I’ve been thinking about the newsletter format for some time now. I want something simpler and closer to the way I think. From now on, each issue will have three distinct parts: something to keep, a connection that stood out, and a few things I liked that week.
Something to Keep
“Gentlemen, Gentlemen… I’ll never understand. All these books, a world of knowledge at your fingertips. What do you do? You play poker all night.”
William Somerset – Se7en
For those unfamiliar, Se7en is a movie directed by David Fincher. It stars Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Morgan Freeman. Freeman plays Detective William Somerset. In one particular scene, Somerset goes to a library late at night to research the recent killings that have been happening. The detective finds it ironic that the security guards have access to all the knowledge in history, but choose to play poker instead.
When I catch myself wasting time on Reddit or watching funny YouTube videos, I feel like a security guard in that movie. We have access to all the recorded history. We can listen to any record, watch any movie, or read any book, yet most of us are complaining about stupid things on social media.
Naval Ravikant put it best when he said, “We live in the age of Alexandria, when every book and every piece of knowledge ever written down is a fingertip away. The means of learning are abundant—it’s the desire to learn that is scarce.” Interestingly, Se7en came out in 1995, more than a decade before the first iPhone came out.
A Second Look
Distractions aren’t the only problem in the modern age. Another important issue is the fact that algorithms heavily influence our taste and our choices. This is something that author Kyle Chayka explores in his book Filterworld. I recently read the book to research an essay (you can read it here), and I couldn’t put it down.
The topic might sound bleak, but there’s a way out. Instead of relying on algorithms, we need to find human recommendations to curate our own lists and develop a taste that’s truly our own.
Something I Liked
I loved this Eric Barone profile that GQ magazine published in early 2018. For those unfamiliar, Barone is the developer behind the incredibly popular game Stardew Valley. If you’ve never played it, Stardew Valley is an intimate experience where the player inherits a farm and has to work on it.
The developer became so obsessed with the game that it almost ruined his life. I enjoy reading articles about the creative process, but I always struggle to find something new.