I receive plenty of articles on interesting topics - I'm not short of reading material. The monthly fee you charge is modest and I won't feel shortchanged if I hear from you only , say, six times a year.
My point is this: Please write only when you have something interesting and new to say. You won't and can't summon up interesting material to a schedule. Leave that to regular columnists.
If you have a fallow period, just go with it and I'll still follow you even if I don't hear from you for months on end. I'd far rather get something rarely and irregularly and hardly contain myself to start reading it, than get a regular flow of meh-material produced to meet a schedule, material that I make myself open, until suddenly, I don't.
I feel like he was just before things like mindfulness really hit the full mainstream, but in many ways, his writing embodied it (and the difficulties of it). I wonder if he'd have written more on it as a concrete topic, or gotten into blogging, and what he would make of today's culture - if he were still alive, he'd be only 60.
If you do write a post about burning man, in addition to giving a flavor of the event, I'd like to learn why it's (considered) so important and whether or not anything of substance comes of it, other than being a big party.
For most of 2022 I lived for many months in a country that did not enjoy robust free speech protection and noticed the following:
A free speech environment tends to lend itself to excess dogmatism (i.e righteous pontificating). A suppressed speech environment tends to lend itself to excess skepticism (I.e conspiracy theories).
This is obviously a very subjective observation.
Anyway, I thought that idea could be a Substack someday. I’m not trying to equivocate free speech vs lack of it by any means, but I’ve been holding this in my head and so Substack *comment* here we are.
I now feel compelled to search out every article David Foster Wallace wrote and work to be a better noticing machine. Thanks for this write-up, Erik. Love the resolutions!
Good stuff Eric, you’re embodying much of what you say here and elsewhere (like in the chat with Anna, Christin, and Visa).
Also, would love to listen to a pod of you and your mom. I’ve had similar a thought of interviewing my dad (who ran a bookstore and read and wrote fables when I was a toddler).
1) You’re a great writers who offers unique insights and a refreshing viewpoint
2) Make the metrics go up goals are a trap. I say this because I feel eternal gratitude towards the person who pointed this out to me when I was lost in growing a twitter account back in the day.
Whether this falls on deaf ears or not I look forward to reading your work in 2023 and beyond, Erik.
First, don't let growth be the death of you. If Enron grew at the rate it projected to through today, it would probably have more USD than atoms in the universe (I assume. One can't be bothered to do the exact math in a hyperbole). Costco is perhaps the opposite of glamorous, but it has a sustainable business model at least. One feels they can rely on it sticking around for a few decades yet. Perhaps more than one can say for Twitter. Sustainability is not always sexy.
Does ITP need a team? Sure, If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Yes, this is all well and good. That being said, Elton John never got famous on his ensemble performances. He sat at a piano in a very flamboyant costume and sang his heart out. Is ITP a collection of think pieces? Or is it *your* think pieces?
Since the beginning of time, students have struggled with how to start their essays. They introduce an idea that's too large, then they pick three items from that too-grand vision upon which to base their essay. In this comment, I will show how the pursuit of infinite growth, a diversity of scope that is too wide, and a dilution of core principles contributes to a confusion of a core idea. Come on man, don't over think it! On your own merits you've had some incredible growth. I'm sure hot takes from a team of quick-witted writers could help. I'm sure deep-think pieces that reference an offhand comment from an industry leading scientist at a Gordon Research Conference 3 years ago could lead to endless, but ultimately fruitless, conversation. But beyond all that, don't forget about the "hmm" factor. That little voice that says "You know, I hadn't considered that...".
It may not feel as deep as the other possibilities, but a healthy dose of "Consider the following" a la Bill Nye goes a long way you know?
Hurrah! Congrats on your 10x growth to 20K subscribers. You totally deserve it!
Very looking forward to the Tolstoy essay and the latest on consciousness research.
A request: your reflections on Eastern religions as they relate to theories of consciousness. Whenever I read your essays about the nature of consciousness (and the ideas contained in your novel as well) I feel like, "Dude! Buddha explained the whole thing perfectly 2500 years ago!" But I know you to be both open-minded and knowledgeable, so I am thinking that you are familiar with the basic premises and have already considered and dismissed them?
I receive plenty of articles on interesting topics - I'm not short of reading material. The monthly fee you charge is modest and I won't feel shortchanged if I hear from you only , say, six times a year.
My point is this: Please write only when you have something interesting and new to say. You won't and can't summon up interesting material to a schedule. Leave that to regular columnists.
If you have a fallow period, just go with it and I'll still follow you even if I don't hear from you for months on end. I'd far rather get something rarely and irregularly and hardly contain myself to start reading it, than get a regular flow of meh-material produced to meet a schedule, material that I make myself open, until suddenly, I don't.
I'll note that my current main reason for unfollowing substacks is that they post too frequently.
