Tips for improving your AI-monitoring intuitions, intellectual endurance, and grasp of power-brokering institutions. Also: neat parasitic worms, a military history book club, & Bronze Age Collapse.
Thanks for sharing the wonderful review by John Psmith! I loved reading it. :) You may have shared this before, but what are your other top five newsletters?
"newsletter" is probably the wrong word, but I love "A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry" by Bret Devereaux, Matt Lakeman's travel blog, Ilona Andrews' blog, Matt Levine's "Money Stuff" newsletter, and The Pragmatic Engineer by Gergely Orosz (which is the only one of those on Substack).
I'm confused by the Tyler Cowen post, I looked into the sheet, and most people there haven't done much after getting the grant (e.g. a filmaker that has 1 short in the last 6 years or so, people who got it for writing online who haven't updated their blogs in years), and a lot of the awardees haven't yet been particularly groundbreaking (not saying that they won't ever be, but just that it can't count for his ability to predict success if they haven't been successful yet)
Apologies, I didn't really like 1177 BC, so didn't read it fully, nor did I keep up with your discussions about it. My sense is that you weren't really that impressed, either.
Is your impression of the February book more positive?
1177 BC picked up around chapter 5, but the rest felt like a beginner's intro to stuff I already knew. The February book (The Scythian Empire) is deeply weird and is clearly written by a guy with a pet theory and no fucks to give for his scholarly reputation, but it's fun to discuss in Discord.
It's entirely possible that you recommended this at some point, but I am reading a fascinating book: The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen. https://roland-allen.com/
It isn't exactly in line with the kinds of histories you seem to love the most, but I still think you would enjoy it.
I don’t thiink I’ve ever heard of it, so it probably wasn’t me, but I’m curious enough to pick it up. Do you think it works ok as an epub or should I definitely get the hardcopy?
There are some nice illustrations that I have found a little hard to appreciate in my Kindle copy, so I have had to go off in my Web browser and look up things like some of the examples of the art, where it is available. I'm thinking about going to the bookshop and buying the hardcopy, too.
It's certainly readable, but it has graphics that I think would be better in a printed book.
I also called my local bookstore this afternoon and asked them to order a copy (they said they had it in stock at one point). They're also ordering "We Need Your Art: Stop Messing Around and Make Something" by Amie McNee. It isn't history at all, but I am trying to start making creative marks on paper again, and this seems encouraging.
Thanks for sharing the wonderful review by John Psmith! I loved reading it. :) You may have shared this before, but what are your other top five newsletters?
"newsletter" is probably the wrong word, but I love "A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry" by Bret Devereaux, Matt Lakeman's travel blog, Ilona Andrews' blog, Matt Levine's "Money Stuff" newsletter, and The Pragmatic Engineer by Gergely Orosz (which is the only one of those on Substack).
I'm confused by the Tyler Cowen post, I looked into the sheet, and most people there haven't done much after getting the grant (e.g. a filmaker that has 1 short in the last 6 years or so, people who got it for writing online who haven't updated their blogs in years), and a lot of the awardees haven't yet been particularly groundbreaking (not saying that they won't ever be, but just that it can't count for his ability to predict success if they haven't been successful yet)
My general idea is that he's historically had success and this new thing he's doing shows promise.
Apologies, I didn't really like 1177 BC, so didn't read it fully, nor did I keep up with your discussions about it. My sense is that you weren't really that impressed, either.
Is your impression of the February book more positive?
1177 BC picked up around chapter 5, but the rest felt like a beginner's intro to stuff I already knew. The February book (The Scythian Empire) is deeply weird and is clearly written by a guy with a pet theory and no fucks to give for his scholarly reputation, but it's fun to discuss in Discord.
It's entirely possible that you recommended this at some point, but I am reading a fascinating book: The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen. https://roland-allen.com/
It isn't exactly in line with the kinds of histories you seem to love the most, but I still think you would enjoy it.
I don’t thiink I’ve ever heard of it, so it probably wasn’t me, but I’m curious enough to pick it up. Do you think it works ok as an epub or should I definitely get the hardcopy?
There are some nice illustrations that I have found a little hard to appreciate in my Kindle copy, so I have had to go off in my Web browser and look up things like some of the examples of the art, where it is available. I'm thinking about going to the bookshop and buying the hardcopy, too.
It's certainly readable, but it has graphics that I think would be better in a printed book.
thanks! I bought it.
I also called my local bookstore this afternoon and asked them to order a copy (they said they had it in stock at one point). They're also ordering "We Need Your Art: Stop Messing Around and Make Something" by Amie McNee. It isn't history at all, but I am trying to start making creative marks on paper again, and this seems encouraging.