personal growth

Bilingual

7 books that stood the test of time in 2023
2 months ago
- The Most Human Human by Brian Christian: A book about humanity disguised as AI, teaching deeper conversations and meaning in work.
- An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler: Changes perspective on cooking as a natural act of creativity rather than a chore.
- Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland: A manual on overcoming fear to continue creating, addressing talent and vision gaps.
- The Production of Houses by Christopher Alexander et al.: Shows concrete results of people designing their own homes, with successes and contradictions.
- Creative Selection by Ken Kocienda: Details the Apple way of product design, emphasizing that most design is a dead end.
- Changing Minds by Andy diSessa: A foundational text on computational literacy and future of computing.
- The Overstory by Richard Powers: A novel that shifts perspective to see the world from trees' viewpoint.
Having Kids
2 months ago
- The author initially feared having children, viewing parents as uncool and miserable, but after having kids, found it unexpectedly wonderful.
- Having children triggered immediate biological and emotional changes, fostering a protective instinct toward all children, akin to a 'chemical switch'.
- Pre-parent observations were biased: only noticing kids in stressful situations (e.g., airplanes), missing quiet, magical moments of connection and peace.
- Children become interesting companions and friends, offering genuine fun and bonding, contrary to the author's childhood memories of parenthood as pure discipline.
- Kids reduce productivity and force a stricter schedule, but the author adapted by working within set times, accepting lower output.
- Having children may diminish ambition as attention shifts to them over personal projects, but using kids as motivation (e.g., writing for them) can counteract this.
- While missing pre-parental freedom (e.g., spontaneous travel), the author never fully used that freedom and finds more consistent happiness after having kids.
Why Do You Suck at Juggling?
3 months ago
- The author often recalls an anecdote about juggling that helps when feeling inadequate.
- Before the pandemic, they practiced juggling comfortably in a gym, appearing skilled with few drops.
- During the pandemic, they challenged themselves by learning a harder five-ball cascade, resulting in many drops and looking unskilled.
- Sebastian, who knew them from the gym, commented that they now 'sucked at juggling,' highlighting the paradox of progress.
- The story illustrates that pushing beyond one's comfort zone may look messy but leads to real skill development.
- The author encourages embracing difficult tasks even if they initially seem like failures, as it fosters growth.

personal growth

7 books that stood the test of time in 2023

Having Kids

Why Do You Suck at Juggling?