Hi friends,

Greetings from Austin!

This final week is one of my favorites of the year. The world is quiet, which makes it an excellent time to think and read deeply. If you're looking for reading recommendations, here'a list of my favorite ones.

We’re looking to hire a full-time Director of Course Operations for Write of Passage.

It’s been an exciting year for Write of Passage. The course has now been taken by over 1,000 students in more than 50 countries.
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As we move into next year, we’re looking to hire a full-time operations director to systematize and improve every aspect of our course operations. This will include data analytics, backend integrations, financial systems, technical systems, and standard operating procedures, among other areas. We’re looking for someone with experience running operations for a high-growth tech or education-related company.

If that sounds like a fit, you can read the full job description and apply here.

Here's what I want to share this week:

1. People Don't Actually Read: People lie about how much they read. In this mini-essay, I show how small adjustments in how you read can make your reading time much more productive.
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2. Hugging the X-Axis: We live in a world where people are scared of commitment. Among yuppies in particular, people are switching jobs more and hesitant to get married. But honestly, why should they commit to things? The world is abundant, and we should try everything, right? The challenge is that a life without commitment is a life without meaning. Without commitment, you'll be stuck hugging the X-Axis. Read my essay here.​
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3. ​Against 3x Speed: We live in the age of binge-reading. People listen to podcasts, articles, and audiobooks at 3x speed. But this speed consumption strategy is based on a flawed model of learning. Turns out, there's a more effective way to learn.

Coolest Things I Learned This Week

The Dance Between Numbers and Imagery

As a writer, you should know that readers struggle with big numbers. They're meaningless because they're so hard to visualize.

I've been reading a book called Breath. The author, James Nestor, does a phenomenal job of bringing numbers to life. He explains that all the cavities and passageways in your face take up roughly six cubic inches. But how big is six cubic inches?

In moments like this, you need imagery. Nestor writes: "Imagine for a moment that you’re holding a billiard ball at eye level a few inches from your face. Then imagine slowly pushing that entire ball inside the center of your face. The volume the ball would take up, some six cubic inches, is equivalent to the total space of all the cavities and passageways that make up the interior of the adult nose."

That's good writing. The more the reader can see a number, the better more they'll resonate with your work.

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What Golf Taught Me

Throughout high school, I wanted to become a professional golfer. I was good enough to get recruited by a Division 1 university, but yesterday, a friend asked me: "Could you have gone pro if you worked hard enough?"

Emphatically, I said: "No shot."

"Well, that's a bummer."

Honestly, realizing that I wasn't good enough to go pro was one of the greatest things that ever happened to me. I wasn't born with the strength, athleticism, or the hand-eye coordination to play at an elite level. Though I'm all for instilling a "growth mindset" in people, the idea that anybody can do anything if they try hard enough is one of the predominant lies of our age. I could've never been a professional golfer. My DNA made that choice before I was even born. Tiger Woods practicing 15 hours a week would be better than me practicing 80 hours per week.

There are equivalents for intellectual pursuits such as mathematics. When we don't take natural gifts seriously, we see a lack of hard work as the predominant reason why people aren't successful. As a result, we scoff at the unsuccessful. The alternative is to appreciate people's natural talents and go with the grain.

At first, the idea that many avenues of excellence are closed off to you may be depressing. But once you come to terms with the constraints of your DNA, you stop being so hard on yourself. Instead of grinding your way towards success, you look for things that come naturally to you. When you find something, you relish it. Though effort is obviously important, we should spend less time working hard and more time looking for the right match.

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Communication Platforms

Every communication platform teaches a different lesson:

• Twitter: Cut the fluff
• YouTube: People love a good narrative
• TikTok: Nail the hook
• Instagram: Make it beautiful
• Email: Whatever you’re saying, shorten it

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Teaching Agency

Agency is the most important skill to teach, and it's the exact opposite of what schools actually give students.

A student who trusts their potential, loves to learn, and knows how to follow through on a vision of their own is better off than just about any submissive, straight-A rule-follower.

Unfortunately, schools do the opposite. They neuter children. By lowering standards and assigning busy work, we suffocate their creative spirit. Instead of letting them explore their intuitive curiosities, we force them to sit in a chair for six hours per day and do more homework at night. Through it all, they have to learn the same things at the same time and follow the same pre-set curriculums. Dependent on teachers for feedback and instruction, they graduate with none of the self-reliance we once hailed.

Photo of the Week

I'm devoting this entire week to writing my Annual Review and preparing for a series of lectures about René Girard. I'll be recording them next week with Johnathan Bi who's been studying Girard's work for the past five years (here's our earlier conversation about Mimetic Theory).

The lectures will take place in the room from the photo above. I spent weeks looking for a sophisticated space that would match the intensity of the topic. I also wanted a classic ambiance, which would make the lectures feel timeless.

Both of us have been moved by Girard's ideas but haven't found a satisfactory audio/video summary of his ideas. Instead of providing a high-level introduction like almost everything on the Internet (like the one I provided in Peter Thiel's Religion), we'll explore the deeper implications of his philosophy.

Long-term, I want this project to become a lecture series that covers the most important thinkers in the Western intellectual tradition. Consider this the pilot.