Issue - 2021, week 52
Latest issue
2021, week 52
Happy New Year!
Before diving into the content of the last newsletter of 2021 I wanted to wish you all the best for 2022 and thank you for still being there and supporting me!
Also, I have updated the home page with: Browsing shortcuts (Issues, Highlights, Authors and Categories) as well as the top Most Viewed Highlights and Most Published Authors. Give it a look!
Then, here are the 4 things I want to remember in 2022 from the thoughts I found in 2021:
(1) “I am a societal node” - Read more
(2) “I control what I can control” - Read more
(3) “I am the master of my distraction” - Read more
(4) “I commit to one thing” - Read more
You can find these Mantras in a little app that we built with my team to wish a Happy New Year to our clients and friends. Oracle by Apart makes you a custom prediction of soon-to-be-trendy things you’ll live in 2022. Get your prediction!
And finally, here are 2 new Highlights to start the year!
One reason I love gathering skills is because every skill is an arrow in my quiver with which I can use to solve a different kind of problem. And, the more versions of solutions I have the farther and wider I can look for the correct solution for the problem.
1. Being a Generalist
I feel so much like a Generalist so when I heard Adam Savage talking about it, his message deeply resonated with me. It gave me the keys to understand why I am like this and how it can be a strength. I’m very grateful to have stumbled upon this video to start 2022 more serenely. Before that, I would feel bad not sticking to / digging into one domain of competence, but the time passing I started to understand what Adam Savage explains in his AMA video: the transversality of skills and knowledge create unexpected connections that allow to think, solve and execute in a faster and more efficient way. See online
Dumbness alone is rarely the driving threat: at the head of almost every dumb movement, you will find the stupid in charge.
2. Stupidity warning
There is a difference between dumbness and stupidity. Stupidity ‘’occurs when you don’t have the right conceptual tools for the job. The result is an inability to make sense of what is happening and a resulting tendency to force phenomena into crude, distorting pigeonholes.’’ According to Sacha Golob, two features make stupidity particularly dangerous when compared with other vices. First, stupidity is primarily a property of groups or traditions, not individuals. This makes it particularly hard to eradicate. Second, stupidity begets more stupidity. Someone can use stupidity on purpose to serve their interests when they need it. For example, in politics, stupidity can be extremely effective. Let’s be honest, it can be pretty easy to become stupid. Even in domains that we mastered we can become some kind of dick head. Because we rested on our laurels for too long, we became averse to change and continue to see our discipline in a way that does not match the reality anymore. I think starting by stopping being condescending and aggressive can help fight stupidity at the individual level and by consequence also neutralize its natural spread at the group level. See online
Enjoy this issue and see you next week. Take care!