#47 / The World Is Not Just A Circus
Hello my friend! 👋
Lately, a lot of folks have been saying “the world is just winging it,” implying that institutions and corporations, though they look impressive and complicated, often don’t solve practical problems effectively and are pretty makeshift underneath. While there’s some truth to that, it’s only a tiny slice of the bigger picture.
Think of the world as a super complex, constantly changing system, way more complex than any of us can fully grasp. Picture a finely crafted mechanical watch. Crack it open, and inside you’ll find an intricate dance of gears and springs. Now imagine the world as a mesh of countless systems like that watch, always evolving, with new parts coming in and old parts fading away. As individuals, we’re like someone using a flashlight in the dark, catching just a glimpse of what’s around us.
Our main tools for making sense of it all are our brains–light enough to ship to aliens in a tin can if we had to–and our limited ability to handle information. Our senses–sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch–are all we’ve got to pick up clues from the world around us. We don’t share a collective brain; sharing what we know is limited to these basic senses. This limitation naturally makes it hard for us to get the full picture. That’s why stories work so well to help us understand our world; they draw us in and simplify things to a level we can manage.
Sometimes, a straightforward idea is enough to crack a problem. Other times, you need a whole system in place. The idea that “the world is just winging it” points out how we humans can get overwhelmed by the complexity of what we create.
Here’s my take: First, recognize and accept the limitations and complexities of the world. Second, don’t think simplifying things is the only way to understand them. While breaking things down and labeling them can help, it’s not the only approach. And third, value different perspectives–even those that clash with your own–because they’re crucial for broadening our understanding.
Here’re a few things I’d like to share with you today 🙂
Learn to deal with failure via sports
Tokyo’s Downsized Dwelling
Can’t finish a movie in one night
Why I Chose Dall-E 3 Over Mid-Journey for AI Image Creation
Learn to deal with failure via sports
Over the weekend, I had a chat with a buddy about sports for kids, and he shared a perspective that really stuck with me: Beyond just keeping kids fit, sports play a crucial role in teaching them how to handle failure.
In a lot of Western education, where encouragement is the name of the game and success and praise are almost expected, encountering failure can be a real shock. Life’s gonna throw failures your way no matter how hard you hustle, and there are just things beyond our control.
Sports, especially competitive ones, are great for learning how to face those setbacks, adjust your attitude, and just accept them.
My daughter’s into Netball, and though some parents can get pretty hung up on whether their kids win or lose, the coaches and the kids focus more on personal improvement and progress. That, to me, is key.
Tokyo’s Downsized Dwelling
“Tokyo’s Downsized Dwelling” is a collection of essays by Yoshii Shinobu, a Japanese writer excellents in Chinese (this book was written in Chinese). The book tells the story of her life in a tiny eight-square-meter room in Tokyo after moving back from Beijing post-divorce. Its theme, “Your smallness is no issue because the world outside is vast enough,” resonates deeply. Living in such a cramped space, with rent and utilities costing less than two thousand RMB(300 dollars) a month (in Tokyo 😲), gave the author significant financial freedom to explore the world beyond her tiny confines.
The book captures various life aspects, including how to live, cook, read in her room, bathe at public bathhouses, and dine out in such a limited space. I appreciate her exploration of the outside world and interactions with the people she meets, maintaining a warm yet respectfully distanced relationship, a trait very much in line with Japanese culture. This emphasis on “weak ties” with others–neither too close nor too distant but warm and inspiring–is similar to the theme of my favorite game, “Death Stranding.”
The real-life stories of the tea shop owner, the bathhouse lady, and others she shares are the book’s most touching parts, showcasing human warmth. Additionally, the book reflects on the author’s lifestyle as a divorced, 40-year-old woman living unconventionally without a regular office job. In some mainstream settings, this might be seen as atypical, but I find such a life enviable for the vast opportunities it presents to explore the world. Living in a diverse city like Tokyo, where different lifestyles are accommodated, epitomizes the saying, “The city makes life better.” This highlights the charm of developed cities–catering to varied individual lives.
It also reminds me that even in a small living space, it’s crucial to maintain some form of connection with the outside world. Whether through communities, a few good friends, or participating in activities, the author’s approach of keeping a healthy distance from strangers is a lesson worth learning.
By opening up and engaging with the world outside, one can live in a small space without confining their heart to it.
Can’t finish a movie in one night
It took me almost a week to finish watching “Oppenheimer.” I have a good memory, but I’ve noticed that for films with intricate plots and foreshadowing, it’s best to watch them uninterrupted in a movie theater setting. I really admire Hideo Kojima’s habit, which he developed under his father’s influence: watching a movie every night without going to sleep until it’s finished. I think this habit might be how he maintains his creativity while being highly active on social media. But I can’t understand how he manages his energy.
Why I Chose Dall-E 3 Over Mid-Journey for AI Image Creation
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Lately, I’ve been leaning more towards OpenAI’s Dall-E 3 for its speed and convenience over mid-journey, making it my go-to tool. I’ve decided to put my mid-journey on hold and cancel my membership. I’ve benefited from a particularly useful prompt I picked up from various sources, including Gumroad.
I’ve been using a prompt generator to experiment with different ideas and create prompts suitable for both Dall-E and mid-journey. However, I’m planning to concentrate on Dall-E moving forward, as it’s proven to be more efficient in generating the AI images I need.
Have a great one and see you soon!
**Bear Academy Newsletter@2023**
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