It's not madness if you have a chart

This entry was posted in philosophy, sickness.

[You never know. Or do you?] Dilbert is great, but when it comes to pure brain teasers and real laugh out loud, Indexed is having a good run this summer.

This one takes a nice twist on one of my favorite quotes - the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and expecting different results - by adding chaos theory.

As Nate Silver pointed out in Signal and Noise - sometimes the changes are so small that you think you're doing the same thing, but it is just enough to give a different outcome (page 118 paper version, since that is searchable on amz but the kindle isn't...). Because chaos theory isn't about chaos as we normally think about it - it is not really random, it is just that there are some many things involved that we are unable to map them and model it all. And it all ties into the flow and effect. 

Zen and the war of ideas

This is very much a work in progress, and jumping all over the place - as I re-read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ("Zen" later in the text for brevity). It started last summer, when Part 1 took on work vs passion, then part 2 explored the chapters dealing with mental models.

Then this year along with the general blog reboot, I got back to reading Zen. So, the third part in the flow of the book delved into insanity and reality. This post got pushed a bit further out in the schedule, but will also hopefully bring us back around to the end of part II - and the fifth post that snuck in and screamed to be let out.

Although, from rereading the quotes and notes, and getting them formatted below, it does seem like there will be yet one more for the road. We'll just have to see how it turns out - if it does run a bit long or gets a consistent flow.

All quotes are from the Kindle edition, with the location marked (@...) - and also linked

Understanding and knowledge - a little means a lot

Central to the mental journey, and also for the underlying motivation of the real journey - is understanding. A quest for knowledge, but also a desire to expand the actual "mass" of knowledge we have.

From what fragments of memory I have, Phaedrus had a high regard for DeWeese because he didn’t understand him. @2252

How can we extend our ideas? By reading things that are just a little bit hard to grasp, by having to reread, refelct and discuss - by not just flowing into the next chapter, but stopping.

And that is par of the motivation for me, in taking some extra time to re-read the book, but also in blogging about it along the way (even if it has taken quite some time, and a few stops along the way).

Zen is not just a story. It is not just a 'painted' image of the world and our roles in it. It is in many ways more about a path, a way to find 'enlightenment' or understanding, by pushing against some of the 'set' constraints.

Just like creativity often works best with certain limits (use only blue, no circles, ...),so basic learning needs to rest on assumptions and terms. But when you have the basics, then maybe it is time to question the assumptions, break the rules and explore why and how on the outskirts.

The real University is nothing less than the continuing body of reason itself. @2416

Because it is when we think and reason that we use knowledge. and when we share it we help it grow. So open source, sharing and collaboration, makes us push ourselves and express our preferences in terms of improvements. There is nothing better than showing how you want something "fixed" - rather than just complaining about the current state of things (or knowledge).

Which brings us onto the more spiritual part of Zen;

He became aware that the doctrinal differences among Hinduism and Buddhism and Taoism are not anywhere near as important as doctrinal differences among Christianity and Islam and Judaism. Holy wars are not fought over them because verbalized statements about reality are never presumed to be reality itself. @2311

Truth is not a given, not a final thing. From this perspective it is a process, and a goal, a state of mind more than anything written down and passed on. A path to understanding, not a set of facts.

Which ties over to motivation, or dedication - because it isn't about facts, you need to take a 'leap of faith' when you start a journey of this kind;

You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in. No one is fanatically shouting that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. They know it’s going to rise tomorrow. When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kinds of dogmas or goals, it’s always because these dogmas or goals are in doubt. @2456

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Just take some time to reflect on that.
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It was one of those moments as I read it. It just seems so obvious now afterwards. Sometimes it is too easy in hindsight.
Facts are beyond feelings
Passions are beyond facts

music

art

politics

We can engage because the answer is not given. There is no single way to see Picasso. Or to hear Vivaldi. You can't be sure if you are "doing it right". You have to have faith in your impression, your process and path. 

The path is the goal at any given time

The statement “To travel is better than to arrive” comes back to mind again and stays. We have been traveling and now we will arrive. For me a period of depression comes on when I reach a temporary goal like this and have to reorient myself toward another one. @2485

 always fragments, pushing forward. Each section a story unto itself.  But what is the overall flow? Is there even one, or are we just so good storytellers that we always manage to tie the treads together? Was it a step in its own right, or just a smaller fragment of things to come? How do we tell? How can we know?

