Mama's Boy

The Practical Polymath #68

Hi Friends, 

Greetings from Brooklyn! 

It’s almost November. You can tell because Brooklyn is swarming with early-morning runners logging their last miles of training before the Big One.  

This week, Mama’s Boy came out on HBO. It’s a documentary about Dustin Lance Black, the screenwriter behind the movie Milk. It’s a beautiful tribute to bridge-building activism. It’s also masterfully scored by my partner-in-life so there’s that. Let’s just say I cried a lot at the premiere. 

See you in two weeks, 

Florian

---

On my mind  

• Conversations with good friends are a form of literature 

• Time is how much space is left in your mind to think 

• Restaurant reviews as a public good 

• Writing is turning time into matter

• Stale croissants are a plague  

Weekly Wisdom 

🔌 Boundless Energy: Energy consumption in the US increased steadily but then plateaued in the 1970s. Today, it seems intuitively right to think that we need to reduce our energy consumption as a way to address climate change. And yet, in this provocative piece, the author argues that what we need is more not less energy and that we should make it so cheap it should almost be free. Enjoy. 

🤔 Philosophy of Language: How does language shape our experience? What is knowledge? How does our mind represent reality? In this delightfully vintage interview, philosopher John Searle attempts to tease out answers to these questions.  

Lateral Thought 

“If I consider my life honestly, I see that it is governed by a certain very small number of patterns of events which I take part in over and over again.

Being in bed, having a shower, having breakfast in the kitchen, sitting in my study writing, walking in the garden, cooking and eating our common lunch at my office with my friends, going to the movies, taking my family to eat at a restaurant, having a drink at a friend’s house, driving on the freeway, going to bed again. There are a few more.

There are surprisingly few of these patterns of events in any one person’s way of life, perhaps no more than a dozen. Look at your own life and you will find the same.”

Christopher Alexander