Few days back, I stumbled upon Medium.
I liked the stories. Most were 3 min or 5 min reads. Since yday I am just hooked onto Medium, reading one story after another. The whole world has stories to tell. Storytelling has taken off in a huuuuge way, I say. If all the billion or more people on the planet just started talking and telling stories, who would listen?
I, who loves to read stories, got choked beyond a point.
I know that my blog is choke--y. But, this is a diary - to journal what I read and see a pattern of interest. This is not what I want to share with the world. There are just a handful of original writings in here, which are mine, which are share worthy. Given that the entry barriers to writing have disappeared, almost all of us can write. There is twitter, FB, blogs, Medium - so much to share!
Think of the readers.. yes, we all use filters and follow only a few people, but when days like this happen, when I stumble on a good site and try to keep up, I am overwhelmed.
Even the extremely talented Maria Popova, overwhelms me with her writing. She writes so much! I have to devote like a couple of hours on a certain day, every week to cover 70 or 80% of what she writes! Else, I lag behind her. I can never catch up.
We all seem to be writing so much and reading a little too! I donno if reading has taken a beating because of this insane flurry of writing.
There is an overwhelming amount of info on the web. We all wanted easy access to info but what we got is a torrential downpour, which is destroying the small hut that we call home. Were we better off when there were fewer authors and fewer books to read and fewer things to do and even fewer things to say? I am getting nostalgic. Last year, I spent in silence. I did not read a thing. I was not this overwhelmed. The Internet and this deluge of info is overwhelming me. I feel that I am missing out the next big story if I do not keep pace. I shall perish, I feel!
Yesterday, very aptly, one of the DNA's writers wrote about the same thing.
http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/1891230/column-united-in-mediocrity-in-the-flat-world-of-information
I am happy that many of us are in this together. In an effort to make the world simple, we have made it complex. In an effort to help us with apps, we created millions of apps. In an effort to promote literacy and writing we ended up creating piles of books which we can hardly read. In an effort to earn money and stay in the rat race, we do work that we least enjoy and work long hours. We're choking ourselves in every possible way. We're also choking the planet. We may all sink together at this pace.
Sometimes, when I go to a place like Hampi I cannot understand how a whole city died. Only the buildings remain? Why has the culture of that area changed beyond recognition? Didn't anyone survive from that time and propagate the culture? Were they all invaded by aliens who changed their basic DNA? We are all invaded today - by the West. There is not much Indianness left, I feel. In most cities we dress and act like the Western world. We were unwillingly subject to English colonies in 1600. Now, we willingly submit to Americanization in the 21st century. In our quest to appear special and different all of us have created designer homes which actually look alike. We are all alike in our struggles in life, but we think we're all special and different. We all have special hobbies, which is why 200 of us do the same special hobby. Today, everyone owns a DSLR. Everyone I know, is a photographer or trekker or runner or cyclist or storyteller or fitness enthusiast or traveller or couch potato or addicted video gamer or a foodie or a cook or a baker or a blogger or a writer. Given the propensity we have for following trends, how do we call ourselves unique? So much for being unique. I thought I was the only crazy one to leave an IT job to pursue the unknown. Reading Medium I see even more bizarre cases. Everyone is leaving jobs to pursue the unknown. That, is the trend now. Not that I am being judgmental. I am just noting the patterns, the repeptitive patterns across lives across continents! It's amazing that someone deep in SF, thinks the same way like me!
Look around you - everyone is looking for meaning and purpose in life. Everyone is doing yoga and meditation. Everyone reads a lot to keep pace. Everyone runs nowadays. That makes everyone so unique! Just when I thought that I could look at early child education, I see that some 50 people are already doing it! Does it make sense to collaborate and attack a big pie or break up in small groups and target small population? I don't know.. I am confused and overwhelmed like the 'unique' rest of us.
https://medium.com/collections
How to stay focussed even when you're bored: (MUST READ)
https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/6ff0a0bc0dc8
Becoming a master at your craft: (MUST READ)
http://jamesclear.com/deliberate-practice
Why I left Google (it's an amazing read - very authentic and it echoes what's going on with me):
https://medium.com/this-happened-to-me/c02f1ff471c6
Awesome writeup on why different kinds of women should be invited into technology:
https://medium.com/women-and-work/1023a2e973dd
Living an unlived life:
https://medium.com/what-i-learned-today/360b8276adf2
What do you do and who you are:
https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/cd0156212f3
“Work is alright in proportion: but one wants to have a certain richness and satisfaction in oneself, which is more than anything produced. One wants to be.