“You look at where you’re going and where you are and it never makes sense, but then you look back at where you’ve been and a pattern seems to emerge. And if you project forward from that pattern, then sometimes you can come up with something. @2730

Is it storytelling or "lies to children"? Does it make sense because there is meaning, or because we make meaning?
And does it matter?
If we understand the events by the story, then the events have a part of that story, even if it is only a temporary collection of fragments. It is not right. Or wrong, fact or fiction. The story is. The whole of the parts is.

Molecules are molecules. They don’t have any ethical codes to follow except those people give them. The test of the machine is the satisfaction it gives you. There isn’t any other test. If the machine produces tranquillity it’s right. @2671

 gaggia time. serenity now. it just is.

Love the one you're with! For free.

Love the one you're with? Yes, it seems like a trite old love song. But is about trying to find the gold you have access to. Rather than dreaming of the Moon, you need to live on Earth a while longer.

Mitch did a short piece on motivation and work with a video talk by Dan Ariely included as extra bonus.

Mapping with lists

Cleaning out the gmail box as well, since all the old drafts and direct ideas are gone.

And what is more suitable then htan a post on getting ideas. The tools and the structures we can play with.

No fear no launch?

Hence the opportunity. If you do things that are safe but feel risky, you gain a significant advantage in the marketplace. [seth]

Since everybody else is shying away from those things that feel risky, but in fact are probably not - just new and strange, actively pursuing those "blind spots" can be a worthwhile endeavour.

This of course is based on a few assumptions running as a red thread through seth godin's later works;

Fear is a natural thing, but not a rational one - meaning it doesn't really make sense to fear the things that were scary 10 000 years ago (change, loud noise, uncertainty) when we have culturally evolved our settings to such a degree.

Secondly, you have to be able to differentiate risky from risk - some things and efforts are still liable to burn through a lot of money. Fast. And depending on your position that could hurt. But doing an online start up, using cloud services and open source baseline, you can scale both up and down a lot more effortlessly than during the 2000 bubble.

Third, it has to be something that is sustainable, and not something everybody will just copy when you have proved it viable

And that last part is probably the hardest, with so many people doing start ups, apps, re-nnoavtiong or pivots - finding a good spot to take a business might be harder than going ultra niche and global.

So, let fear be an indication that you are moving into a zone of opportunity rather than a danger zone, but keep the scope sane

Fragment my convergence

Mobile and digital is making everything possible, and breaking down boundaries between products, services and utility. And it is happening at speed.

This is not about media convergence. It's about something bigger. Things change. Things change so fast that sometimes, it's hard to see it. We tend to think about our businesses and our lives in terms of keeping up with change.

The New Convergence by Mitch Joel, ends on the question: what do you think?

I think it will go to pieces for a while

In that the world we've had for a few years now, with Google and Facebook dominating the web, and Apple driving mobile and apps forward is changing into a plethora of markets, devices, ideas and changes.

Kickstarter is one force driving that forward. Products like the Pebble e-paper watch sold for $10 million unseen, untested and with out reviews. It could have sucked. But it still got made and changed how a watch and a remote and a sensor display is viewed.

Sure it has a lot of potential for improvement, but compare the Newton to the iPad and add in innovation at a digital pace - and five or ten years down the road you might be able to "drag" any app from your main device onto one or more support devices, to show the data you need right now just right.

Platforms like Arduino and the Raspberry Pi are making the "somewhat smart" gadget even more affordable and providing a huge step up to total diy. We put up a Pi showing 3 twitter feeds on a dedicated screen, at a fraction of the cost of a whole laptop, and also a lot cheaper than trying to get a  better gpu. Because it was disposable, we might as well give it a shot.

Mobile is back in the trenches, Android gaining ground as the smart phones move into mass market and lower income brackets, and as the top of the line models outstrip the 5 for power, style and innovation. Microsoft still pushing, with some Nokia steam. Blackberry not so much in Europe, but die hards in the US pushing pushing. And Samsung? Making everything from TV to fridge, and a lot in between. Will they make a substantial move, or continue to play the horses?

