Scree

noun : an accumulation of loose stones or rocky debris lying on a slope or at the base of a hill or cliff.

Spaced repetition →

Published March 29, 2022  ·  All posts on Mar 29

Spaced repetition comes up in discussions of optimal learning. Once one learns something, it’s best to review it after a period of time, then a second review, third, etc.. with the time between the reviews increasing. There are class structures and software packages which implement this. (Randomly over the years I’ve even considered dumping everything I ever wanted to learn into such a system.)

Part of the power of the spacing is that you don’t come to expect when a particular bit of information will be reviewed. “Oh! I need that knowledge, I guess it is important.” It all apparently causes the brain to not allow the knowledge to expire and be lost. I’ve discovered that my regular usage of the slipbox is randomly, (in the sense that I have no sense of what or when to expect to bump into an idea again,) reminding me of things.

For example, I had a slip, “4c2se1j” with an idea for a blog post on it. As I was writing the post, which involved Sönke Ahrens, I flipped to her name in the slipbox to add this slip’s address to things related to her. She’s on the slip at “4c1ae(3)”. (Because “4c1ae” overflowed to a second “4c1ae(2)” and then third slip “4c1ae(3)”.) Next to her name I added “4c2se1j”. Your eyes may have glassed over, but that’s just another random moment in my using the slipbox—nothing particularly interesting there.

While doing that, my eyes flashed across two addresses already on Ahren’s line…

First, “2ho1”. Just four characters, but I instantly recognized the “2” as a book reference, and Ahren’s book is “HOw to take smart notes.” Several of the ideas from the book flashed through my mind.

Second, “4c2ko1a”. That looks gnarly, but “4c2” is themes. “4c2ko” then must be a word with first-letter K, and first-vowel O, and it has to be related to Ahrens? …that’s easy. That would be the slip for “KnOwledge systems”. I don’t know for sure (without looking) what’s on “4c2ko1a” but lots of ideas related to knowledge systems popped into my mind.

Don’t be distracted by my insane, paper-slips in physical-boxes system. There are countless ways to take notes. (Ahrens has a lot of great stuff to say about that, and I’d argue she has The stuff to say about it.) My point here is that by taking notes into a system that is designed to help me think—not tell me how to think—it does in fact help me think and helps me learn and remember.

ɕ

slip:4c2ko1c.

Opportunity with Morgane Michael →

Published March 28, 2022  ·  All posts on Mar 28

How do creative endeavors like podcasting and writing a book evolve and create opportunities for growth and connection?

Exploring how passion fuels creativity in podcasting and writing a book.

There is an outcome that is super powerful that the present version of you can’t even conceptualize for the future.

~ Morgane Michael (4:33)

The discussion begins with Morgane sharing her journey of writing a book and starting a podcast, emphasizing how passion and a sense of purpose drive their creative efforts. The conversation highlights how pursuing projects like these involves balancing a full-time teaching career and personal responsibilities while staying true to one’s creative vision. Morgane discusses the interplay between inspiration and discipline, reflecting on the importance of aligning work with personal fulfillment.

Craig and Morgane explore themes of growth and reflection, focusing on how intentional journaling and self-assessment help shape creative endeavors. They touch on the role of habits and the tension between routine and mindfulness. Insights include the importance of creating meaningful content, building connections, and recognizing the long-term impact of seemingly small actions. The conversation also covers Morgane’s vision for future projects and her interest in amplifying voices through conferences and workshops.

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Exploration with Panda Ilén →

Published March 28, 2022  ·  All posts on Mar 28  ·  

Exploration with Panda Ilén

What connections and influences exist between Parkour, bouldering, and theater?

Combining theater and physical disciplines creates new dimensions for expression and skill development.

Happiness, honesty and exploration.

~ Panda Ilén (19:33)

The conversation explores the intersections of Parkour, bouldering, and theater in shaping movement practices and self-expression. Topics include the influence of environment, seasonal changes, and the impact of community versus solitude on training. Panda reflects on how bouldering introduces new ways of thinking and moving, which also informs their approach to Parkour.

Theater emerges as a complementary discipline, with a unique ability to channel movement skills into creative performances. Seasonal challenges, particularly in Nordic winters, and transitions between locations further frame the discussion, shedding light on the importance of adaptability in both practice and life.

