Economics of Human Energy

Thoughts about how money and human energy relate

"There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way." - Thich Nhat Hahn

Happiness makes things easier

H]uman beings need all the relatives they can get–as possible donors or receivers not necessarily of love, but of common decency.

. . .

When we were children in Indianapolis, Indiana, it appeared that we would always have an extended family of genuine relatives there. Our parents and grandparents, after all, had grown up there with shoals of siblings

Austin Kleon • KURT VONNEGUT ON THE NEED FOR BUILDING EXTENDED FAMILIES

Extended Family is important. Why not choose the extended family we bring in?

High-quality access to information : social technologies that help people form high-quality opinions about important topics in an adversarial environment. I personally am bullish on prediction markets and Community Notes; you may have a different take on the solutions, but the point is that this topic is important.

Vitalik Buterin • Against Choosing Your Political Allegiances Based on Who Is "Pro-Crypto"

We need ways to filter, validate, and value large amounts of information. Traditionally, this has been limited to the wealthy in the form of “experts”

You don’t need to wait until your curiosity is automatically triggered. Make space for exploring, learning, wondering and mind wandering. Make curiosity a habit.

Anne-Laure Le Cunff • Tweet

Making space is so important

Right now, as you read this, someone is profiting from your temporal poverty.

Not your lack of hours—you have the same 24 as everyone else. But your inability to position yourself in time the way venture capitalists do. While you execute in the present, they've already colonized the future. While you manage today's complexity, they're creating... See more

Leo Guinan • The Temporal Trap: How Silicon Valley Steals Your Future

Time Violence from Silicon Valley

Creativity is not a process. creativity is not scripted.

One of the most salient traits of creative visionaries like Walt Disney and Steve jobs is the absence of process.

Process is an organized way of doing things. But they didn’t have a process. They just did the work. No strict adherence to budget or timelines. Just figure things out on the fly.

Creativity timelines aren’t predictable, so why do we try to put creative professions into timelines?

What is the value of work in a world on the cusp of automation, and how will humans redefine their relationship with it?

Our Centaur Future - A RADAR Report

Work isn’t valuable. People are. People can set a value on the work that is done, therefore, they are the most valuable piece of the equation. Work for the sake of work has no value.

“Energy management beats time management.” ― Katherine Morgan Schafler

If this is true (I believe it is), why do companies focus on time management? Because it’s easier and time is shared, energy isn’t (at least, typically. But it can be if done properly…)

For better thinking, stop thinking.