And startups? With Amazon, Google, Microsoft and more pushing the cloud solutions onwards, upwards and all over every day, the barriers to entry are mostly about attention.

So, change is here.

It will be here for a long time.
It might not get faster - at least not on the same scale as the last two decades,
but it will certainly be stranger.

Unnamed idea

"I know who I want to be. Do you? An important part of discovering / creating your own future is to find out, or plan, who you are going to become."

From the aptly named Untitled Essay - by the foul mouthed media hack extraordinare, Julian Smith. Currently making the world (or at least the US for now?) a bit of a saner place with Breather, basically a half way house between hangign in the nearest coffee shop and taking into an hotel for a full day.

It all seems so simple when people like Seth spell it out. Be the linchpin. Make the purple cow. Fly high towards the sun.

Yet it is hard enough that most people never do, try or imagine a reality like that.

Then there are books like the last manifesto in the Domino series. Flinch by Julien. Still free for Kindle thanks to generous sponsorships. And listed as "best books of 2013 so far" - despite coming out in december 2011....

Walk the talk, and those who can do - are perhaps trite, but in this case it fits. Julien took his own advice to heart, built a future he wanted and a service he felt improves the world a little bit every day.

Sure, Breather might fail, or it might be a tiny tiny niche even years down the line. But he stood up, faced the darkness, the voices inside and said; lets do this.

How large of a buffer do you need?
How many hours of planning, dreaming and doodling?
How many stories of "rags to riches" to make it better than playing the lottery?


Along with Pressfield, Flinch is on my re-read for summer list. And pushing content here five times a week on average is a step on the way to that end.


Then, come summers end?

...?

idea?
plan?
action?
ship?

Feels like clover

I read recently that the very simple act of walking barefoot on grass is a powerful and natural stress reliever.

Brogan post, via Pocket, The Business of Simple - and also testing a bit of typing with the touchfire, since it seems that the web version on blogger works passably well for basic use in chrome on the iPad. (Meaning I'll add in the links later, just doing placeholders and typing out the ideas for now)

With summer more or less in full effect the outdoors is an ongoing topic of interest for several blogs, this one resonated well with my own feeling of bliss sitting in the playground earlier as junior ran around enjoying life.

Walking barefoot in the sand or in high grass gives extra texture to life, reminding us of something more than just the digital grind and the laptop. It shifts around, it teases and touches us. Shifting but constant at the same time.

Looking in close at something so seemingly simple and uniform as sand is also a good way to appreciate complexity.

The myriad of small crystals that make up a simple handful is staggering.

A good way to test your digital camera, in terms of resolution, sharpness and stability. Get down there and discover the magic.

In a sense that is a benefit with the keyboard here as well, giving that little bit of tactile feedback during the typing, means that the speed is almost up to my normal typing on a smaller keyboard. With a bit of predictive type ahead, it works out reasonably well overall.

Minor gripe that I'm now typing unseen, behind the keyboard, had to do a double finger scroll to get back in screen, but still a lot better than any previous blogger iOS experience. Guess that says a lot about understanding mobile and tablet, and why Android is still filled with 3rd party "skins" on top and fragmentation like nobodies business. I mean, Samsung is releasing 3 tablets - using two differnt versions.

Urgency is a state of mind

Of course you need to click and get all of it from Seth Godin: Urgent, please read asap

That's what gets done, of course. The urgent. [...] The problem, of course, is that the queue of urgent never ends, it merely changes its volume as it gets longer.

Stay the path

Back? Yes, you need to finish up here, then on to the next post or the next feed. Then that other app. And then newspaper. Quickly back to the inbox, skim a few more messages.

Fire off a reply, forward another message and push the third into the todo folder. Not the urgent folder, or the current project. Just the todo. For those days that never come.

The daily uploads to YouTube are probably more minutes of video than you will watch. Same for the snaps on insta. Not to mention the number of newspapers and tv channels around the world.

There is no way you can see, read, understand or watch it all. FIlters and priority is a fact of life. No one is going to celebrate if you give it the extra 5%. They will just assume you have yet another 5% and continue to push things your way.

Me? 

I turned off my work email on the iPad since that is my main device for consuming news and secondary for books. Set up auto away mode on the phone, and if I'm off for more than a weekend I'll turn off push notifications on the phone as well. Made 8 subfolders under to do, all for storing ideas and links that might be useful, depending on which project actually has priority at any given time.


