68: Rules Aren't Real 📐
Dispensing with the status quo is the key to escaping mediocrity.
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67: Not all that glitters 🪩
In one morning I came across three stories that made me think twice about the ‘metaverse’. It’s not some abstract future dystopia—it’s already here. Many of us already inhabit mini-metaverses full of personalised algorithms, and few of us are ready to take off the headset. The first...
66: Win the small hill ⛷
Sometimes in order to win the game you're optimising for, you must lose the ones you've been told were important.
65: What you want for dinner 🍽
How often do you revisit ideas you believe to be common sense? When thinking of possible ways we could develop our thinking or improve our lives we naturally gravitate to new ideas instead of investigating existing patterns. When you start thinking from first principles, a lot of things you might...
64: Constraints and consistency 🎲
People become great by being creative within the boundaries and persisting when others might quit.
63: Nobody cares 📵
Sometimes you will be out in the field, pushing the limits of expectation, on the verge of changing the world, and not a single soul will care. The masses often sleepwalk through innovation. You can only make great things if you’re willing to be ignored and unafraid of going...
62: The hard thing about hard work ⚒️
Brandon Sanderson is one of my favourite authors. If he writes something I’m going to eat it up. But not immediately. Because Brandon likes to write big beefy books that could double as self-defence weapons or stools for small cats. He writes a LOT. He recently surprised his entire...
61: It Sounds Better Over There 🎋
Whenever words are carried by saltine winds over vast expanses of water, they somehow gain the magical property of resonating clearer in our minds. This is why we seem to fall head over heels in love with wisdom from faraway lands. It explains our obsession with Ikigai. It’s why...
60: The Sum of our Parts 🧩
No one human knows how to make a pencil from scratch despite it seeming like a fundamentally basic thing - something every child can use. To construct something as simple as a pencil takes mining graphite, cutting wood, shaping metal, and figuring out whatever modern erasers are made out of....
59: Greener Grass
The Sword of Damocles has become synonymous with imminent danger and the threat of sudden calamity - but that’s only half the story, and perhaps the wrong half to focus on. If you’ve never heard of Damocles before, you’re in for a treat! The story of Damocles...
57: The Power of Impostors 👻
What the heck is an impostor anyway? Someone who is not supposed to be there. An impersonator. A copycat. A covert intelligence gatherer. Uninformed. Uninitiated. Uninvited. Maybe that’s you. It’s definitely me—but maybe there’s power in that. The ones who are different I am not supposed...
A Tree in the Woods
If the cameras turn off, do the Kardashians still exist? People are designing their lives and actions around black camera lenses, hoping that an audience will exist on the other side. People stand alone in rooms swinging their arms violently and making faces at the wall, because TikTok promises their...
56: Finding your passion 🔮
People spend their lives chasing passion. We have dreams of what life should be like. What it could be like, once we find the magic that's missing. We all want to get paid to do something we love. And we want to be paid well for it! To...
55: Almost Invisible 👻
We quickly get used to the sound of alarm bells. My smart watch keeps vibrating, every single hour, reminding me to stand up. I turned on the feature because I know sitting for too long is unhealthy. And when I say I know, I KNOW. I know it in my...
54: A glass half full 🥃
Is the glass half empty or half full? Apparently, your answer indicates whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist. I think that’s silly. It’s a question of orientation, not optimism. Are you picking it up or putting it down? What’s your motivation in the scene? Are...
🎙️The Economics of Elites with Garett Jones
David speaks with Garett Jones, an Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University, and the author of 3 books: Hive Mind, 10% Less Democracy, and The Culture Transplant. They talked about: 📉 Good economic policies that people still hate 👥 The power balance between the public and the elites, and why...
🎙️The Career of a Practical Creator with Lawrence Yeo
David speaks with Lawrence Yeo, a writer, illustrator, storyteller, and the creator of “More To That”, an illustrated long-form blog read by tens of thousands of people. They talked about: 🎨 Balancing practical work with creativity 💡 Cultivating and pursuing passion 🚫 Avoiding mimetic desires 📝 Writing good stories 🔍 How to discover new ideas...
🎙️Creativity, Conditioning and Athletic Development with Jamie Smith
David speaks with James Smith, founder and Head Sports Preparation coach of The U of Strength. They talked about: 🔄 Translating skills across different sports 🤹 The importance of play in sports training 🏆 Working with UCONN's championship team 🌟 How players mature at different times in their careers 🏈 How good coaching...
Elon's Law: Beating Hofstadter's Law with Ridiculous Deadlines
How Embracing the Impossible Can Propel You Forward Arianne initially thought her project would take 4 hours, but it unexpectedly consumed her entire day, finishing at 8:00 p.m. After a month, aiming to avoid a repeat, she allotted 12 hours for a similar project. Ironically, it took her...
🧭Decision Fatigue: The Silent Thief of Willpower (Wayfinder #14)
Welcome back to Wayfinder, your fortnightly compass for navigating life’s toughest decisions. Today, we’ll explore a phenomenon that stealthily compromises our ability to make sound judgements: decision fatigue. In Homer's epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus faces a multitude of decisions on his journey back to Ithaca. Perhaps...
🎙️AI, Careers, and Risk Management with Taylor Pearson
David speaks with Taylor Pearson, an entrepreneur and author of The End of Jobs. They talked about: 🤖 How AI will impact career choices 🚀 The future of work 🛠️ AI in automating jobs 🎓 How AI might affect career choice heuristics 🔄 The concept of Ergodicity 💼 Tail risks in investing 🚌 The Helsinki Bus Station...
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