reading

The Top Idea

August 6, 2010 by Ken

I think most people have one top idea in their mind at any given time. That’s the idea their thoughts will drift toward when they’re allowed to drift freely. And this idea will thus tend to get all the benefit of that type of thinking, while others are starved of it. Which means it’s a disaster to let the wrong idea become the top one in your mind.

…

I’ve found there are two types of thoughts especially worth avoiding—thoughts like the Nile Perch in the way they push out more interesting ideas. One I’ve already mentioned: thoughts about money. Getting money is almost by definition an attention sink. The other is disputes. These too are engaging in the wrong way: they have the same velcro-like shape as genuinely interesting ideas, but without the substance. So avoid disputes if you want to get real work done.

Words to live by. Certainly makes me rethink a lot about how I ought to go about dealing with disputes.

The Chimp Child

August 6, 2010 by Ken

Fascinating account of explorer Henry Raven and his chimpanzee “child,” Meshie, in the 1930’s.

Raven himself wrote about Meshie in Natural History. And according to his son, some 75 years later, this account is quite likely heavily romanticized.

Great material.

Transactions of the American Institute of Homeopathy, 1881

August 4, 2010 by Ken

This is what I’m reading, as research for a story.

Reading the ePUB version on the iPad is quite pleasant, though I wish it were possible to download the file on the iPad and open it in iBooks. Right now, you have to go through your computer and iTunes.

Kindles on the Subway

August 4, 2010 by Ken

I’ve been seeing a lot more Kindles in use on my commute, as well as other ebook readers. Last night, for example, I counted three ebook readers near me.

I’m sure more than a few people are reading on their phones too — it’s how I do the bulk of my reading these days.

When things change, there’s never a big neon sign flashing “THE FUTURE IS HERE.” It just happens from day to day. I remember writing letters in college as a freshman every week. And then, by the time I graduated, I realized that I hadn’t written a letter in a long time. I can’t tell you the day the shift happened.