How are you swimming in the currents, playing with the flow and surfing the expectations?
#urgenttodo

-...and the sun will shine, and the rain will fall, and we'll be here, through it all ...

Who's your master?

Been thinking about this post on and off for some time - partially based on the post [six pixels - Mitch Joel] - but also as I attended a "MOOC" on the Functional Art by Alberto Cairo, via Knight.

With so much information and insights all around, how do we best structure and create learning for ourselves and our peers?

Reading books, blogs, reflecting on them both in posts of our own.

Are blog posts the natural next level for term papers and other more scholarly deliverables? When we can discuss in forums online, do we need in class interaction - at all or for the same things?

In a single post you can explore an idea. Then across a series of posts you can start to get a grip on a topic. You can discuss quotes and include video snippets to set the stage for those reading at a later time, or simply to make the points more clearly.

You can edit. Sometimes almost to easily and carelessly. Wikipedia handles this by having the story right there, and WP3.6 is supposedly revamping the versions.

But can we all just choose and pick? Or are the ones who are able to just grab some books, read some articles and then just do it - the odd ones out?

How many of us are curios and driven, for how long? Is it school that "destroys" the lust for learning, the exploration and playfulness? Or is it something more at the core of each of us? Are we blaming the nearest and only common cause, rather than looking inside? Is it "the resistance" that drives us to prefer shelter and structure over "snacking" and exploration?


I'll let Mitch close this one out - not with his "punchline", but with the part that resonated the most for me:

Do not wait for a course to give you the answers. The answers are everywhere. Dive in. Be curious. Show up. Be serious. Be passionate. Be open.

Quality of Zen

In some ways this is the third post in the 'reading' series, but since I'm skipping to the end of Part II for this one, I'll try to add it into the flow later when the gap is closed. That is, covering the parts from around location 900 up to 3000 - and seeing how much still makes sense, in so far as the book makes any sense in and of itself.

So, close to the end of part II - we are back at the old school, revisiting the forgotten past - and having memories come back, along with some of the core ideas;

"What is quality in thought and statement?”

Quality…you know what it is, yet you don’t know what it is. But that’s self-contradictory. But some things are better than others, that is, they have more quality. But when you try to say what the quality is, apart from the things that have it, it all goes poof! There’s nothing to talk about. But if you can’t say what Quality is, how do you know what it is, or how do you know that it even exists? If no one knows what it is, then for all practical purposes it doesn’t exist at all. But for all practical purposes it really does exist. Location 3003

Quality is intangible  it is not something we can easily measure - although many characteristics related to, or derived from quality can. Durability. Workmanship - as a lack of errors, a precision in production and an adherence to spec. Yet so dominating and impactfull a concept. 

Quality is how we define and refine our positions. We like to think we make good choices. And by extension  think that quality is what we prefer. But why do we prefer it- for any given value of it? Is it the sum of the parts, the overall feeling, the little details? 

How has branding taken over the role of quality and entertainment the role of reflection? 

Brands were in parts created when we stopped buying direct. When we didn't any longer have a face to face relationship with the man who made our candle, we had need of a way to differentiate and remember. Both as seller and buyer. 

But now? 

When it is the same factories, using many of the same components that make our gear? Can you brand a pure experience, like using software? Or does it take a product you can hold and compare?  This could be why the iOS volume has been so great compared to previous pc/laptop. The touch experience makes the app and the content tangible in a different way. Makes it yours, even if it is shared by millions. 

How many people used to created, in the age of radio? And the early days of television, was it overflowing with people filming their own shows? No, the dream of a participatory society is probably just that. "Most people" don't discuss politics, but how their team did and how dinner tasted - not the ecological impact of using that brand of beef.

By that extension, is price an indicator [of quality] or simply a rationalization to signal intent and aspiration in a broader context? Most books cost the same, and seeing one movie over another isn't likely to get you a discount. But in subtle ways there is a price indication in play. Watching TV at home is cheaper than going to the movies, which is again outpaced by seeing a play. 

- ...and the sun brought me out, and the idea drove me inside, for it was one of those times...
[soundtrack: Volta - by Bjørk, faded down to set or keep the mood]

Draft note - define the game before you play

The best creative solutions don't come from finding good answers to the questions that are presented. They come from inventing new questions.

