I have an x3 and love it. It’s so small I don’t think twice about taking it everywhere. I have the crosspoint firmware on it, and I sync it with calibre.
I’m no expert on self improvement, but my ambitions tend to be a lot lower on vacation. Instead of trying to cultivate better habits, I mostly just try to interrupt the old dumb ones. Instead of phone in bed, it’s a huge win if I’m in a hammock with a fun book. Instead of checking email over coffee, maybe I can sit outside with that coffee and listen to birds. Etc etc.
I’ve found “burnout” is often shorthand for a feeling that something broke and there’s no complete fix. It’s a scenario where we can’t just get some sleep or take some vacation and be good as new. Even if we go back to the job and look normal-ish to colleagues, there’s a weakened seam where we did the repair, and going back into the environment where the break happened puts stress on that same spot.
So the solution tends to be learning how to avoid injury (boundaries, mental health), and/or a bigger change in the conditions. I think this post is mostly about the latter.
Weird, I’m usually sensitive to telltales, but I didn’t read it as AI generated enough that I stopped reading, and I found it relevant. I felt like it had a pretty substantial human input behind it, maybe because I related to the stories.
I still see picture books as an introductory path to literacy for kids, but unlike posting fan fiction on AO3, I have never heard a “success story”, where someone credits their early experience with picture books as key to a fulfilling career. Anyone?
The snarky analogy doesn’t really really work because plenty of people actually do credit video games for their successful career, myself included. Thanks, Roblox.
And plenty of great authors start with fanfic. Like actually. But apologies the snark landed that way. I was not intending to diminish people learning via game modding at all.
What I found irritating in the post is the premise that what we put in front of kids should be judged by counts of attributions to career success.
> What I found irritating in the post is the premise that what we put in front of kids should be judged by counts of attributions to career success.
For a start, that's effectively the premise it's sold on. And for another thing, if it's not contributing to the kind of thinking that would help with that job, what is it other than another esoteric game?
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library project had to have had some justification.
I think picture books are not the same as Scratch. Scratch is much farther along that process. An equivalent might be comic books or graphic novels, which people actually do attribute a love of either as an introduction to fulfilling careers.
I still see mashed peas as an introductory path to solid food for kids, but unlike attending Montessori schools, I have never seen a "success story", where someone credits their early experience with avant-garde curriculum as a key to a fulfilling career. Anyone?
Same distance, from A to B to C. Thanks for wasting all of our time with you comment.
The absurdity is the point. Comparing the merits of scratch vs game modding in children’s eventual programming career success is such a silly overly serious adult thing to do. If kids experience fun and exploration while learning along the way, that’s what matters.
As a mid 40s person also, my advice: drink plenty of water, clean the kitchen every night, don’t try to time the market, forgive your past self for being an idiot.
I keep thinking about cleaning the kitchen every night (I just turned 30). The more I think about it, the more I think it's a good advice. I still need to forgive my past self for being an idiot, though :)
Wonderfully written. I’m intrigued by the section about emotion. It seems like no coincidence that it follows the section about seeing beyond monocausal determinism.
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