In her book #AttentionSpan, Gloria Mark, PhD dedicates a chapter to the discussion of free will.
Though it seems to me a tangent, I appreciate the implication that "taking control of our attention" isn't entirely a matter of choice. Whatever TF choice is.
I mean, choice is supposedly the thing that controls attention, but… elaboration fades to infinity #nonfiction#psychology#allostasis
This is a very good comic, and it describes every author (or #artist) who is unsure of themself. Don't let this be you!
Complete stories (your vision) regardless of the merit you see in them.
Start a next one. Full stop. Then another.
Complete and send out more stories even if some editor (or commenter) doesn't buy or like them.
It's all practice, every single failure or not-good-enough. Practice makes you better, whatever they think, or you think. Keep practicing.
Take from criticism only whatever helps you identify or fix problems; reject being put in your place or ridiculed. It's practice. Your art is unique to you. Be truthful with yourself, though.
Keep starting and completing stories. Statistically, some will be good—and you will start to recognize the wheat in the chaff.
Their first stories weren't fabulous. Neither may be yours. The difference? They kept on starting, completing, sending (or posting), until they found success. Let that be you.
Please remember: #boostingIsSharing and boost to give others a moral boost.
I've realized I don't feel productive unless I'm learning something. So far today I've listened to part of a #podcast and now I'm reading a little bit of a #nonfiction#book I've been working on. Things are going well. 😁 :blobcatread: #bookstodon#sunday
Space at the Speed of Light: The History of 14 Billion Years for People Short on Time by Becky Smethurst, 2020
From the big bang to black holes, this fast-paced illustrated tour of time and space for the astro-curious unlocks the science of the stars to reveal fascinating theories, surprising discoveries, and ongoing mysteries in modern #astronomy and #astrophysics.
Frontlines Stories of Environmental Justice by Nick Meynen, 2019
Every unpacked frontline is one cutting edge of an economic system and political ideology that is destroying life on earth. Revealing our ecosystems to be under a sustained attack, Nick Meynen finds causes for hope in unconventional places.
Fixation How to Have Stuff Without Breaking the Planet by Sandra Goldmark, 2020
Our massive, global system of consumption is broken. Our individual relationship with our stuff is broken. In each of our homes, some stuff is broken. And the strain of rampant consumerism and manufacturing is breaking our planet. We need big, systemic changes, from public policy to global economic systems. But we don't need to wait for them.
Human Longevity: The Major Determining Factors by Joseph A. Knight, 2010
Two thousand years ago, the average life expectancy from birth to death of a Roman citizen, an individual better off than most people at that time, was about 22 years (wars, infectious diseases, trauma, etc.). This progressively increased to about 47 years in the U.S. and most European countries by 1900.
In the spirit of the mega-selling On Bullshit, philosopher Aaron James presents a philosophical and behavioral theory of the asshole that is both intellectually provocative and existentially necessary.
#JustFinished Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant
This has been an absolutely fascinating book to read and is perhaps the most important book I'll read all year. Merchant is spot on with his commentary about the parallels between the first Industrial Revolution and now. We have not learned a thing about protecting our populations and economies from mass unemployment during technological upheaval.
I spent last night thinking about the "shift to the left" initiative at my old job, basically reducing the complexity of any work you can enough for someone lower paid and lower skilled to do it. And now the push to automate anything that is repeatable. In both cases, the companies reduced staff enough to make you HAPPY to get the work off your plate. By running departments "lean" enough to mean we can't complete our objectives,
the powers that be force us into participating in our own obsolescence. It's sinister and brilliant at the same time.
Shifting to the left has morphed into shifting to lower cost environments. Hire someone in the Philippines rather than Hong Kong or North America. And sure, I'm all for global wealth, but it does seem both exploitative of the Filipinos and detrimental to those in higher paid environments.
If we were hiring them for expertise rather than for taking up lower level work, I would feel differently. But doing this is restricting entry level positions in places where you're trying to get your experts, thus limiting the growth potential in those economies. It's going to depress the tech sector in ways I don't think they've considered enough to care about. Or maybe they have considered it and still don't care.
There was even a quote in the book from some first Industrial Revolution tech bro saying, essentially, "Go ahead. Try to get the government to care enough to fix this." And we're right back there now. We can't even go back to the old ways of destroying the tech that's destroying our lives because we live in a surveillance society. And where the hell is that AI being hosted anyway?
It's spread out across geographies and there are backups. I don't know how we'll make it through this.
Are other sectors as bad as tech? What happens in NA when what's left of the middle class is gone and only the ultra rich can afford to live? As each small piece of wealth for the average person erodes, cracks appear in the foundation of the economy, and the negative impact will spread.
HumanKind: Changing the World One Small Act at a Time by Brad Aronson, 2020
Bestseller and Canadian Book Club Awards Winner is filled with true stories about how one small deed can make a world of difference.
Brad provides dozens of ways you can make a difference through the simplest words and deeds. You'll discover how buying someone a meal or sharing a little encouragement at the right time can change someone's world, as well as your own.
Cyber Republic: Reinventing Democracy in the Age of Intelligent Machines by George Zarkadakis, 2020
Science and tech expert George Zarkadakis presents an indispensable guide to making liberal democracies more inclusive, and the digital economy more equitable in the coming Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen, 2020
An incendiary examination of burnout in millennials—the cultural shifts that got us here, the pressures that sustain it, and the need for drastic change**
Do you feel like your life is an endless to-do list? Do you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through Instagram because you’re too exhausted to pick up a book?
Believing in Dawkins: The New Spiritual Atheism by Eric Steinhart, 2020
In this book, atheist philosopher Eric Steinhart explores the spiritual dimensions of Richard Dawkins’ books, which are shown to encompass:
· the meaning and purpose of life
· an appreciation of Platonic beauty and truth
· a deep belief in the rationality of the universe
· an aversion to both scientism and nihilism
Share in the joyful, adventure-filled shenanigans of a child growing up in a small mud hut in Inner Mongolia in this charming, illustrated memoir for young middle grade readers.
(Academic press) book pre-publication reviews are back. Really positive. YES!!!!!!!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉.
So now I'm moving onto final revisions. It feels good to slip back into that headspace again.
My big question for anyone who has sent a book off to the world: What was your strategy for those last steps? There's addressing the feedback, of course. But after that? It will never been perfect. But it has to be great. How do you know when to let it go?