[seth g - who else?]

This was up for a while before xmas 2012, but dumped and rewritten it fits nicely into the mid-May schedule here in 2013. Namely, dropping on May 17th, as we celebrate our constitution from 1814 (200 next year) and with some extra focus on woman suffrage (100 years). Both events signify a break from "how things are" - and the mental leaps involved for those pushing for the changes seem staggering even today.

Did Jeff Bezoz start Amazon to own a database on movie actors? Or to sell computing power by the hour? No, but along the way it made sense to understand as much as possible about the content sold (dvd, now streaming movies, hence IMDB) - and also to take infrastructure to scale (first Marketplace, the AWS)

Did Netflix set out to ship more than a billion DVD's back and forth? No, but at that time and place it made sense. And now they've passed 30 million streaming subscribers. And are doing it atop AWS, a sideshow for Amazon but a vital foundation for a new wave of start ups and reboots.


When something seems impossible, it is probably because your are looking at the world as nails. Sure, that makes sense with a hammer, but the toolbox holds so much more. Take a step back. Reframe the issue, and start asking a different set of questions.

Hard?

Otherwise it wouldn't be worth it.

Opinionated by nature

Dilbert 2012-10-07, (c) Scott Adams as always

Wonderful jedi mind trick by Wally 

"Your whole life is a lie"

- is the point of having an opinion that the facts take too much effort to find? And by extension you might as well just make it up as you go and feel fine about it. 

By taking a stand - for whatever reason - at least you get to feel empowered and involved. 

And isn't that a value in and of itself?

Or is it just the opposite? That making calls based on "gut feelings" is just about not wanting to have your biases exposed, your assumptions clarified and your process defined?

"There is no spoon"

That last panel could be the base for a whole book, or a line of zen meditation. 

I think I think you are

In the eleventh century St Anselm of Canterbury proposed that it was possible to prove the existence of God using reason alone

Despite the blog laxing a bit, I've been backfeeding the draft pile - and one nice source for inspiration in general is the show "In Our Time" 

It is truly #mindporn ... a weekly discussion and review of a subject, with 3 or 4 world class scholars sharing their insights, the latest research and generally having a good time.

The quote up above is from the show on the Ontological argument through the ages. spend 40 minutes listening, or read up a bit from wikipedia.

Perfection and existence 

Does the idea of perfection imply that it must exist?

And is that - by definition - divinity, namely God?

Why? Why not?

soundtracking; Madonna doing "Imagine" - a seldom foray into the album archive

Another verb in the stairs

@osol: "Increasing the knowledge and vocabulary of a child before age 6 is the single highest correlate with later success."

https://twitter.com/osol/status/255925136400719873

Guessing still no twitter cards in blogger?

Oh well, is is a quotes from NYT - in a piece on the challenges of teaching, and it links onwards to a review by E. D. Hirsch of the book "How Children Succeed" (kindle) which is still creeping up towards the top of my 'soon to read' wishlist in Amazon. 

But the point is well made, building both vocabulary, reading skills - and interests at an early age is seen as a boost up, starting the "race" already at speed rather than from a standstill.

Looking at the "most sold" lists in the iPad Appstore I wonder how this will play out over the next years. 

The top ten paid apps are more and more often keyed towards kids edutainment and learning. Estimates put the number of tablets sold in Norway last year at around 500k - that is one for every four households. And expected growth of 50% in 2013, so an additional 750k.

Does that mean that "everybody" is getting a tablet, or that some households have two or more? Most likely the latter. And add in willingness to pay for apps, and the time to use them with the kids, and we are talking about a possible gap of basic skills going into the first year at school. This is the digital divide. Or?

Sidenote;

Considering how much effort Amazon is apparently putting into "big data" and predictions, i'm amazed at how little weight the wish list feature is given. I buy probably around 70% of my reading from there, with direct purchases, mainly from social media recommendations or posts, making up ~25% and "samples as reminders" the last 5%. But when I browse around it is mostly my recent history or similar purchases that get pushed. And the oh so cute "get yourself a little something". But where is the "hey, looking at this book and planning to read that book? Then you should really check out..."?