Improving your productivity:
https://medium.com/career-pathing/a67a9ede28e9
Retiring?
https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/174f8f966045
Everything is interesting:
https://medium.com/career-pathing/f27c692f267a
10 years of exploring new things after quitting a hi-fi valley job:
https://medium.com/career-pathing/a1ba4aec950
Interesting article - Techie teaches coding to solve homeless issue:
https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/fee8f3ee97a0
Storing your hunches and re-examining them to get useful ideas!
https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/8d6e7df7ae58
Twitter Vs Facebook (good perspective):
https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/52a20d7a17de
A little more awareness (https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/4454abf4884b):
I think observing life around you is important. I think seeing and interacting (if even quietly) with humanity around you connects you better. Makes you more human, in fact. It allows you to contribute, if even in a small way.
https://medium.com/advice-to-graduates/21ffa9c0a327
Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American poet and essayist had something to say about this in his great essay “Self-Reliance”:
Be true to yourself, believe in your ideas and respect them and give them a big opportunity to win.
Computers can make your brain lazy. Use them when you execute, but always do all your thinking in your brain.
To lookup:
Codecademy, Khan Academy, Scratch, Quora.
I liked the stories. Most were 3 min or 5 min reads. Since yday I am just hooked onto Medium, reading one story after another. The whole world has stories to tell. Storytelling has taken off in a huuuuge way, I say. If all the billion or more people on the planet just started talking and telling stories, who would listen?
I, who loves to read stories, got choked beyond a point.
I know that my blog is choke--y. But, this is a diary - to journal what I read and see a pattern of interest. This is not what I want to share with the world. There are just a handful of original writings in here, which are mine, which are share worthy. Given that the entry barriers to writing have disappeared, almost all of us can write. There is twitter, FB, blogs, Medium - so much to share!
Think of the readers.. yes, we all use filters and follow only a few people, but when days like this happen, when I stumble on a good site and try to keep up, I am overwhelmed.
Even the extremely talented Maria Popova, overwhelms me with her writing. She writes so much! I have to devote like a couple of hours on a certain day, every week to cover 70 or 80% of what she writes! Else, I lag behind her. I can never catch up.
We all seem to be writing so much and reading a little too! I donno if reading has taken a beating because of this insane flurry of writing.
There is an overwhelming amount of info on the web. We all wanted easy access to info but what we got is a torrential downpour, which is destroying the small hut that we call home. Were we better off when there were fewer authors and fewer books to read and fewer things to do and even fewer things to say? I am getting nostalgic. Last year, I spent in silence. I did not read a thing. I was not this overwhelmed. The Internet and this deluge of info is overwhelming me. I feel that I am missing out the next big story if I do not keep pace. I shall perish, I feel!
Yesterday, very aptly, one of the DNA's writers wrote about the same thing.
http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/1891230/column-united-in-mediocrity-in-the-flat-world-of-information
I am happy that many of us are in this together. In an effort to make the world simple, we have made it complex. In an effort to help us with apps, we created millions of apps. In an effort to promote literacy and writing we ended up creating piles of books which we can hardly read. In an effort to earn money and stay in the rat race, we do work that we least enjoy and work long hours. We're choking ourselves in every possible way. We're also choking the planet. We may all sink together at this pace.