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Conversation as a spectrum →

Published March 28, 2022  ·  All posts on Mar 28  ·  

Communication between two people falls on a spectrum, and that spectrum has more than one dimension. In fact, I imagine it has many dimensions.

Information could be flowing predominantly from person A to B, evenly, or in the other direction; this can be imagined as one dimension of the communication. The tension—antagonism, slight repulsion, a neutral first meeting, mild interest, intimate whispers—can be negative or positive; this can be another dimension. Communication can be durable (recorded, written, notes taken, etc.) or ephemeral; that’s another dimension. It can also vary in the dimension from private to public.

It’s interesting to consider how real scenarios could be characterized using those dimensions. Consider: An interrogation involving torture, an interrogation of a subject with their rights observed, a private investigator seeking to solve a case, a journalist interviewing a war criminal, a journalist interviewing a cultural icon, two friends talking while sharing a meal, single-serving sized friends on a plane (hat tip to Chuck Palahniuk), or lovers sharing pillow talk. The scenarios, like life, are endlessly varied.

All of that is a reductionist analysis; how do I simplify the real scenario to find some principles that are durable across scenarios. That’s useful. But I could also turn my analysis around. While having a conversation, I could consider those principles as a way to guide my efforts to create a certain kind of conversation.

Direction of information flow? …should I be talking more or less? Tension? …is there, should there be, more or less? Durability? Privacy? There are certainly more dimensions, and therefore more principles, than those I’ve listed. And the insight gained from understanding every principle could be evaluated in the context—the right-now in each moment’s context—of every conversation.

What would happen if I continuously (as often as is possible in a conversation, but also by reflecting on each conversation and planning for the next), made conscious adjustments? What would happen if I did that over 100, 500, or even 1,000 conversations? Now that’s a good question.

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slip:4c2co3c4.

Respecting people’s wishes →

Published March 27, 2022  ·  All posts on Mar 27  ·  

We’re not just respecting people’s time. We’re respecting their voice and their passion.

~ Seth Godin from, Respecting their time

slip:4usere2.

It’s a good post from Godin. This post of mine is a literal tangent from one thing he mentioned…

In cases where “we’re all going to be speaking” isn’t on the agenda, going around the room, (ala “let’s all introduce ourselves”,) robs people of their agency. I’ve heard it discussed that this wastes time—it does. But vastly worse is the fact that it removes people’s agency.

(Agency is critical. I’ll go out on a limb and say that depriving someone of agency is literally the worst thing you can do to a person. All the horrible physical crimes you just thought of, involve first depriving the victim of their agency. Imagine if taking someone’s agency was treated as the worst crime possible.)

I imagine I’m leading some session, and someone is sitting in the space. When their turn comes around… suppose they don’t want to speak? What if they didn’t want to be heard? By saying, “let’s go around”—even if I say, “and introduce yourself if you want to“—regardless, they are going to be seen. They have to speak, to decline to speak. They have to leave the room, or hide, etc. My “let’s go around the room,” literally robs everyone of their choice.

There are of course lots of situations where “going around” makes perfect sense. For example, if we’re sitting in a restorative justice circle, everyone there knows how it works. You’re free to not speak, and you know that you are going be seen. But the vast majority of times I’ve been in a “let’s go around” situation, it’s the theft of agency variety.

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Motivation with Adam Greenberg →

Published March 26, 2022  ·  All posts on Mar 26

How can podcasts be designed and produced in multiple languages to serve specific, localized audiences effectively?

A podcast is used as a tool to bridge gaps in health education for rural communities with limited internet access.

[It’s the] whole process of editing that’s tripped me up. What I’ve noticed, and what I’m realizing, is with the HIV podcast, doing that podcast for the community—for other people—is motivation for me to like… knock out those episodes in the same afternoon.

~ Adam Greenberg (10:16)

The conversation explores the creative and technical challenges of producing a multilingual podcast for rural communities, focusing on a project aimed at supporting HIV-positive individuals. This initiative, designed by a Peace Corps volunteer, leverages podcasts to share local stories and facilitate discussions. Technical hurdles, such as managing multiple RSS feeds in different languages, are discussed, alongside strategies for hosting and distribution on a budget.