Timeout: short sweet

An escapepod original, and that I have no problem understanding or endorsing;

EP352 Food for Thought

Play in Popup | Download

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- SPOILER WARNING
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“I am here to fulfill a causation loop.”

most
awesome
ending
ever


This is what makes short stories so great. Set up, execution and boom. Just mindblowing. Oh the implications.

The detour most travelled?

Seth; Quick shortcuts (in search of):

There aren't many actual shortcuts.
There are merely direct paths...

ouch... bite the bullet, jump the gun and all that. So now what?

The main reason for jumping on the wagon when Seth Godin did his kickstarter, was short gems like the one above. Just a quick post - shared for free - that gets the mind racing. Gained more from a single idea post than from some thick business books.

Sure, a lot of them center on the same kind of themes, but each one has a different kernel.

Like this one. A shortcut is not a useful concept. Because it implies that your are not taking a journey, not learning, not doing everything you could - should - would.

And that is just as bad as doing nothing, procrastination by another name. Avoiding the tasks or goals that should be front and center.


So - new week ahead. Set the sights.

Timeout: Nix magical journey

Another timeout? Already? And in the middle of the day?

Oh, the joys of async publishing, writing, listening and distribution. 

What better way to celebrate all that than with a podcast episode.


PodCastle episode #207: Hope Chest from May 8, 2012 is a "PodCastle Giant" - meaning that it clocks in at just over an hour. But it is time well spent. It is read by Mur Lafferty (the Mighty, Mighty) - their tagging, not mine - giving it that extra bit of geek-fu goodness on the way. 

And, most importantly, it is written by Garth Nix, amongst his 54 books on amazon is also an ebook collection of Hereward & Fitz who have made many a fun journey on PodCastle.

This story is a bit darker, it is in many ways a classical "coming of age" or "heroes journey". But with q few twists and turns along the way to keep the listener paying rapt attention.

Get it in iTunes, on the site - or via direct link (over an hour, so mind the filesize)

Zen and the struggle of blogging

As I basked in the sun this afternoon, I finally got around to starting a re-read of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

It was one of the first book I bought for the Kindle, way back on July 19th 2010 - so I just made it before it had lingered for two years. Part of the reason is that I've read the book before, guessing round 1996 or so. So the urge to read it has ebbed and flowed a bit. But today seemed like the perfect day to jump back in.

The intention is to read it it suitable chuncks, then use a nugget or two to spark of a post here, repeat until completed. Then reread the posts and make one final reflection on the book, the process and my thoughts.

Last time I read in during a binge of beat novels mixed with some epic fantasy. This time it is a possible first dive into more active reading - with Ulysses, Gravity Rainbow and Infinite Jest on the long list for fall (dark nights and rain presumed suitable backdrop)

Caring about what you are doing is considered either unimportant or taken for granted.Read more at location 551

Guess this might be called the zen simplicity? The simple act of commitment, it is either to obvious or to much.

For someone who loves what they do, the simple fact that a lot of people "just do the job" seems almost unreal. Why would anyone stay in a job just to do it, if it doesn't five them more than a paycheck?

And visa verca, why would any one actually be "married to the job", when they could just leave it behind at 5 and start enjoying their leisure time?


- ...and the sun shone truly brightly all day and long into the night - finally summer ...

Strike a pose - there IS something to it

Another non-online Wired piece - on the Harvard Business School (assistant) professor - Amy Cuddy - and her work on body language as a life hack.

Turns out that not only will visualizing an action help you as you perform it, but doing "high power poses" before you do an interview or a performance will makes you (appear) more competent and enthusiastic!

Says a lot about mind over matter - and the old adage of "think happy thoughts". Not only at the moment influences you and thereby the audience. But up front actions spill through.

Does that makes us really simple mammals, or extremely adaptable? Borderline magic? You don't see me doing it, yet it changes how you see me.

How many other factors transfer across time? Will smiling a lot before a meeting transfer into a good mood regardless of expressions during the meeting? And does it work when the audience is aware of it, looking more intently on the actual performance and trying to read the body language behind the body language?


Where do I sign up for taking a masters degree and digging into this? Seriously, it sparks of some many questions and permutations. 



Hungry for more, check out the video of Amy Cuddy from PopTech



Or just get it on with Madonna - Vogue your way into the good spot.