Friday Finds (Houellebecq, Magic, Sperm, Songwriting)

Hi friends,

Greetings from Denver!

I just finished two days of planning with the Write of Passage team, and I'm continually amazed by how much more generative you can be when you're together in person. Plus, working in person is much more fun.

Here's what I want to share this week:

1. ​The Book You Need to Read: The best-selling book in history is under-read and rarely recommended, and the problem is worst amongst hyper-educated Westerners.
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2. Imitate, then Innovate: A motto for improving at any skill. Study the people who inspire you, absorb what makes them excellent, and build upon what you learn. Doing so is, ironically, the best way to be original in your craft. I originally shared this idea in the context of a long-form essay. Now, it's a full-on YouTube video.

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Today's Finds

​Michel Houellebecq: Arguably the most popular literary figure in France. His novels explore themes like meaninglessness in the modern world and the empty promises of a hedonistic lifestyle. This YouTube video is a good introduction to his work. He argues that desire makes people unhappy. One problem with modernity is how our levels of desire have increased faster than our capacity to satiate it. Dating is an example. Our hyper-sexualized culture generates sexual desire. The problem is that apps like Tinder and Bumble increase inequality in the dating market (especially for men) which leads to dissatisfaction. In Submission, Houellebecq explores the idea that people will react against runaway liberalism by embracing Islam and ending gender equality.

​Endemic Pathogens are Killing You: This essay makes two arguments. First, we should have more anarchy in science. Scientific research relies too much on stringent guidelines that limit our horizons and thereby inhibit innovation. Second, we underestimate how infectious diseases can lead to chronic diseases. We often blame genetics and the environment for chronic illnesses when we should really blame endemic pathogens. As a society, we're so focused on the mind that we sometimes forget the body. How many depressed people do blood samples, in addition to speaking with a psychiatrist? How many therapists treat the mind when they should focus on the body instead?

​Why Sperm Counts are Declining: Male sperm counts of Western men dropped by 59 percent between 1979 and 2011. The quality of that sperm declined too, as the percentage of damaged DNA increased. Maybe that’s why the miscarriage rate has risen by 1 percent per year over the past two decades. What’s going on? Our environment is partially to blame due to pollution from chemicals like Bisphenol A, which interferes with the conception process and increases the likelihood of a miscarriage. This interview explores the impact of declining fertility and the increase in gender fluidity and what both trends say about the health of humanity.

​Letter to a Young Songwriter: This piece is written for musicians, but it applies to writers too. When you’re new to a creative medium, you want to be prolific. Only after you’ve published many pieces do you know what makes a song great and what you need to do your best creative work. Creation also changes how you consume. All of a sudden, you don’t just absorb the content. You absorb the structure, the rhetorical tricks, and all the ways creators make their work captivating. It’s like X-ray vision. Knowledge of your craft transcends the intellect and enters the body. Eventually, you realize things about the creative medium you couldn’t have possibly anticipated when you were starting out.

​Becoming a Magician: Here’s a fun heuristic for personal growth: find the magicians. You’ll know that you’ve found one when their results are attractive, while their methods confuse you. Embody their perspective deeply enough and they’ll give you new ways of seeing. From the outset, it’s hard to explain how because, by definition, their methods look like voodoo to you. Ultimately, finding magicians is one of my favorite meta-principles for learning.