Some Thoughts on Learning

Over the past few years I had to study for a few professional certifications and I also spent a very considerable time studying at school and university. Throughout this journey I gained some insights that were useful to me and that I will collect here in the hope that they maybe useful to someone else …

Some Thoughts on Habits

I have long been interested in productivity and the old Benjamin Franklin quest of finding ways to better myself. One of the more recent themes in this field is habits, which I first came across in Duhigg's bookThe Power of Habit. The basic promise here is that if we get ourselves to do something regularly, …

Book Review – Anything You Want

Anything You Want is a short book that contains the lessons learnt by Derek Sivers while developing the business CD Baby. It is meant for those interested in starting their own business. In the following I have collected some of the advice found in the book: On Starting a Business The story of CD Baby …

A Discussion of Hades, the Videogame

I am not very good at playing video games; I never played any games with a controller as a child and thus never got very good at using them. Somehow I still enjoy difficult games the most. I (unsuccessfully) played the games Dark Souls ('Prepare to Die Edition') and (somewhat more successful) Dead Cells both …

Book Review – Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society

How much of human behaviour is controlled by our genes, and how much is driven by our upbringing and higher thinking has long been a topic of much discussion. Christakis takes a bit of a different view of this problem by asking the question how much our societies are shaped by our biological programming, versus …

Public, Communal and Familial Spirit

To me there is little doubt that the best way to live our lives is to attempt to do so in the service of others. A hedonistic, self-serving and selfish way of life is thankfully something that does not give us much lasting fulfilment; thankfully so since if we attempt to help others, and others …

Book Review – The Art of Learning

The Art of Learning is written by Josh Waitzkin, who was a multiple times national chess champion in the U.S. as well as later became an accomplished martial artists, winning the Tai Chi world championships. This I think is interesting background to consider since the author has demonstrated an ability to not only raise to …

Some Thoughts on Goals

With a new year just having started, it is high season for goal setting. I myself had no intention before the turn of the year to make any specific effort to set or revise goals. However, ever since the date switched over to 1/1/2021, it is like some dark gravity pulls me towards wanting to …

Finding Purpose

For most of human history, we shared a strong belief in the supernatural. This anchored our spiritual life and helped us answer some of lives most painful questions; such as what is the purpose of my life and what awaits me after I die. Nowadays we have lost this belief and there is no point …

The Merits of Slack

There are two meanings we generally assign to the word slack. First, we can understand it as a form of laziness or being negligent. If we say a company has slack safety procedures, we express that these are insufficient and that not enough attention and effort is dedicated to these. There are few merits in …