Adam reflects on the broader challenges of content creation, contrasting the ease of creating for others with the difficulty of personal projects. Topics include finding motivation, balancing creativity with logistics, and navigating the numerous rabbit holes that technology and content production present. The importance of mentorship, setting boundaries, and focusing on meaningful goals also surfaces as key themes in the discussion.

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Humiliation →

Published March 26, 2022  ·  All posts on Mar 26

There is no change, no attempt, no reach that does not look strange to someone. There’s almost no accomplishment that is possible without calling some attention on yourself. To gamble on yourself is to risk failure. To do it in public is to risk humiliation.

~ Ryan Holiday from, Life Happens in Public. Get Used to It.

slip:4uryli1.

I believe I’ve developed a healthy level of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ when it comes to trying things with a risk of failure. I think this is one—possibly the only—upside to having terrible self-talk. I’ve told my self horribly critical things so many times… and then had that criticism proven to not be the case so many times… well, now I just try things.

Except for people’s names. I’m developing a phobia around saying people’s names. It just feels like the least I could do, when having a conversation with someone who I need to introduce to others… the least I could do is say their name correctly. Perfectly, even, on the first try. …in their native language’s proper pronunciation. What could possible go wrong?

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Perception with Ame Sanders →

Published March 25, 2022  ·  All posts on Mar 25

How can podcasting effectively contribute to fostering inclusivity and equity within communities?

A passion project evolves into a platform for amplifying community voices working on equity.

My goal is to work with communities to help them become more inclusive and equitable. The podcast grew out of the idea that I want to identify work that’s going on in communities, and individuals who are working to make their own communities more inclusive and equitable. I want to celebrate that work, elevate that work, showcase it, and understand it.

~ Ame Sanders (1:42)

The conversation explores the role of podcasting as a medium to foster inclusivity and equity within communities. Ame highlights her podcast as a platform to celebrate and share the efforts of individuals and communities striving to make their environments more inclusive. She discusses the balance between analytical approaches and heartfelt actions in achieving social equity. The discussion underscores the importance of showcasing local efforts to inspire broader change.

Another significant topic discussed is the personal challenges and motivations in pursuing passion projects like podcasting. Insights are shared about the need for introspection, recognizing biases, and maintaining authenticity. The conversation also touches on the importance of taking breaks, learning from reflection, and aligning one’s voice with thoughtful, impactful contributions to societal challenges.

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Risk →

Published March 25, 2022  ·  All posts on Mar 25  ·  

Risk gives you choice, and it gives you opportunity to explore and challenge yourself. Risk is a choice, and you have to learn how to negotiate acceptable and unacceptable risks in our lives. Play is a very safe space to learn how to do that.

~ Caitlin Pontrella

slip:4a818.

I keep trying to rearrange my efforts so I can spend more time re-experiencing the hundreds of terrific conversations I’ve experienced. Every single time I manage to find time to go back in, I find something wonderful. That quote is from episode 4 of the Movers Mindset podcast—it wasn’t even called that back then. It was a wonderful, chaotic, ramble of a conversation long before I realized the magic of conversation.

I keep thinking: Have great conversations and get them recorded. Get those conversations recorded so they can be heard by others is the most important part. I have a million other ideas about how to extract meaning, share the best parts, find threads and themes that run across large scales of people and times and …

My hope is that if I simply keep having great conversations, everything else will take care of itself.

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Process with Julie Duffy →

Published March 24, 2022  ·  All posts on Mar 24

What are the connections between writing, creativity, and podcasting as explored through the art of conversation?

The discussion highlights the parallels between storytelling in writing and crafting engaging podcasts.

Some people have a terrible time getting started because when you’re about to start writing you could write about anything. And when you can write about anything, you could write about everything. If you can write about everything, then what do you choose?

~ Julie Duffy (4:11)

The conversation centers on the interplay between writing, podcasting, and creative expression. It begins by discussing the challenges of starting a creative project, with an emphasis on how endless possibilities can be paralyzing. This leads to a broader exploration of overcoming creative blocks, the importance of completing projects, and how understanding the end goal can shape the process.

It also goes into the technical and emotional aspects of storytelling, highlighting parallels between crafting a podcast episode and writing a narrative. Topics include structuring stories, preparing mentally for creative tasks, and the unexpected skills that cross over between disciplines. Finally, the discussion emphasizes the value of listening and allowing space in conversations, which reflects a commitment to meaningful dialogue.

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