arrogance blinds you.” While it may be odd to hear the Dark Lord of the Sith preach humility as

They say that the most sought-after job title from Gen-Z is not nurse, fireman or astronaut, but online “Influencer." This explains why places like the

We actually don’t really know. Netflix just released their first-ever detailed analysis of how many hours of engagement the top 15,000+ most watched shows on the network received over a six m…

Wonder Tools — Creating a productivity toolkit to get stuff done - part 1

Trust is worth more than attention. Helping people get to where they seek to go is more effective than hustling people to persuade them to go where you’re going. Choose your customers, choose…

Back in 2015, I started weightlifting seriously.  Over eight years of training, I was able to get strong. But more importantly, I discovered a hobby that brought me immense satisfaction.  While I don’t barbell train like I used to, I still religiously lift weights.  During my eight years of serious training, I’ve learned some important […]

Stephen Wolfram discusses building a general observer theory using discoveries from the Physics Project and NKS, including the ruliad. Read how the nature of observers is critical to determining the most fundamental laws we attribute to the universe.