"...technology is what defines us as a species." Couldn't agree more! I've currently dove down the rabbit hole on the origins of the computer, computer science, and the like. It's very interesting to see how one thing leads to the next, and here we are today writing in the comfort of our homes :)
It's so interesting right! Incredible that the overall architecture of computers hasn't actually changed since Babbage's time... the story of computation is incredible indeed
Alejandro Piad Morfiss also writes great stuff about it - you should check it out!
Thanks Zan for the shoutout! Never heard of this show but definitely have to check it out 👏
I love the part “if we knew it all we wouldn’t write books” it makes me think of something @bethkempton wrote not so long ago about being a self help author and how many confuse it with having lots of answers when in fact she’s got lots of questions. Good questions makes good books….
Thanks Elin! Yes definitely check it out and let me know what you think :)
Oh that's cool - I'll check out Beth's work... you might also like Scott Alexander's recent post here which covers a similar idea:
"Advice is disproportionately written by defective people. Healthy people perform naturally and effortlessly. You walk so gracefully that a million man-hours into bipedal robots fail to match your skill. But if some stroke patient or precocious one-year-old asked your secret, you would just say “I put one foot in front of the other.”"
Mr Robot is one of the few shows that gets computing and coding right. Halt and Catch Fire definitely doesn't. Watch for the entertainment, not accuracy or education.
It's a show about failure, as given away in the title. (It's a computer command that tells the system to destroy itself, once the halt and catch fire command is executed, it can't be stopped.) It's primarily about people, the flawed and self destructive characters, rather than technology (which is presented pretty badly, often laughably so).
👏👏👏 You’ve sold me on the show! Adding it to the queue. Magnificent points, friend - what you stirred up within me is the reminder to keep going even if the journey is long and a little bit thorny! Don’t take it too seriously, have some fun along the way!!
This is fantastic: “Whenever we argue about something, it signals that thing is important to us. We should never forget that. So within every argument, this common ground of importance is shared. The only way to polish this shared value is to argue over it, discuss it, and build a fortress around it.
Real argument is the sacred act of nurturing what we value.”
This completely changes how I view argument and will be so helpful in better understanding myself and those I love. Thanks for changing my perspective. (The whole piece was great!)
Glad you enjoyed it Jack! Funnily enough I didn't quite realise how I thought of the value of argument myself, until I wrote those sentences you quoted!
Looking back I think they read a bit clunky, but the core message is there.
Funny how writing makes us understand our ideas like we could never relate to them in our heads.
No matter how well a writer writes they will always wish they did something differently once it’s published. I’ve kicked myself with twinges of post publish regret more times than I can count
Yeah - I definitely think that's part of the process. At some point you have to let your writing free into the world, otherwise you'll always find something to change!
I'll be sharing #7 with my wife because she likes to point out how I want to argue about EVERYTHING. Now I can prove to her that it just means I care :) And I also love thinking about things from a different point of view even if I don't necessarily agree with them
Love the point of it never being too early or too late to start anything. We're only limited by our own imaginations and our will to act. Brilliant advice throughout!
I adored this show! It did not get much press or word-of-mouth for some reason, and that's a shame. The cast is marvelous. I'm in awe of Mackenzie Davis, who went on to do, among other things, 'Station Eleven', an amazing post-pandemic/drama/adventure mini-series on HBO, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10574236/, and of course Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy, and Mark O'Brian whose careers I have been following since their earliest days.
'Vision is nothing without execution'—the converse is also true. What a struggle it is to pair vision with technique, or vision with its most accurate embodiment. There's a universality to this statement; it's as true in the humanities as it is in the creation of new technology.
Thanks Camila! So glad you also enjoyed the show - the actors were indeed incredible.
I'll need to have a look at Station Eleven - sounds right up my street.
And absolutely, you're right, that's why my very next learning after "vision is nothing without execution" is "execution is nothing without vision"!! One is futile without the other.
Thank you for reading and pointing me to more great TV :)
This is a great list, Zan. I especially liked #1. And thanks for the shoutout! I had heard of this show and had meant to watch it a while back but never got around to it. I'll give it another look.
Thanks for the recommendation--I'm excited about putting this show on my to-watch list!
My overall sentiment after reading your newsletter today is a sense of hope, which I haven't felt for quite some time. Your perspectives are refreshing!
Woooo! That's what I was hoping for! Thank you for your kind words :) I think that's exactly what the show imparted to me - so I think you'll enjoy it for those same reasons too
Ahaha eggplant emoji is the one 😂 - yes give it a watch! I think you'll love it! Ahhh this makes me want to rewatch Mr & Mrs Smith - haven't seen it in years! Great film
"...technology is what defines us as a species." Couldn't agree more! I've currently dove down the rabbit hole on the origins of the computer, computer science, and the like. It's very interesting to see how one thing leads to the next, and here we are today writing in the comfort of our homes :)
It's so interesting right! Incredible that the overall architecture of computers hasn't actually changed since Babbage's time... the story of computation is incredible indeed
Alejandro Piad Morfiss also writes great stuff about it - you should check it out!
yes, he's an incredible writer, looking forward to his book!
Thanks Zan for the shoutout! Never heard of this show but definitely have to check it out 👏
I love the part “if we knew it all we wouldn’t write books” it makes me think of something @bethkempton wrote not so long ago about being a self help author and how many confuse it with having lots of answers when in fact she’s got lots of questions. Good questions makes good books….
