Hi friends,

It's been one of those weeks where I'm huffing and puffing my way into the weekend. Why so busy? I'm putting the final touches on an essay about GPT, gearing up for the next Write of Passage cohort, working on a short film, and I'm launching the How I Write podcast on Wednesday.

Watching How I Write come together is particularly meaningful for me. I started the project in September 2021, and getting here has been an absolute roller coaster. Filming every episode of the podcast and making it an audio and video experience has 3x'd or 5x’d the amount of work required to launch it. We built a production studio in Austin, spent months nailing the visual branding, and a series of fought small wars over the visual style.

It's taken some sweat, and this Wednesday, it launches. When How I Write goes live, I’m gonna throw my hands in the air and say, "Hallelujah."

Today's Finds

The Theory of Constraints: To become more efficient, you need to identify bottlenecks and fix them. When I started working with Tiago Forte, I learned how the Theory of Constraints is applicable everywhere. This theory provides an entry point to productivity that works for personal tasks and global supply chains. My first introduction to the idea came through this excellent multi-part series, which is essentially a summary of The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt. (I recommend the audiobook.) To see how The Theory of Constraints is practically relevant, I recommend this Twitter thread about the Long Beach port and all the container ships camping out nearby. This idea in particular demands a deep think: "You should always choose the most capital-intensive part of the line to be your bottleneck.”

A Guide for the Perplexed: I’ve long been interested in the shortcomings of Enlightenment thinking. Most of all, I’m skeptical of our commitment to materialism and the scientism that surrounds it. E. F. Schumacher argues that “materialistic scientism” began with the writings of Descartes and Bacon. Since then, intellectuals have de-emphasized the importance of spirituality, beauty, and meaning. The book is short, and if you’re looking for a summary, here’s the Wikipedia page.

​Slowed Progress in Science: Here’s a theory I’ve never considered: What if scientific progress is slowing because there are too many papers being published? What if, out of a desire to increase the rate of scientific progress, we’ve actually made it harder for scientists to grapple with transformative ideas? That’s the thesis of this paper. Basically, the authors argue that past a certain point, the more papers that are published in a given field, the more citations flow to already well-cited papers — which ossifies the canon and slows progress.

​​In Praise of Memorization: When I was in school, I used to get mad at teachers for forcing us to memorize things. Frankly, I was uniquely terrible at it. It felt like my knowledge evaporated whenever I took a test. Though I’m still not a fan of memorization-based tests, I’m now more convinced of the benefits of memorization. Creative thinking is enhanced by instant access to a wide array of facts that you can automatically integrate. It’s a kind of muscle memory. Something special emerges when you know something by heart. In Islam, people who’ve memorized the entire Koran are granted the title hafiz, which translates to guardian. As the author, Pearl Leff observes: “Subconsciously, when you learn a piece by heart, its message penetrates deep inside you.” Beautifully said.

​One More Time: A simple, visual breakdown of a great song. Daft Punk, the legendary pop music duo, has a hit song called “One More Time." This 51-second video breaks down how they sampled a 1979 song called “More Spell on You” by Eddie Johns as the foundation for this memorable beat. Don’t just watch this video for entertainment. Watch it because it’s a masterclass on how you can use a visual medium to convey information. There's no narration, just waveforms and the music.