February 2022

This Week on the Lindy Newsletter

I write about why our obsessive focus on discipline and motivation is a big mistake. People like to sell you discipline and motivation on social media. But they leave out a critical element. Structure your environment not your self-control. Discipline and motivation are short-term strategies, not lifelong goals. Nature is laughing at you. You adapt to your surroundings. Discipline is the modern solipsism of our times.

There is even a deeper problem with discipline:

1) It assumes you know what to do, when to do it, and how to go about it.

2) It shuts down signals

Weekend Reads

How much money is enough for you? Some people say if you have enough money to pay your bills, with a lifestyle that works for you, that is enough. Because we all live in different places, have different families, different desires and goals. Other people say they want enough money that they don't want to work anymore.

The answer varies per person. But this standard seems like a decent measure.

Many modern buildings put up today seem uglier then traditional ones around them. Some say this is because we’ve torn down the ugly old buildings, and only see the survivors. Are they right?/

A great thread on how you can differentiate whether you are in your aerobic or anaerobic state by your breathing. Here is a longer treatment on the benefits of Zone 2 training.

As remote and hybrid work environments become the norm there will probably be changes in how we interact. One study found out that people were less willing to help out their co-workers over Zoom than in-person.

I stay away from politics on Twitter. It's too toxic and weird. There's a new study that reports that as people tweet more about the politics, their tweets also become more hateful, toxic and negative over time. Twitter is not hostile because the platform democratizes access to politics. Rather, it is because engaged, efficacious & educated individuals, polarized by current politics, use Twitter to spew hate from their privileged network positions, for everyone to see.

There was a new study that Simon Dedeo has a commentary on that argues that language has become much more emotional.

Bicycle riding has become really popular lately. But I could never ride a bike on the street. That small strip of white paint is what separates you from injury and death. Besides, Too many f’in crazy distracted, negligent, lunatic drivers.

I wonder how bicyclists and self-driving cars will mix on the road?

A lovely piece on social norming, increased sales and the shopping trolley from @rorysutherland. There a similar example of the escalators on the tube in London

Chris Arnade walks Kiev

Music