Michael Brooks
@mike
Michael Brooks
"It’s so strange how we’re able to carry forward this mystery of personal identity even when our present selves are so different from our future selves and from our past selves most of all. I think a lot about this question of, what is a person? Am I the same person as my childhood self? Sure, we share the same body, but even that body is so... See more
Maria Popova • Maria Popova — Cartographer of Meaning in a Digital Age
Good writing is meditative writing. It’s a polished and cohesive train of thought, devoid of superfluous babble. If intrusive thoughts make their way into your writing and you neglect to edit them out, your work will suffer. Quality writing does not arise from a stream of consciousness or absent-mindedness. It’s a practice of meditating on a... See more
Jen Hitze • Attention, Distraction, and Your Responsibility
Be Very Careful About The Way You Craft Your Narrative
“Notice,” Michael Lewis suggests, “the effect the stories people tell about themselves have on their lives. If you listen to people, if you just sit around and listen, you’ll find there are patterns in the way they talk about themselves.” Some people are always the victim in the stories they... See more
“Notice,” Michael Lewis suggests, “the effect the stories people tell about themselves have on their lives. If you listen to people, if you just sit around and listen, you’ll find there are patterns in the way they talk about themselves.” Some people are always the victim in the stories they... See more
SIX at 6: A Reign of Error, Good And Bad Air, Second Opinions, Running Out Of Luck, Phoebe Buffay, and The Effect Of Your Narrative
A work of fiction is, in a sense, always “wrong.” It is a complicated organism. It is not, ever, an accurate or correct or true or 100 percent “defensible” representation of reality. It’s always somebody’s take on reality, full of inadvertent falseness (full of, that is, inadequate attempts to be truthful.)
Earth's climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 800,000 years, there have been eight cycles of ice ages and warmer periods, with the end of the last ice age about 11,700 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era — and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in... See more
Why should the universe have a purpose? The question of the purpose of the universe is an invention of human minds, and has no significance, except for the way that it illuminates the psychology of scholarly pursuit and of the pursuing scholars themselves. We should not impose human-inspired attitudes and questions on material things. There is a
... See moreA good note on why maybe being observers is a worthy pursuit, and why assigning purpose might not track.
A helpful prompt when using AI:
Do not simply affirm my statements or assume my conclusions are correct. Your goal is to be an intellectual sparring partner, not just an agreeable assistant. Every time I present an idea, do the following:
1. Analyze my assumptions. What am I taking for granted that might not be true?
2. Provide counterpoints. What
... See more“Sometimes fear does not subside and you must do it afraid.”
– Elisabeth Elliot
– Elisabeth Elliot