Great work 🙌
Thanks Elin! Yes definitely check it out and let me know what you think :)
Oh that's cool - I'll check out Beth's work... you might also like Scott Alexander's recent post here which covers a similar idea:
"Advice is disproportionately written by defective people. Healthy people perform naturally and effortlessly. You walk so gracefully that a million man-hours into bipedal robots fail to match your skill. But if some stroke patient or precocious one-year-old asked your secret, you would just say “I put one foot in front of the other.”"
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/you-dont-hate-polyamory-you-hate
Thanks for your support!
Aha awesome I’ll check it out!! Thanks 🥂
You just made me wanted to watch the show. I'll come back after few episodes down :)
Great! I'm excited to hear what you think!
@Jan Skora
Mr Robot is one of the few shows that gets computing and coding right. Halt and Catch Fire definitely doesn't. Watch for the entertainment, not accuracy or education.
It's a show about failure, as given away in the title. (It's a computer command that tells the system to destroy itself, once the halt and catch fire command is executed, it can't be stopped.) It's primarily about people, the flawed and self destructive characters, rather than technology (which is presented pretty badly, often laughably so).
That's definitely one way of looking at it!
In fairness, it's difficult to portray tech or coding, but it's not about the tech, it's about the flawed characters.
It's about failure, hence the title, which is a computer command (per my other comment). The tech side of it was a bit laughable.
👏👏👏 You’ve sold me on the show! Adding it to the queue. Magnificent points, friend - what you stirred up within me is the reminder to keep going even if the journey is long and a little bit thorny! Don’t take it too seriously, have some fun along the way!!
I think you'll love it Steph! When you get to it, let me know what you think :) So glad you enjoyed my writing :) Looking forward to your next post!
This is fantastic: “Whenever we argue about something, it signals that thing is important to us. We should never forget that. So within every argument, this common ground of importance is shared. The only way to polish this shared value is to argue over it, discuss it, and build a fortress around it.
Real argument is the sacred act of nurturing what we value.”
This completely changes how I view argument and will be so helpful in better understanding myself and those I love. Thanks for changing my perspective. (The whole piece was great!)
Glad you enjoyed it Jack! Funnily enough I didn't quite realise how I thought of the value of argument myself, until I wrote those sentences you quoted!
Looking back I think they read a bit clunky, but the core message is there.
Funny how writing makes us understand our ideas like we could never relate to them in our heads.
No matter how well a writer writes they will always wish they did something differently once it’s published. I’ve kicked myself with twinges of post publish regret more times than I can count
(It’s written pretty damn well!)
Yeah - I definitely think that's part of the process. At some point you have to let your writing free into the world, otherwise you'll always find something to change!
I'll be sharing #7 with my wife because she likes to point out how I want to argue about EVERYTHING. Now I can prove to her that it just means I care :) And I also love thinking about things from a different point of view even if I don't necessarily agree with them
Hahaha - glad I could give you some firepower :) thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed it!!
I like all ten lessons, but number 1 and number 10 really spoke to me. Well said Zan :)
Glad you liked 1 and 10!! They were my favourite to write :) Thanks as always for your support Michael 💪
Huge thanks for the mention Zan!
Love the point of it never being too early or too late to start anything. We're only limited by our own imaginations and our will to act. Brilliant advice throughout!
Any time, Dylan! Thanks for your support and I'm glad you enjoyed this piece :)
I adored this show! It did not get much press or word-of-mouth for some reason, and that's a shame. The cast is marvelous. I'm in awe of Mackenzie Davis, who went on to do, among other things, 'Station Eleven', an amazing post-pandemic/drama/adventure mini-series on HBO, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10574236/, and of course Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy, and Mark O'Brian whose careers I have been following since their earliest days.
'Vision is nothing without execution'—the converse is also true. What a struggle it is to pair vision with technique, or vision with its most accurate embodiment. There's a universality to this statement; it's as true in the humanities as it is in the creation of new technology.
Thanks Camila! So glad you also enjoyed the show - the actors were indeed incredible.
I'll need to have a look at Station Eleven - sounds right up my street.
And absolutely, you're right, that's why my very next learning after "vision is nothing without execution" is "execution is nothing without vision"!! One is futile without the other.
Thank you for reading and pointing me to more great TV :)
This is a great list, Zan. I especially liked #1. And thanks for the shoutout! I had heard of this show and had meant to watch it a while back but never got around to it. I'll give it another look.
Thanks Chris! Number 1 and Number 8 seem to be vibing with a lot of people. Give it a watch! I think you'll enjoy it
Thanks for the recommendation--I'm excited about putting this show on my to-watch list!
My overall sentiment after reading your newsletter today is a sense of hope, which I haven't felt for quite some time. Your perspectives are refreshing!
Woooo! That's what I was hoping for! Thank you for your kind words :) I think that's exactly what the show imparted to me - so I think you'll enjoy it for those same reasons too
Never watched this show but thanks for the 10 lessons. I enjoy your writing Zan.
Thanks Tinashe! Give it a watch I think you'll like it :) So happy to hear you enjoy my writing :)
I see you there with the eggplant emoji 😅 And hey, now I've got something to watch after I'm done with Mr. & Mrs. Smith!
Ahaha eggplant emoji is the one 😂 - yes give it a watch! I think you'll love it! Ahhh this makes me want to rewatch Mr & Mrs Smith - haven't seen it in years! Great film
It was a great movie! Donald Glover *just* came out with a limited-series version/update of it, which is the one I'm tuning into.
Oh damn I didn't know that! I love Donald Glover so I'll definitely be giving this a watch and I'll let you know what I think :)
Please do! 👀
Classic tune and wonderful post!
Thanks Will! Embarrassingly I only came across this song through the show, but it's been on loop on my phone for a few days now 😂
That one always take me back!!! Happy it’s still meeting new ears haha