Author: Craig Constantine

How to think for yourself →

Published August 24, 2022  ·  All posts on Aug 24  ·  

Independent-mindedness seems to be more a matter of nature than nurture. Which means if you pick the wrong type of work, you’re going to be unhappy. If you’re naturally independent-minded, you’re going to find it frustrating to be a middle manager. And if you’re naturally conventional-minded, you’re going to be sailing into a headwind if you try to do original research.

~ Paul Graham from, How to Think for Yourself

Elsewhere, this is 4upati1. — slipbox

This is a case where I found it difficult to pull-quote. This at least gives you an idea of what the article is about. The challenge for me seems to be not becoming a raving lunatic when I’m off in independent-thinking land. I’ve learned to be able to swim in the conventional–minded, littoral waters, and I’ve been told I can even be helpful there. But my native environment seems to be the deep ocean of solitary thinking. I need to constantly remind myself that coming back to shore is important… as is doffing the raving lunatic appearance before trying to fold myself back into collaborative efforts.

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Mistakes →

Published August 23, 2022  ·  All posts on Aug 23  ·  ,

Not to accept your mistakes is to increase them.

~ Leo Tolstoy

Elsewhere, this is 4a986. — slipbox

Having a practice →

Published August 23, 2022  ·  All posts on Aug 23  ·  

What does it mean – “having a practice”? It is a very vague definition that can be used in many ways and can mean many things. As well as it can mean nothing at all, just referring to smoke and mirrors. The straightforward notion of “practice” in itself entails being involved in a process, repeatedly engaging in an activity with the end goal of achieving mastery in something. It can be both an empty description of a habit or it can be a phenomenon that fills human life with meaning.

~ Anna Bezuglova from, The Bamboo Body – Blog – Movement Practice Barcelona

Elsewhere, this is 4utebo4. — slipbox

I’ve often mentioned the power of asking movement enthusiasts for, “three words to describe your practice?” The power of my question comes both from the difficulty in summarizing and from the difficulty in describing one’s practice. And yes, I’ve made a note to see if I can get around to talking with Bezuglova on the Movers Mindset podcast.

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Capability →

Published August 22, 2022  ·  All posts on Aug 22  ·  

Every person has within himself the capability to understand the life of all humanity. This capability is hidden deep in the soul, but it exists, and sooner or later, a person will find it.

~ Edward Carpenter

Elsewhere, this is 4a985. — slipbox

Variance →

Published August 22, 2022  ·  All posts on Aug 22

However—fourth—over the last century there’s a huge relationship between how rich a country is and the variance in growth. The richest countries have low variance: They all stubbornly keep growing at around the same 1 or 2%. However, middle-income countries vary enormously.

~ “Dynomight” from, Do economies tend to converge or diverge?

Elsewhere, this is 4udyaa1. — slipbox

There’s several different interesting threads in this article. But this point about variance leapt out at me. I’m reminded of how just the other day, a piece about statistics that I mentioned was talking about variance (if you clicked through and read the article.) Variance feels like a sort of second-order thinking that I probably should be doing more often.

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Trust yourself and promise →

Published August 21, 2022  ·  All posts on Aug 21  ·  ,

What we seek out is someone who sees us and consistently keeps their promises to bring us the magic we were hoping for. Someone who has committed to rhyming with what they did yesterday. When you trust yourself enough to turn pro, You’re entering into a covenant with those you seek to serve. You promise to design with intention, and they agree to engage with the work you promised to bring them.

~ Seth Godin

Elsewhere, this is 4a984. — slipbox

Creepy →

Published August 21, 2022  ·  All posts on Aug 21

Motility, and in particular directed motility, is decisively important for host colonization, as bacteria deliberately seek to colonize an organism and conquer all niches.

~ Ludwig Maximilian from, How stress hormones guide bacteria in their host

Elsewhere, this is 4upyne13. — slipbox

*shudders* The article is about stress hormones in people, and research into how bacteria are (not “may be”) using our hormones to signal when they (the bacteria, *shudder* again) should go on the offensive and move. I don’t have anything to add. This just struck me as creepy.

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Virtue and vice →

Published August 20, 2022  ·  All posts on Aug 20  ·  

When the intellect becomes the slave of vices and passions, the supporter of lies, it becomes not only a perversion, but an illness, and we cannot see the difference between truth and falsehood, good and evil, virtue and vice.

~ William Ellery Channing

Elsewhere, this is 4a983. — slipbox

That says it all →

Published August 20, 2022  ·  All posts on Aug 20  ·  ,

And worse, when something truly significant does happen, it blends in seamlessly with the continuing shitstream that is information in the social media age.

~ Mark Manson from, The Outrage Cycle

Elsewhere, this is 4umate1. — slipbox

Manson lays it out pretty much as he always does. He’s not swinging a baseball bat; No it’s one of those bats from a zombies movie with nails sticking out of it. But the point is valid none the less.

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Expanding our understanding →

Published August 19, 2022  ·  All posts on Aug 19  ·  

The lesson? To respond to the unexpected and hurtful behavior of others with something more than a wipe of the glasses, to see it as a chance to expand our understanding, even if, as Proust warns us, “when we discover the true lives of other people, the real world beneath the world of appearances, we get as many surprises as on visiting a house of plain exterior which inside is full of hidden treasure, torture-chambers or skeletons.”

~ Alain de Botton

Elsewhere, this is 4a982. — slipbox