Dennis's Serendipity Digest - Reality has a surprising amount of detail

Hey,

celebrated my old University flatmates wedding at Wörthersee this weekend. Malerisch as we say in German.

📸 Photo of the Week

Two ideas

1. “Reality has a surprising amount of detail.” a cool essay by John Salvatier about building stairs. Sounds trivial but there is a surprising amount of detail that goes into it. He goes on to explain why we easily get stuck in our current way of seeing and thinking about things.
   
   His solution: seek detail you would normally not notice about the world. Reminds me of my experience in learning writing, where I suddenly start to recognise details that I used to glance over. Like the detailed description of a scenery in a short story by Checkhov.

2. “The Secret Allow yourself to go down rabbit holes
   A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes.
   
   If you see something, save something
   Pay attention to what feels resonant to you. Save breadcrumbs and build a path for yourself to walk down later on. The ability to classify information in a personal way is a muscle worth exercising.
   
   “Creativity is just connecting things”
   Over time, build contexts for yourself and your ideas. Analyze what happens when you connect those contexts to someone else’s.
   
   Remember
   The goal is not self-improvement. The goal is engaging more deeply with the World.” seen on are.na.
   
   I think I am on quest to engage more deeply with the World.

Three cool links

1. “Business @ The Speed of Thought: Using a Digital Nervous System” by Bill Gates from 1999

2. “What Working At Stripe Has Been Like” by Patrick McKenzie aka patio11 on two years at Stripe in 2019

3. “Life’s work” tweet storm by Ann Lee Skates

Personal note

If you’ve got any thoughts, questions, or feedback, please drop me a line - I would love to chat.

Catch you next Sunday!

Best,
Dennis