Other People’s Work

the history of tv, as told by @RonenV

The following is my (VV) copying of @RonenV‘s telling of the history of TV. Ronen spoke the whole thing out verbally (fu

In Praise of Idleness, by Bertrand Russell [1932]

Like most of my generation, I was brought up on the saying: ‘Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do.’ Bein

Pericles’ Funeral Oration [~431 BCE]

(VV: Emphasis mine.) Most of those who have spoken here before me have commended the lawgiver who added this oration to our ot

The Making Of A Public Intellectual, Devoney Looser [2017]

Summary: The author is an expert on the subject of Jane Austen. She was interviewed by CNN when the Bank of England placed her

The Problem Of Excess Genius, by David Banks [1997]

David Banks, Department of StatisticsCarnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA 15213 The most important question we can ask of

Stuff I wrote down while watching A Conversation With Elon Musk (and Salman Khan)

I wrote this while watching Salman Khan having a conversation with Elon Musk, this is what stood out to me. Thought I’d

bach, reddit

[–]Rhapsodie 26 points 4 days ago Bach is ANYTHING but mechanical. In fact his music is so emotional sometimes it makes C

What makes a story great, by Marcus Geduld

Originally posted on Quora. Marcus is a Shakespearean director and one of my absolute favourite people I’ve had the priv

“See you when I’m forty years old”, by Xavier Koh

“Rule of Thumb: When you find yourself carelessly engaging in envy of people who seem to be ‘living the life’

revolution, on reddit

[–]avaslash 2046 points 17 days ago* The thing is revolution requires once special thing. Actual problems. What is an act

on drugs, from reddit

beathau5 What is the worst permanent life decision that you’ve ever made? from AskReddit Drugs (in particular coke) prov

self-development is self-destruction, by xavier koh

“There’s a particular self-development paradox I’ve consistently encountered, but haven’t managed to g

Richard Branson Quotes

From True Grit, Opinion piece in some business magazine: The ability to tap into your determination and grit… you can te

Building Blocks of Storytelling (Ira Glass)

Building blocks of storytelling: 1: Anecdote. Sequence of actions- what is a story in its purest form? The plot. It has a mome

Write Till You Drop, by Annie Dillard

Write Till You Drop By ANNIE DILLARD People love pretty much the same things best. A writer looking for subjects inquires not

Contemplating the Universe

One of the most amazing things that the human mind is able to do is to contemplate the Universe. Now, few of us are really ab

On Jealousy

By “Anon User” When does love make one miserable and jealous? It does not. You misread your own feelings. The buzz

Obama

“In White House jargon this was a meeting of “the principals,” which is to say the big shots. In addition to Biden a

Bill O’Reilly makes me sick.

Have not felt this angry in a while.

Sam Harris, on Free Will

Wherever you stand on the matter, this was a good watch. Sam Harris, on free will. — The New York Times – Why Afgh

Education Reform & Disruption: To what extent will online education replace brick-and-mortar education in the next 10 years?

Bob Scott: If it’s not a revolution, online education is certainly an upheaval that’s going to replace a big chunk of wha

Nurse reveals the top 5 regrets people make on their deathbed

“For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special t

Great Posts I’ve Read

The Disadvantage of an Elite Education by William Dersiewicz. Welcome address to freshman at Boston Conservatory, by Karl Paul

“Losers have goals, winners have systems”, by Scott Adams

“The other day I put on my workout clothes and drove to the gym. But when I arrived I didn’t feel like working out

william gibson nyt profile

2012 jan 13 by Pagan Kennedy On one of his trips to New York, William Gibson stopped before an antiques shop that would end up

The World As I See It, by Albert Einstein

“How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he

Talent, focus, and endurance, by Haruki Murakami

In every interview I’m asked what’s the most important quality a novelist has to have. It’s pretty obvious: talent. Now

It’s not about you, by David Brooks

“Over the past few weeks, America’s colleges have sent another class of graduates off into the world. These graduates

I am nothing, by Paul Buchheit

“On a scale of one to ten, how good of a cog are you? How well do you function in your assigned role? How much of a man

Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century, by Seneca

“Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century: -Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others; -Worryin

Cowboys and Pit Crews- Why the medical industry needs more systemic thinking and execution

Atul Gawande delivered this year’s commencement address at Harvard Medical School. All emphasis is mine. In his book

Life- The Ultimate Game, by Steve Pavlina

“When designing a game, a good game designer will present the player with a solid collection of compelling choices. A

How to survive when everything sucks, by Alexandra Franzen

http://alexandrafranzen.com/ I am really, stupendously, riotously proud of myself. My business is bangin’, my client

Wise words from Stephen Hawking

I have no idea. People who boast about their IQ are losers. Response upon being questioned as to his IQ, in interview with Deb

Friedrich Nietzsche, on laziness and timidity

“… A traveller who had seen many lands and peoples and several of the earth’s continents was asked what quality in men h

The wisdom of Jim Rohn

The soil says, “Don’t bring me your need. Bring me your seed.” Unless you change how you are, you will always have wha

Ray Kurzweil on the future of solar power

Ray Kurzweil: “One of my primary theses is that information technologies grow exponentially in capability and power and

Countering Stress and Depression, by The Dalai Lama XIV

At a fundamental level, as human beings, we are all the same; each one of us aspires to happiness and each one of us does not

Jonathan Diener, on the future of the music industry

I think obviously downloading and the easy access via torrents, etc. to get music and movies are hurting the sales. But with a

@Lord_Voldemort7 vs @perezhilton

“I received a large number of response to a tweet I wrote about @perezhilton. My comment, for those that did not see it

John Mayer, on life.

I wish that when I was younger I could have met my current self. We would have sat down at a coffee shop so that I could expla

Awesome Quotes from Margaret Mead

SEGMENTING LIFEGAME = BULLSHIT “It is utterly false and cruelly arbitrary to put all the play and learning into childhoo

The War Prayer, by Mark Twain

It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fi

Epic Speeches & Quotes: Karl Paulnack, on music.

Welcome address to freshman at Boston Conservatory, given by Karl Paulnack, pianist and director of music division at Boston C