Circle Three 54 / Ends of the Earth
What do we think about Sunday posts? I find myself reading through the week and maybe it’ll be a nice summary for everyone while you kick back and relax.
Here’s some of my thoughts on articles that tickled new thoughts for me this week.
Content
Psychology & Health
Culture
Business
Lyric: Ends of the Earth
Psychology & Health
Is internet addiction eradicating the habit of reading? Read it here. I’m halfway through a 600-page book after my week in the woods and let me tell you, the thick binding doesn’t offer the same dopamine response as reading ten tweets a minute. Here’s to the deep thinkers, to those who fight against the grain and dig into a long book. Fire up your printers, we’re going offline.
Physical vs Intellectual. A Navalism. Here. Embrace the ability to move on. But it’s most true for matters of social structures like a spouse or career. If it doesn’t feel right, seek change. Versus…
“In physical domains like diet and workouts, consistency is king.”
Slumped? Read here. These posture exercises have been helping me stand a little taller. (I swear I’m 5’10”)
Culture
Living in a Monochrome. Here, and here’s the original study. A graph about color uniformity has made the rounds online. While I agree, it’s heartening to see companies like Apple now expanding color options on product lines. Maybe the world is getting a little more colorful? The data says otherwise, but I like to hope.
Business
Great Systems: simple, sticky, self-regulating. Here’s the short thread. I’ve spent much of the last few months building systems at work: efficient time-blocking, automated processes, and workflows that help to offload burdens from people and instead put them on the system. But sometimes even the best systems fail or add unnecessary frictions. Here are the five steps for a successful system:
“1. Clarify the purpose
2. Simplify the system
3. Optimize internal process
4. Clarify the system’s success criteria
5. Implement automatic reporting”
We Need to Let Go of the Bell Curve. The piece here presents the case for thinking about systems differently. Rather than using the normal curve, using a Pareto Distribution more accurately represents our world.
“Economies, supply chains, trade, and markets have become more intertwined and global. Information technology and transport have exponentially deepened the interconnection of the multiple systems we’re part of. In these networks, variables are not additive but instead influence each other, creating dynamic, reinforcing, and cascading processes that are nonlinear, multiplicative, and far less predictable.”
Effective employee management or community building can utilize the “Power of Pareto.”
The Top Ten Lies GPs Tell LPs. These are more like cliches but are to be avoided in any case. Hold this up against any crypto startup and you’ll see some themes.
Lyric: Ends of the Earth
This week was a time to reset. I spent the week with family in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where it can often feel like the end of the earth. No cell coverage, a soft blanket of trees, and maybe a mosquito or two. Time stood still all week as I enjoyed big meals with family and the cool northern air.
Ends of the Earth by Lord Huron
Out there's a land that time don't command
Wanna be the first to arrive
No time for ponderin' why I'm-a wanderin'
Not while we're both still aliveTo the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
There's a world that was meant for our eyes to see
Thanks for reading.
Cheers,
Dan