Interesting, I never would have placed resourcefulness and reflection at opposite ends of a spectrum. I'm both fascinated and skeptical of all of the various personality frameworks - but leave it to us who skew reflective to know where we land on all of them! Also, Alex says the exact same things EVERY TIME we go anywhere, and is inevitably looking up real estate on Zillow by the time we leave. I feel those things, but am simultaneously very aware that they are a product of my brain in "vacation mode" rather than the physical surroundings. The grass is always greener...
Yeah, maybe not a spectrum, but for me and the way my brain works, it's helpful for me to think about reflection, resourcefulness, and relaxation as three different colors on a pie chart ... and I know that I'm most fulfilled when, over time, they're well balanced. I think that I'm fairly resourceful and can get shit done, but true to my personality archetype, I skew reflective and it's my comfort spot. I can easily convince myself that I'm happiest reading and writing 12 hours a day ... even though I know deep down it isn't true.
I heard a great interview recently with Mustafa Suleyman, who left Google to found Inflection AI because he felt that Google was moving too slow on AI. He also just published a book, and in the interview they ask him about how much we should be advancing AI versus reflecting on its societal impact. He had a lovely answer that tied to how he feels personally (having written a book and leading a company) and about AI societally: contemplation without doing is meaningless, but doing without contemplation is dangerous.
Anyway, I'm clearly a nerd about this. A few years ago I read "Action vs. Contemplation" by a couple of humanities professors to help their students answer "Should students study the humanities, or train for a job? Should adults work for money or for meaning? And in tumultuous times, should any of us sit on the sidelines, pondering great books, or throw ourselves into protests and petition drives?"
Of course, their conclusion like mine: "Why not both?"
The pie chart visual makes WAY more sense. I agree it has to be all three. And I guess we would all ideally find the ratio that makes us most fulfilled and happy overall, which also probably changes throughout our lives.
It's a good question, and I too find reflection to be very relaxing. But my brain is by default so damn analytical and always on. So for me, relaxation is something different. I'm not trying to understand something. I'm not trying to increase my knowledge or improve my capabilities ... I'm merely just being and appreciating ... something I'm convinced I should do more often.
I think I went through agreement, intrigue, repulsion, and then joyfulness all in one newsletter. That's gotta be a good sign.
Anna makes fun of me for always wanting to move to the San Juans or the desert or somewhere away from cities. And it's usually because I think my routine in cities is set in stone. I found my rhythm. When I leave cities, something new awakens, my brain takes on a new beat, and my observations are different. And that is intoxicating.
Lots of great links this week. I'm much more reflective than resourceful. Any data on how many world leaders vs artists are either/or?
This was the first year we went to Orcas in the summer. We only went in January. And my favorite childhood story is going to Laughlin with my family when I was 10, so 1991. At midnight it was 98 degrees and every hotel had time and temp on their digital signs. I’ve spent thousands of hours in the desert in the summer. And I really do have nostalgia for it.
Interesting, I never would have placed resourcefulness and reflection at opposite ends of a spectrum. I'm both fascinated and skeptical of all of the various personality frameworks - but leave it to us who skew reflective to know where we land on all of them! Also, Alex says the exact same things EVERY TIME we go anywhere, and is inevitably looking up real estate on Zillow by the time we leave. I feel those things, but am simultaneously very aware that they are a product of my brain in "vacation mode" rather than the physical surroundings. The grass is always greener...
Yeah, maybe not a spectrum, but for me and the way my brain works, it's helpful for me to think about reflection, resourcefulness, and relaxation as three different colors on a pie chart ... and I know that I'm most fulfilled when, over time, they're well balanced. I think that I'm fairly resourceful and can get shit done, but true to my personality archetype, I skew reflective and it's my comfort spot. I can easily convince myself that I'm happiest reading and writing 12 hours a day ... even though I know deep down it isn't true.
I heard a great interview recently with Mustafa Suleyman, who left Google to found Inflection AI because he felt that Google was moving too slow on AI. He also just published a book, and in the interview they ask him about how much we should be advancing AI versus reflecting on its societal impact. He had a lovely answer that tied to how he feels personally (having written a book and leading a company) and about AI societally: contemplation without doing is meaningless, but doing without contemplation is dangerous.
Anyway, I'm clearly a nerd about this. A few years ago I read "Action vs. Contemplation" by a couple of humanities professors to help their students answer "Should students study the humanities, or train for a job? Should adults work for money or for meaning? And in tumultuous times, should any of us sit on the sidelines, pondering great books, or throw ourselves into protests and petition drives?"
Of course, their conclusion like mine: "Why not both?"
The pie chart visual makes WAY more sense. I agree it has to be all three. And I guess we would all ideally find the ratio that makes us most fulfilled and happy overall, which also probably changes throughout our lives.
I wonder why you think about reflection and relaxation as independent activities. To me they're greatly intertwined.
Also: I've been waiting for a new episode of the 12 inquiries for months now, c'mon guys!
It's a good question, and I too find reflection to be very relaxing. But my brain is by default so damn analytical and always on. So for me, relaxation is something different. I'm not trying to understand something. I'm not trying to increase my knowledge or improve my capabilities ... I'm merely just being and appreciating ... something I'm convinced I should do more often.
I think I went through agreement, intrigue, repulsion, and then joyfulness all in one newsletter. That's gotta be a good sign.
Anna makes fun of me for always wanting to move to the San Juans or the desert or somewhere away from cities. And it's usually because I think my routine in cities is set in stone. I found my rhythm. When I leave cities, something new awakens, my brain takes on a new beat, and my observations are different. And that is intoxicating.
Lots of great links this week. I'm much more reflective than resourceful. Any data on how many world leaders vs artists are either/or?
I mean, have you seen Dubya's watercolors!? But really, I'm curious if we'll ever again see poets and playwrights who become presidents like Léopold Senghor, Václav Havel, and Yitzhak Navon. It's hard to imagine, but I'd certainly vote for Amanda Gorman over any of the chumps in the running.
Also, how much time have you spent in the San Juans in January or the desert in August?
This was the first year we went to Orcas in the summer. We only went in January. And my favorite childhood story is going to Laughlin with my family when I was 10, so 1991. At midnight it was 98 degrees and every hotel had time and temp on their digital signs. I’ve spent thousands of hours in the desert in the summer. And I really do have nostalgia for it.