Genesis; Miyazaki and Einstein; Daily Blogs
Hi friends,
Everything has a genesis, including this newsletter, and I want to thank all of you that subscribed! It means a lot to me!
Most of this week was spend on my next long-form piece, “a Semester at the Library”. It’s long overdue but I promise to get that piece out by this week.
Stay tuned!
Stuff I enjoyed this week
Hayao Miyazaki is my favorite filmmaker, and I’m not alone, many agree that Miyazaki is the greatest living animator today. Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away are two of my favorite films of all time. So it was quite the treat to watch this documentary on Miyazaki’s creative process behind the making of Ponyo.
There are many beautiful scenes in this doc, but also many sad ones as well. My favorite quote:
“With every movie, you have to be determined to change the world even if nothing changes—that’s what it means to be a filmmaker.”
This one’s special. I always wanted to know how Einstein thought, and this was like having a conversation with him. Here Einstein talks about what motivates him, thoughts on his fame, political views, etc.
This semester I read a lot of books and content on how to write non-fiction, this might be the best one I’ve read. I wish I found this one earlier, in particular, I learned how to ask for better feedback. I’ve never thought too much on the subject of feedback and I realize now that there’s a better way of doing things.
Check out Julian’s other handbooks.
Daily Blog Posts
Age is Relative
An older friend of mine asked me how old I am, “I’m 22, but I’m turning 23 this year, I’m getting old,” I said. “You’re not getting old! You’re still young.”
What is old? What is young?
I’m a few years older than many of my peers in university, and sometimes when I’m always the older one, I can’t help but feel old myself.
I remember when I was one of the youngest ones on the teams I joined, then I felt young.
To a child, I’m old, but to my grandpa, I’m young.
To me, my grandpa is old, but to the 5,000 year old tree, Prometheus, he’s young.
Age is all relevant.
Organ Donation
Recently, I finished Kazuo Ishiguro’s, Never Let Me Go, and it got me thinking about organ donation.
The first time I thought about organ donation was when I was getting my health card. After the lady at the desk took my picture she asked me, “Would you like to be an organ donor?” This caught me off guard, this wasn’t a question I was expecting. “Uhh no” I said.
Why did I say no?
For one thing, it wasn’t a decision that I was expecting to make that day, nor was it something I put a lot of thought into beforehand. No, was my default answer.
One reason I said no, was my sheer ignorance on the subject. When she asked me that question, the first thought that popped into my head, was that if they find out you’re an organ donor, they are less likely to save your life. This is a complete myth, yet, I find it’s a common belief.
I also don’t spend a lot of time thinking about death. Thinking about organ donation caused me to think about my own morality, which isn’t a comfortable thing to think about. Part of it has to do with Western cultures aversion to talking or even thinking about death. That merely thinking about death causes it to somehow occur.
Thinking about it now, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be an organ donor.
There are thousands of people on the transplant wait list, why not give them to someone in need?
One organ donor can save up to eight lives. How can I say no to that?
Why not be an organ donor?
Less, But Better
“Less, but better” is a design principle by the german industrial designer, Dieter Rams. Ever since I learned about it a couple years ago, it’s a principle that I’ve made my own.
This has been my approach when it comes to design, you can see it in the design of my website. I wanted something minimal, functional, and will look great tomorrow, and ten years from now.
This also influences how I dress, how I write, and my approach to life. Everything has to have intention, remove everything else.
In a cluttered, noisy world, I find simplicity to be intuitive, timeless, and beautiful.
Coronavirus and Remote Work
The coronavirus has caused widespread quarantines across China. The effects have far reaching consequences from tourism, to supply chains, to the luxury fashion industry. However, one area that I think will benefit from the coronavirus is remote work.
The coronavirus has a country of engineers and entrepreneurs working remotely. An interesting trend to see is Zoom’s stock price soaring to an all time high in the midst of the crisis.
Zoom (ZM) stock price year to date
As chinese companies are forced to work remotely they will begin to adapt and their cultures and work flows changing with it. This is a huge experiment for remote work and the future of work as a whole, but who knows, maybe this might just be temporary.
V is for Vulnerable
Seth Godin wrote an “adult children’s” book on art and creativity called, V is for Vulnerable.
The book resonates with me as it describes so many of the emotions I feel when doing my work. I especially love this page:
I find that my best work is when I’m vulnerable and express my true feelings. That piece becomes an extension of me. And when I click publish, I put it out there for other people to judge. For me, it’s a scary feeling even now, but that’s the risk when it comes to art.
You can read excerpts of the book here.
High Trust and Low Trust Societies
It’s my friend’s first year studying in Canada after living in India his entire life. I asked him what his observations are of Canadian culture. He answered by first describing India as a low trust society, while Canada, on the other hand, is a high trust society. This is something that I take for granted every day.
WHAT IS A HIGH TRUST AND LOW TRUST SOCIETY?
A low trust society is defined as one in which interpersonal trust is relatively low, and which do not have shared ethical values. And vice versa for a high trust society.
An example of a low trust society is Venezuela. Trust in the government is low, mass looting of grocery stores are taking place, and many people opt for fences and security if they can afford it. A high trust society is one like Sweden, trust in the government is fairly high, crime is relatively low, and you don’t have to worry about someone breaking into your car.
WHY DOES TRUST MATTER?
There’s a high cost to low trust. Both socially as well as financially. In general, a low trust society is less productive as it takes longer to get things done.
A small example is when I’m studying at Waterloo, where trust is fairly high. I can leave my laptop and backpack in the library reassured that it’s likely going to be there when I get back. However, when I’m studying at a coffee shop in Brampton, relatively a lower trust society than Waterloo. I have to pack my things and bring it to me even if I’m leaving for a couple of minutes. The time saved between packing my stuff and leaving it there is an example of the efficiency of a high trust society.
Interchange that example with companies engaging in business, the legal process, or the micro-interactions between people in that system. And in a low trust society, you can have large inefficiencies leading to an unproductive system.
How can we increase trust within our organizations, countries, and the world as a whole?
My Favorite About Pages
I’ve come across some sites that have awesome about pages. Some are iconic (The New Yorker), others are like mini-biographies (Cal Fussman), and some are just plain funny (Baohaus). Here’s a list of my favorite ones:
What are your favorite about pages?
Thanks again for all of those subscribing. As I’m still figuring this newsletter thing out, it would be helpful to know:
What you found interesting
What was boring or irrelevant
Anything else you would like to see
Until next week,
James