The Long Game 135: Diet & Identity, The Internet Wants to Be Fragmented, Building in Public, Remembering
The Long Game 135: Diet & Identity, The Internet Wants to Be Fragmented, Building in Public, Remembering🗣 Commenting vs. making, The Middle Class is Dead, Conditioning, Men Without Work, Rucking, and Much More!Hi there, it’s Mehdi Yacoubi, co-founder at Vital, and this is The Long Game Newsletter. To receive it in your inbox each week, subscribe here: I’m a big fan of Twitter, but if you’re looking for a more peaceful & healthier social network, you can join us on Vital. In this episode, we explore:
Let’s dive in! 🥑 Health🌊 Don’t Associate Your Identity with Your DietWe have already touched on this idea multiple times, but I thought a reminder would be beneficial. A lot of people adopt an identity related to their eating habits. Be it fasting, veganism, keto, or carnivore, you name it! It’s very tempting because we’re tribal creatures by nature, and we like to form groups, but I think we should resist this as much as possible. The problem (and sometimes benefit) with identity is that it’s hard to change it. In the context of diets, science evolves, new facts emerge, and new ways of measuring how foods impact your body are constantly being developed. So there’s close to zero chance your current diet will be the optimal diet for you in 10—20 years. Strong convictions, loosely held. People have a tendency to associate their identity with their diet. Not sure why
Carnivores, Keto nuts, vegans
Pro Tip: Don't do this
You'll inevitably be presented with facts that will sway your opinions on diet & nutrition From The Long Game 120:
🌱 Wellness🔀 The Internet Wants to Be FragmentedI couldn’t find a tweet I saw a few months ago, but it was saying something along the lines of “the world wasn’t ready to have everyone plunged on the same social platforms, people with different values, different principles, we were never ready to constantly be exposed to some things and ideas that are so radically different from ours.” It wasn’t so much about banning such ideas; it’s just that things might actually be way better if people weren’t constantly exposed to people they vehemently disagree with. There is this idea that being confronted with opposing views is healthy and necessary, and I agree with it to an extent. We also see the limits of that with how fragmented society became after central social networks were the de facto public square for society. Noahpinion has a great piece about why the internet should go back to being fragmented:
🧠 Better Thinking🧠 We Are What We RememberMemory is an intrinsic part of our life experience. It is critical for learning, and without memories we would have no sense of self. Understanding why some memories stick better than others, as well as accepting their fluidity, helps us reduce conflict and better appreciate just how much our memories impact our lives.
A cool side effect of writing The Long Game is that it helps me remember much better all the stuff I read, listen to or watch. ⚡️ Startup Stuff🚫 Building in PublicI think it’s safe to say the days of building in public are over. It doesn’t mean the days of engaging your community to develop your product are over. Still, the extreme transparency that came with building in public was responsible for many problems. This piece explains why:
The main reasons are:
Unpopular opinion:
Building in Public is a bad idea.
Yes, it invites competition…
but worse than that, it often masks a lack of marketing strategy. Pair with: Building in Public Versus Dropping Like a Thunderbolt: Which Marketing Strategy is Best? 📚 What I Read👋 The Middle Class Is Dead. Long Live the Long Tail Class.A networked, creative economy cannot produce a normal distribution of income. Our focus should shift to providing a minimum-viable lifestyle to a growing long-tail class. Cities have a critical role to play in that process.
🔨 When Extreme Necessity is the Mother of InventionEvidence from three global crises:
🗣 Commenting vs. makingVastly different activities.
🍭 Brain Food📉 The Decline of Men in the WorkforceI thought this interview with Nicholas Eberstadt, author of Men Without Work, was fascinating and alarming.
7 million men aged 25-54 in the USA are not working
What are they doing?
Volunteering? Worship? Care-work?
“Playing Call of Duty stoned”
They report 2000 hours a year of screen time (w/ pain meds)
This phenomenon is far less severe in Western Europe
wsj.com/podcasts/opini… 🎥 What I’m Watching💪 A Case For ConditioningI used to watch Brian six years ago, and I’m very happy his channel popped up on my feed last week. What a well of knowledge he is. I also really like the Strongman-type of training. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to strongman implements, but I hope I will in the future. Still, you’ll find many ideas to get stronger & have a better work capacity. Pair with: 9 ROW Variations to BUILD a Thicker, Stronger Back! 📈 The Rise of Single & Childless WomenPair with: Rise of the SHEconomy & The Crushing Loneliness of the Girl Boss 🔧 The Tool of the Week🎒 RucksacksOne of the things I want to do more next year is rucking. I don’t have a rucksack and will most likely use my regular gym backpack as it’s already super heavy with the chains, bands, squat shoes, etc., but if you want to invest in a rucksack, these look great. 🪐 Quote I’m Pondering
– David Goggins 👋 EndNoteThanks for reading! If you like The Long Game, please share it on social media or forward this email to someone who might enjoy it. You can also “like” this newsletter by clicking the ❤️ just below, which helps me get visibility on Substack. Until next week, Mehdi Yacoubi |
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