One in particular writes ten or more a week in a disjointed and cryptic manner that I feel like I am trying to solve a crossword puzzle.
Good note 🗒️
Thank you for the reminder 💖
❤️❤️❤️
Deeply skeptical about a Burning Man essay
😂😂😂
Right, does it matter whether Burning Man exists (existed) or not?
Awesome. Love the bit about noticing more. I’ve always thought of DFW as an example of high-quality attention & mindfulness.
I feel like he was just before things like mindfulness really hit the full mainstream, but in many ways, his writing embodied it (and the difficulties of it). I wonder if he'd have written more on it as a concrete topic, or gotten into blogging, and what he would make of today's culture - if he were still alive, he'd be only 60.
I’ve often wondered What If re DFW in 2022
Oh, totally. I completely agree. His early death is a terrible tragedy. I wish we had more of him.
Absolutely 💯
🫰🫰🫰❤️
If you do write a post about burning man, in addition to giving a flavor of the event, I'd like to learn why it's (considered) so important and whether or not anything of substance comes of it, other than being a big party.
🔥🔥❤️
Noticing machine. Good one!
❤️
For most of 2022 I lived for many months in a country that did not enjoy robust free speech protection and noticed the following:
A free speech environment tends to lend itself to excess dogmatism (i.e righteous pontificating). A suppressed speech environment tends to lend itself to excess skepticism (I.e conspiracy theories).
This is obviously a very subjective observation.
Anyway, I thought that idea could be a Substack someday. I’m not trying to equivocate free speech vs lack of it by any means, but I’ve been holding this in my head and so Substack *comment* here we are.
🔥❤️
I now feel compelled to search out every article David Foster Wallace wrote and work to be a better noticing machine. Thanks for this write-up, Erik. Love the resolutions!
Read all of DFW for sure ❤️🔥🙌
Good stuff Eric, you’re embodying much of what you say here and elsewhere (like in the chat with Anna, Christin, and Visa).
Also, would love to listen to a pod of you and your mom. I’ve had similar a thought of interviewing my dad (who ran a bookstore and read and wrote fables when I was a toddler).
Yeah!!! 🔥🔥🔥
Charles taylor is one of those serious and prestigious academics who still write in a charming personal way. Even funny.
Definitely would love to see more of that
🙌
Another fantastic post, Erik! Your substack and essays inspire me
🔥🔥
Two things
1) You’re a great writers who offers unique insights and a refreshing viewpoint
2) Make the metrics go up goals are a trap. I say this because I feel eternal gratitude towards the person who pointed this out to me when I was lost in growing a twitter account back in the day.
Whether this falls on deaf ears or not I look forward to reading your work in 2023 and beyond, Erik.
With your permission (or even without it) I might just copy this personal resolution to notice more and make it my own, too. Great post.
Go for it haha
First, don't let growth be the death of you. If Enron grew at the rate it projected to through today, it would probably have more USD than atoms in the universe (I assume. One can't be bothered to do the exact math in a hyperbole). Costco is perhaps the opposite of glamorous, but it has a sustainable business model at least. One feels they can rely on it sticking around for a few decades yet. Perhaps more than one can say for Twitter. Sustainability is not always sexy.
Does ITP need a team? Sure, If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Yes, this is all well and good. That being said, Elton John never got famous on his ensemble performances. He sat at a piano in a very flamboyant costume and sang his heart out. Is ITP a collection of think pieces? Or is it *your* think pieces?
Since the beginning of time, students have struggled with how to start their essays. They introduce an idea that's too large, then they pick three items from that too-grand vision upon which to base their essay. In this comment, I will show how the pursuit of infinite growth, a diversity of scope that is too wide, and a dilution of core principles contributes to a confusion of a core idea. Come on man, don't over think it! On your own merits you've had some incredible growth. I'm sure hot takes from a team of quick-witted writers could help. I'm sure deep-think pieces that reference an offhand comment from an industry leading scientist at a Gordon Research Conference 3 years ago could lead to endless, but ultimately fruitless, conversation. But beyond all that, don't forget about the "hmm" factor. That little voice that says "You know, I hadn't considered that...".
It may not feel as deep as the other possibilities, but a healthy dose of "Consider the following" a la Bill Nye goes a long way you know?
I'm really behind Resolution 4. Essay series are great.
I just loved this. You’re an inspiration!
Hurrah! Congrats on your 10x growth to 20K subscribers. You totally deserve it!
Very looking forward to the Tolstoy essay and the latest on consciousness research.
A request: your reflections on Eastern religions as they relate to theories of consciousness. Whenever I read your essays about the nature of consciousness (and the ideas contained in your novel as well) I feel like, "Dude! Buddha explained the whole thing perfectly 2500 years ago!" But I know you to be both open-minded and knowledgeable, so I am thinking that you are familiar with the basic premises and have already considered and dismissed them?