Sometimes, when I go to a place like Hampi I cannot understand how a whole city died. Only the buildings remain? Why has the culture of that area changed beyond recognition? Didn't anyone survive from that time and propagate the culture? Were they all invaded by aliens who changed their basic DNA? We are all invaded today - by the West. There is not much Indianness left, I feel. In most cities we dress and act like the Western world. We were unwillingly subject to English colonies in 1600. Now, we willingly submit to Americanization in the 21st century. In our quest to appear special and different all of us have created designer homes which actually look alike. We are all alike in our struggles in life, but we think we're all special and different. We all have special hobbies, which is why 200 of us do the same special hobby. Today, everyone owns a DSLR. Everyone I know, is a photographer or trekker or runner or cyclist or storyteller or fitness enthusiast or traveller or couch potato or addicted video gamer or a foodie or a cook or a baker or a blogger or a writer. Given the propensity we have for following trends, how do we call ourselves unique? So much for being unique. I thought I was the only crazy one to leave an IT job to pursue the unknown. Reading Medium I see even more bizarre cases. Everyone is leaving jobs to pursue the unknown. That, is the trend now. Not that I am being judgmental. I am just noting the patterns, the repeptitive patterns across lives across continents! It's amazing that someone deep in SF, thinks the same way like me!
Look around you - everyone is looking for meaning and purpose in life. Everyone is doing yoga and meditation. Everyone reads a lot to keep pace. Everyone runs nowadays. That makes everyone so unique! Just when I thought that I could look at early child education, I see that some 50 people are already doing it! Does it make sense to collaborate and attack a big pie or break up in small groups and target small population? I don't know.. I am confused and overwhelmed like the 'unique' rest of us.
https://medium.com/collections
How to stay focussed even when you're bored: (MUST READ)
https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/6ff0a0bc0dc8
Becoming a master at your craft: (MUST READ)
http://jamesclear.com/deliberate-practice
Why I left Google (it's an amazing read - very authentic and it echoes what's going on with me):
https://medium.com/this-happened-to-me/c02f1ff471c6
Awesome writeup on why different kinds of women should be invited into technology:
https://medium.com/women-and-work/1023a2e973dd
Living an unlived life:
https://medium.com/what-i-learned-today/360b8276adf2
What do you do and who you are:
https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/cd0156212f3
“Work is alright in proportion: but one wants to have a certain richness and satisfaction in oneself, which is more than anything produced. One wants to be.
Improving your productivity:
https://medium.com/career-pathing/a67a9ede28e9
Retiring?
https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/174f8f966045
Everything is interesting:
https://medium.com/career-pathing/f27c692f267a
10 years of exploring new things after quitting a hi-fi valley job:
https://medium.com/career-pathing/a1ba4aec950
Interesting article - Techie teaches coding to solve homeless issue:
https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/fee8f3ee97a0
Storing your hunches and re-examining them to get useful ideas!
https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/8d6e7df7ae58
Twitter Vs Facebook (good perspective):
https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/52a20d7a17de
A little more awareness (https://medium.com/architecting-a-life/4454abf4884b):
I think observing life around you is important. I think seeing and interacting (if even quietly) with humanity around you connects you better. Makes you more human, in fact. It allows you to contribute, if even in a small way.
[I think it makes you more creative too. But that’s an essay for another day…]
This isn’t just about being rude because you are unaware, such as the gentleman who blasted our ears with his car horn.
This
is about not going through life oblivious to the world around you. I
think it makes us better human beings when are are paying attention.
So
yeah, I am asking you to pay a little more attention to what is going
on around you. Use your head, open your eyes, listen to things that
happen around you. Use the glorious senses we were blessed with.
The world would be so much better if we are all a little more aware…
https://medium.com/advice-to-graduates/21ffa9c0a327
Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American poet and essayist had something to say about this in his great essay “Self-Reliance”:
A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humored inflexibility then most when the whole cry of voices is on the other side. Else, to-morrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another.
Be true to yourself, believe in your ideas and respect them and give them a big opportunity to win.
Computers can make your brain lazy. Use them when you execute, but always do all your thinking in your brain.
There
is a theory that writers write better on typewriters because you can’t
just backspace backspace backspace backspace. They spend more time
composing in their heads so when they commit to paper, the words are
better. The same is true for film cameras. Because film is expensive,
you think more about the composition of a shot. If you’re just going to
shoot 2000 images and choose one, where is the fun in that?
Computers
are incredible tools. But like any powerful tool, it can cause you to
lose a thumb. Or a brain. So get to know how to use them.
Oh. One more thing. Be brief.
To lookup:
Codecademy, Khan Academy, Scratch, Quora.
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