sparks

The False Promise of Understanding Yourself
open.substack.comvia Max Nussenbaum
Bob Dylan asks Cohen: "How long did it take you to write Hallelujah?”
“A couple of years” - Cohen replied.
It was a lie — it took him 7 years but he wanted to play it down
Cohen then asked Bob Dylan: “How long did it take you to write Just Like a Woman?”
Dylan replied: “Fifteen minutes”
“A couple of years” - Cohen replied.
It was a lie — it took him 7 years but he wanted to play it down
Cohen then asked Bob Dylan: “How long did it take you to write Just Like a Woman?”
Dylan replied: “Fifteen minutes”
George Mack • High Agency In 30 Minutes
there’s no "one way” to do things
Whenever a prediction is made about people, it is an attempt to deny they are creative and can do the unexpected. Sure, you might ask your friend where they would like to have coffee and they respond just as they always do. “You’re so predictable” you might say. Of course that’s not a prediction. You share a culture - a history - a set of memes... See more
Humans are Creative
this is amazing and applies to helping someone learn anything.
The self is not something you can set out looking for; it reveals itself gradually through the choices you make.
We must cease to concern ourselves with our unique suffering – whether we are happy or sad, fortunate or unfortunate, good or bad – and give up our neurotic and debilitating journeys of self-discovery. Art of true value requires, like a... See more
Henrik Karlsson • Two Kinds of Introspection
you don’t need to know who you are to become an artist. art molds us into the shape it wants us to be and the thing that serves it best.
I met some of my heroes and some of them sucked; I attended events that were hollow and demented but looked fun online; I eventually realized the best parts of my life weren’t exclusive whatsoever but run-of-the-mill: a result not of being elevated above my peers (on a stage, say) but thrust among them (in the crowd). In time I came to see these... See more
Haley Nahman • #221: “The tension of staying too long”
