Persoonlijke reflecties door Niek de Greef over cultuur, politiek, media en maatschappij. Doorleefde essays over het hedendaagse leven.
I found a scribble in one of my 2019 notebooks:
The Problem with Photography:
What do I consider a good photograph:
A still moment, taken out of context. Good photos leave a lot of room for interpretation. That’s why I don’t think it’s necessary to add date and location to a photo. I like images for the image, not for documentation.
Instagram leaves no time for interpretation. Next photo …
How interesting and urgent doing the dishes becomes when you are about to start a creative activity. My mind is highly creative in inventing urgent things before difficult things.
I guess it’s that thing called Resistance.
How often can you hesitate posting something? One other such thing. Good enough is good enough. And here it is.
This response from Nick Cave to a question form a reader of his blog is so beautiful.
David Lynch hosts a great channel on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/c/DAVIDLYNCHTHEATER
He makes a wooden iPhone stand. Closes with the remark that you can buy such a thing online as well. And that it is even better. But it is so much fun to make.
The Checking Stick is also wonderful.
We are tempted to only read new books. Books on the NY Times best seller list, if you are American.
But consider reading old books. Books that have been around for some time. That have proven their value and are still being recommended.
Not necessarily Greek Philosophers, but also books like Moby Dick (from 1851), One Hundred years of Solitude (1967), Catcher in the Rye (1945), Catch-22 (1961), Alice in Wonderland (1862), The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968), Meditations (ok that’s old – 170-180 AD), Gödel, Escher, Bach (1979), On Writing (2000), Maus (written 1980-1991), Antifragile (2012).
On Antifragile, the approach to read old books probably much aligns with Nassim Taleb’s conviction to prefer grandmother’s wisdom over the opinions of self-appointed intelligentia. And also take the Lindy effect into account, and you are ensured you can enjoy the read much longer.
… genius isn’t the result of the great men that Carlyle proposed. Instead, the genius stands atop the shoulders of those that came before, whose small incremental advances led to the genius’ breakthrough.
…
It’s not brilliance, it’s simply progress “obtained naturally and cumulatively as a consequence of hard work, directed by intuition, literature, and a bit of luck.”
Taylor Pearson wrote a great article on the limits and dangers of rationalizing complex phenomena, and the opportunities of illegible ‘fat tail’ margins.
Some other gold nuggets in the article:
Reminder to self. Push this one thing, every day. At least once every day. Do this year after year. Long form, short form, that does not matter. It is the consistency that builds the thing.
