Inspired by Julian Lehr, I wanted a place to document the various media I consumed each month. Partly to better remember what I learned about and partly to force myself to write at least one article per month that was low friction. Here's what I consumed in February of 2022:

Articles

• Walt Disney's Three Room System for Creativity
  • I have to be honest here, I saw this idea on a TikTok and was fascinated by it. So I decided to do some further research and write a note on the idea. Essentially, Walt Disney's office had three separate rooms and they were all used differently during a brainstorming session. it's pretty cool.
• Never Before Seen Pictures of Venus
  • Not much to comment on here.
• Observed Patterns Around Major Technological Advances
  • This was the first time I came across this site, 'LessWrong', and have been reading their content a lot. This article maps the patterns society routinely follows after a new technology. It explains the first version of a new technology is almost always of very low practical value. But after the first version comes out, things improve rapidly.
• After the Fact
  • Working out for an hour is only half the battle. After the workout, you have to ensure you don't ruin the progress 'after the fact.' The same is true for building wealth. Wealth is what you don't spend.
• Visibility Isn't Success
  • "Creating leads to a legacy beyond space and time. To me, that’s the meaning of success. You don’t see some people online, yet you’ll feel their impact for decades to come."
• The Ketchup Condundrum
  • This is quite possibly one of my favorite articles I've ever read. It's an amazing example of taking something nobody cares about, crafting a narrative around it, and explaining why it matters.
• The Future of Netflix
  • A great breakdown of the streaming wars, what Netflix is battling for, and the way Netflix thinks about it's customer. This article is a parallel to "Observed Patterns Around Major Technological Advances".
• Motivation is a Myth
  • This article obliterates the "I just don't feel like doing it today" argument so many people use with working out, reading, writing, and so on. It argues that motivation is a feeling that comes and goes as it pleases. But discipline stays ready to fight the battle. What people think they need is more motivation. What they actually need is more discipline.
• Moore's Not Enough: 4 New Laws of Computing
  • If you don't follow the latest trends in tech and programming, this might not be for you :) If you do, it's a cool breakdown of laws to help think through software and technology advancements.

Books

• Einstein: His Life and Universe
  • Could not have gotten enough of this book. To be honest, I was a little emotional when it ended because of how much I enjoyed the author's writing and how much I enjoyed reading about Einstein's life. I've published my notes on this book as well as an essay about the philosophy that Einstein approached life with.
• How We Got to Now
  • The feeling I get when I learn why something is the way that it is cannot be beaten and this book stirred up that feeling multiple times. Steven Johnson explains the history of six inventions that have shaped the modern world. I published my notes on this book here.

Videos

• What Happens if The Moon Crashes Into Earth
  • Did not see this turning out how it did. Really fun video.
• Spaceship You
  • This is an exceptional video on the importance of keeping a routine during the pandemic. It was posted in April 2020, so none of the information is novel. But the illustration of being on a lone spaceship with nobody but yourself helps communicate the idea in such a unique way.
• How American Gothic Became an Icon
• Why Knights Fought Snails in Medieval Art
• How 1 Photo From Space Explains ALL of History
• Tim Urban: Elon Musk, Neuralink, AI, Aliens, and the Future of Humanity | Lex Fridman Podcast #264
• Feynman: Fire Fun to Imagine 2
• The True Science of Parallel Universes

Cool Sites

• Simulation illustrating how the movement of people and ideologies spread
  • As I continue my education on political parties and politics in general, this simulation struck me. It shows how neighborhoods and cities naturally form around the ideas of the people who live there. If people don't get along, they'll move to a place where they fit in better. After a long enough time, almost every city becomes homogeneous.