I want to share a bunch of things I have read and watched that have reshaped my brain. These videos & books have rewired my neural pathways.
I am jokingly calling this my Riculum.
General Magic - Mobile Computing - 90 minutes
This documentary has taught me so many things about vision, timing & grit. My biggest takeaway: when you are sure that something will work—but not sure when—keep coming back to the plate for another swing.
Revolution OS - Open Source Computing - 90 minutes
Very few people realise just how powerful Microsoft used to be. A few rag-tag crews of revolutionaries fought back against the corporate behemoths by opening up everything. The open source movement was as much a legal revolution as it was a technological one.
A Head Full of Dreams - Enduring Creative Love - 2 hours
It is hard to find fruitful creative teams that have stuck together for decades. Coldplay is one of them. They have renewed their love for one another many times over the years. This documentary documents that process in all its gritty glory.
tv.apple.com/us/movie/coldplay-a-head-full-of-dreams
Jony Ive Biography - Designing for Humanity - 3-5 hours
Jony is the product of a very British design education. His father designed the curriculum for all of the UK and then used it on his son. The trajectory of Jony, Steve and Apple is absolutely astonishing. A true creative partnership that affected the planet. The Industrial Design team at Apple is in total control of what the world uses to access the protocols that define our lives.
books.apple.com/us/book/jony-ive/id630828116
Deep Work - Focused Working - 6-10 hours
Very few people can focus any more—myself included! This book helped me figure out a set of habits and tools to get stuff done. It changed my life forever.
calnewport.com/books/deep-work
Star Wars & The Mandalorian - Fighting Tyrany - 50+ hours
The Star Wars Universe made me want to go on adventures. Learning to kite and code felt like my version of the force. I can harness the wind on the ocean and software on the Internet to be a free man. I know so much of that came from watching Star Wars. The Mandalorian gave me a mental model for mentorship and birthed PadawanDAO.
Foundation Series - Expansion of Capitalism - 100+ hours
Isaac Asimov’s epic series of science fiction books have inspired so many incredible people. After seeing Elon’s tweet about them in 2014, I started reading them all. I was blown away. So many of the present world’s technologies and business models were described in books that were written decades before.
If you have any suggestions for videos or books, please do let me know!
ric.eth ⚖️
One book that shaped my mind tremendously this year is Finite and Infinite games. https://www.amazon.com/The-Finite-and-Infinite-Games/dp/B0971GRRN9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LA2K31J3LV9Y&keywords=Finite+and+Infinite+Games&qid=1640383380&sprefix=bowflex+dumbbells%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1
Especially in crypto there are so many short term speculators doing trades, which are finite games and drown time / energy. This book helps me stay focused on the inifite game / long horizon and actually work on things that are important.
Thanks for the list. Excited for these!
I'm guessing you also read A World Without Email? Was that what prompted you to quit or a long time thing brewing? Have you still quit email?