This is my weekly link dump of articles, videos and content I’ve enjoyed in the past week.
The ancient guide for uncertain times
I’m not religious, and I don’t subscribe to a rigid philosophy other than a couple of basic tenets like “Be better today than you were yesterday” and “Leave people better than when you met them.” Despite not adhering to anything in particular, I read as much as possible, find the resonant nuggets, and add them to my toolbox.
After reading a few Ryan Holiday books, I read a lot of Stoicism. It’s not enough to make it THE guiding philosophy of my life, but there are plenty of nuggets worth keeping.
Like this from Seneca on dealing with uncertainty and advising against suffering in advance.
“It is likely that some troubles will befall us; but it is not a present fact. How often has the unexpected happened! How often has the expected never come to pass! And even though it is ordained to be, what does it avail to run out to meet your suffering? You will suffer soon enough, when it arrives.” – Seneca.
This 2022 article from the BBC offers a good overview.
Amanda Ruggeri
Why you shouldn’t try to write a bestseller
One day I'll write a book, but I won't try to write a bestseller. Josh Bernoff writes an excellent blog where he offers advice to writers. I first discovered Bernoff when I read his book, Writing Without Bullshit where he tells people to say what they mean, without bullshit.
In a post this week, Bernoff says without bullshit you're probably not going to write a best seller and it's probably fruitless to try. Instead, you need to focus on the real reason you're writing the book, be it sharing knowledge, boosting your reputation or countless others goals that shoudn't be the best seller list.
Josh Bernoff
Free Download: A Knitting Pattern for a Sweater Depicting an Iconic Cover of George Orwell’s 1984
Open Culture is sharing a free download to a knitting pattern for a sweater depicting George Orwell's 1984 book cover. I'm not a knitter but if you are, and you have the time and wool, I'll take a USA large.
OC
My McLuhan lecture on enshittification
Cory Doctorow gave the annual Marshall McLuhan lecture at the Transmediale festival in Berlin. Doctorow is a vocal critic of social media platforms and their negative effects on society. He continues here and offers plenty of other insights.
Cory Doctorow
Disinformation often gets blamed for swaying elections, but the research isn’t so clear
Do we have free will? What if we don't? Would propaganda and disinformation matter?
Research: 3 in 4 U.S. adults can discern real political news headlines from fake ones
The question is do they want to or do they try to?
Clark Merrefield
What 'Freedom Of Speech' Really Means To Dana White And The UFC
Former ESPN personality Pablo Torres has a great new YouTube Show called, "Pablo Torres Finds Out." This week he had a conversation with preeminent MMA journalist Ariel Helwani.
A big portion of their time was spent talking about Dana White and his transition to Trumpy Free Speech Bro. In the past White has banned journalists and continues to make life difficult for journalists who don't stick to softball questions.
I've never been a Dana White fan, but he's done a heck of a job promoting the UFC and his personal brand, often to the detriment of the fighters who've spilled the blood that grew the brand.
Full disclosure; White blocked me years ago on Twitter after made comment about offering fighters fair compensation.
So what was your love language?
The Washington Post published an article citing science's skepticism of Gary Champman's "The Five Love Languages" relationship book.
The Post was skeptical, Family Therapist Steven Ing writing in Psychology Today called the time of death of the Love Languages concept with RIP Love.
Until Nextime!
