BrainPint - Smart Decision Making

Hi everyone,

Just returned from an unforgettable honeymoon in Tanzania. The highlight? The awe-inspiring Serengeti, where we witnessed thousands of wildebeest courageously crossing the Mara River as part of the Great Migration. Here are some beautiful pictures my husband Carles took. Highly recommend!

This week we're covering how to make smart decisions without getting lucky, getting through times where you feel stuck and why it's likely that container ships won't get much bigger.

Cheers,
Janel

100 Things I Know

A fascinating collection of Mari Andrew's realizations about life. Here are some picks:

• I know the key to happiness: It’s not self-care, it’s caring for your community.

• I know we’re all more forgetful than we think we are. Write stuff down: The movies you saw, the books you read, the things that upset you so you know what never to do to others, the things that made you feel loved so you know what to do to others, the funny things your toddler niece says, the wines you like, the restaurants you visited this year. You expect you’ll remember but you won’t. Use the Notes App if you simply must.
• I know how amazing it is to be seen by your friends. Every once in a while, tell a friend “I really admire that you…”

"The Only Way Out Is Through"
"The best way out is always through," a quote attributed to the poet Robert Frost, holds wisdom even to this day. When you're facing a challenge that seems insurmountable, it can be easy to get stuck in a holding pattern. But even the most insurmountable task can be accomplished by taking it one step at a time." This article by Deb Liu shows you how you can break down a scary problem and get unstuck.

Why Container Ships Probably Won't Get Any Bigger
A glance at the world's largest container ships reveals a consistent pattern: they are all approximately 400m (1,320ft) long, about 60m (200ft) wide—the current size limit. Several reasons explain this and suggest that significantly larger container ships are unlikely, if not impossible. What are these reasons?

28 Questions To Ask Your Boss in 1:1s
Managers are there to help you not just do your job efficiently, but also to help you grow. Here's a list of things you might be able to ask them in your 1:1s to get guidance and input, seek growth opportunities and get feedback on your performance. Questions I really like:

1. [Getting feedback] Do you feel I have any spots I’m overlooking when it comes to A or B?
2. [Clarify priorities and expectations] Given what is on my plate, what should I be prioritizing right now, and can you help me understand why?
   
3. [Seek growth opportunities] What strengths do you think I have and how might they be helpful in the future?
4. [Offering support] What are your priorities over the next X days? What can I do to help you with this?

How To Make Smart Decisions Without Getting Lucky
We're taught the importance of making good decisions, but nobody really teaches how to nail them. In this comprehensive guide, you can learn how, and get links to additional resources.

Some key ideas:

• Use mental models: They shape how you think, how you approach problems, and how you identify the information that matters and ignore what doesn’t.
  
• Understand sources of stupidity, and take steps to reduce the odds of stupidity. These include wrong information, wrong mental models used, and trying to do what's easy instead of what's right
• Get a multidisciplinary understanding of the world: If you're equipped with a well-rounded grasp on the fundamentals of how things work, you can apply all that knowledge to the problems and challenges we face every day.

What's Web Scraping?
A really great explainer on what web scraping is for beginners.

FlowGPT - Database of AI prompts and workflows that range from marketing, productivity, business, coding and even prompt engineering. Uses an upvote system similar to Reddit to surface interesting prompts.

Icon Buddy - Over 100k+ open source icons that you can customize and download.

PDF Tool - A cool way to edit PDFs offline in your browser, prioritizing privacy. No uploads, no cloud hassle, no editing limits – and it's all free.

Eat Or Toss - Useful site that helps you decide if those leftovers are still safe to eat or if it's time to part ways.

The Boonly is a gift every Sunday for anyone craving a spark of wholesome curiosity, an antidote to "hustle culture", and the permission to rest, relax and enjoy your Sundays.

For The Interested - A free newsletter featuring ideas to help you produce, promote, and profit from your creations.

Meco is a distraction-free space for reading and discovering newsletters, separate from the inbox. Add your newsletters in seconds and liberate your inbox, for free.

Share your work with >6k curious BrainPint readers by reserving a spot in Brain Snacks!

Movie Maths - A minimalist movie recommendation system. Put in two movies and get a suggestion on what to watch.

Temperature Map - Zoom in to see temperatures of cities all around the Earth.

Postal Service For The Dead - A project where people can write physical letters to loved ones who have died. Some get shared with consent.