> I think learning should be about learning the basics in all the fields and learning them really well over and over. Life is mostly about applying the basics and only doing the advanced stuff in the things that you truly love and where you understand the basics inside out. – [Naval Ravikant](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Naval-Ravikant-TKP.pdf) When I…more
I’m enjoying the poetry of [William Carlos Williams](https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/william-carlos-williams), credited as one of the leaders of the [Imagist](https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-imagism) movement, which sought to rescue poetry from the vague and flowery language of Georgian Romanticism. My favorite is the funny and surprising “[This Is Just To Say](https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/just-say)”, which is also [great for parodies](http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/07/poem-becomes-meme-forgive-me.html). > (This is just to…more
There may be [no perfect voting system](http://bob.ryskamp.org/brain/?p=5532), but [the Fair Representation Act](http://www.fairvote.org/) is trying to improve the biggest problems: * Voters are currently incentivized to vote for “the best person they think can actually win”, rather than their actual favorite candidate * Only a single person represents a group of often diverse interests * Gerrymandering…more
[This book](https://smile.amazon.com/Life-Changing-Magic-Tidying-Decluttering-Organizing/dp/1607747308?sa-no-redirect=1) surprised me by actually living up to its title. I expected a collection of “life hacks” and instead found a crisp new philosophy of focus and priority. ### The Big Idea > The best way to choose what to keep and what to throw away is to take each item in one’s hand…more
Nice explanation by David Brin of the role science fiction can play in preventing dystopia: [More good “Previsions” episodes here](https://www.facebook.com/pg/FuturismSciFi/videos/).
Political conservatives usually battle with political progressives. But there are a few interesting ways that conservative ideas could be used to accomplish progressive goals: * [A carbon tax that directly pays to individual citizens, and allows regulatory rollbacks due to the new financial incentives](https://www.clcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/TheConservativeCaseforCarbonDividends.pdf) * [Allowing states to customize how they provide for health care…more
As economic inequality grows, cultural differences are making the gap even harder to bridge, argues David Brooks: > American upper-middle-class culture (where the opportunities are) is now laced with cultural signifiers that are completely illegible unless you happen to have grown up in this class. They play on the normal human fear of humiliation and…more
[This is a wonderful takedown of “rock stars” and stopping abuse](https://hypatia.ca/2016/06/21/no-more-rock-stars/)–in the tech industry, but applicable to any field–by Leigh Honeywell. Some of my favorite points: * Have explicit rules for conduct and enforce them for everyone (of course, you say! But you still have to do it) * Insist on building a “deep bench”…more