Insights
Books, articles, podcasts.
Insights
Intellectual property doesn’t make sense. What makes sense is to stop trying to limit ideas about ideas. What makes sense is for all intangible creations of the human intellect to be free.
Laniakea Books: Public domain books for everyone — nutcroft
INTERVIEWER
Against whom were you measuring your work?
LE GUIN
Writers I’d have liked to be as good as, although not like ?
INTERVIEWER
Right.
LE GUIN
Charles Dickens. Jane Austen. And then, when I finally learned to read her, Virginia Woolf. Shoot for the top, always. You know you’ll never make it, but what’s the fun if you don’t shoot for the top?
Against whom were you measuring your work?
LE GUIN
Writers I’d have liked to be as good as, although not like ?
INTERVIEWER
Right.
LE GUIN
Charles Dickens. Jane Austen. And then, when I finally learned to read her, Virginia Woolf. Shoot for the top, always. You know you’ll never make it, but what’s the fun if you don’t shoot for the top?
John Wray • The Art of Fiction No. 221
James Clear • Haters and Critics: How to Deal with People Judging You and Your Work
if you admire two kinds of work equally, but one is more prestigious, you should probably choose the other. Your opinions about what's admirable are always going to be slightly influenced by prestige, so if the two seem equal to you, you probably have more genuine admiration for the less prestigious one.
paulgraham.com • How to Do What You Love
Elon Musk is building SpaceX because he can’t buy a trip to Mars. You can have all the money in the world, but you can’t buy a trip to Mars. One hundred years ago, the richest man in the world couldn’t buy an iPhone. That’s the kind of progress I care about.
Eric Jorgenson • Building What Money Can’t Buy — The Anthology of Balaji
To paraphrase Buffett and Munger – decision-making is not about making brilliant decisions, but avoiding terrible ones. Mistakes and dumb decisions are a fact of life and I’m going to make more, but as long as I can avoid the big or “fatal” ones I’m fine.
Matter
I'm not saying we should let little kids do whatever they want. They may have to be made to work on certain things. But if we make kids work on dull stuff, it might be wise to tell them that tediousness is not the defining quality of work, and indeed that the reason they have to work on dull stuff now is so they can work on more interesting stuff... See more
paulgraham.com • How to Do What You Love
I wish I could say you get used to people dying. I never did. I don't want to. It tears a hole through me whenever somebody I love dies, no matter the circumstances. But I don't want it to "not matter". I don't want it to be something that just passes. My scars are a testament to the love and the relationship that I had for and with that person.... See more