Idea Surplus Disorder #60

Good morning, and welcome to another Idea Surplus Disorder.

In this edition: SuperCollider, hello pages, advice for living, culture bribing, playful workspaces, gray swans, fables, parables, wire photos, and more.

I'm Matt Homann, and I'm glad you're here!

SuperCollider is May 3rd

Our first public SuperCollider is Friday, May 3rd, in Cortex.

SuperCollider is a team-focused experience that combines learning, co-working, collaboration, and giving back.

You can sign up here.

Ideas + Insights

Kevin Kelly shares 101 more bits of advice for living. Here are my ten favorites – and it was hard to choose just these:

• The best way to criticize something is to make something better.
• Whenever you hug someone, be the last to let go.
• Read a lot of history so you can understand how weird the past was; that way you will be comfortable with how weird the future will be.
• You owe everyone a second chance, but not a third.
• When someone texts you they are running late, double the time they give you. If they say they’ll be there in 5, make that 10; if 10, it’ll be 20; if 20, count on 40.
• Most arguments are not really about the argument, so most arguments can’t be won by arguing.
• You have 5 minutes to act on a new idea before it disappears from your mind.
• The patience you need for big things, is developed by your patience with the little things.
• The most common mistake we make is to do a great job on an unimportant task.
• If you are more fortunate than others, build a longer table rather than a taller fence.

Want to build a better in-person culture? Try this:

The CEO of $3.5b security company, Verkada, is letting employees expense up to $30 in food & drinks if they go out together after 3PM in groups of three or more.

You've probably heard of "Black Swan" events, but what about Gray Swan ones?

Unlikely but knowable key factors, events and developments, capable of being evaluated and validated in advance, with impacts that could positively and/or negatively shake up the world.

Here's something on my todo list: create a "hello" page that tells others where you spend your time online and how to best reach you:

What if I created a single page on my website, and just listed the ways that I prefer to keep in touch and why? A kind of 'rules of engagement'. That way, anyone could get in touch with me, and vice versa, without needing to rely on algorithms, or guesswork as to which platform would be best.

The Dictionary of Fine Distinctions looks like a fun read. Here's the difference between a parable and a fable:

A parable is a brief tale with a moral lesson. A fable is a brief tale with a moral lesson—plus animals.

When asked to fix something, why don't we start by taking something away?

People have no problems remembering to add things even without any prompting. So they collected a bit of data on people's tendencies in this regard. They found that additive solutions were far more common than subtractive ones. For example, when an incoming university president solicited ideas for improvements, only 11 percent involved getting rid of something. In an experiment that involved making patterns out of colored squares, only 20 percent of the participants removed squares in order to achieve a pattern, even though either option was equally viable.

And so on it went. When asked to improve a travel itinerary, only 28 percent of the participants did so by eliminating destinations. Essay improvements led to an increase in word counts in all but 17 percent of the cases. People just didn't tend to take things away in a huge range of contexts.

The demise of the "playful" workspace.

And how might you predict them? Try CIPHER:

• Contradictions: devolopments and examples that demonstrate opposing and incongruous forces at play simultaneously
• Inflections: occurrences, pivots and triggers that mark a major turning point or new paradigm
• Practices: emerging behaviours, uses and values that are becoming more pronounced or gaining popularity
• Hacks: invented, unintended thinking and uses for tools, technologies and systems from the edge and the fringe
• Extremes: instances of technologies, models or ideas being pushed to new limits that might change their nature
• Rarities: Highly unlikely, unexpected or generational events, phenomena and key factors

I love this list of five things to do every day:

1. Sweat: Get some type of workout in.
2. Connect: Catch up with a friend, family member, or colleague. This is a real-time conversation where you hear their voice.
3. Grow: Learn something new. Do this by listening to a podcast or audiobook on your commute or during your workout, reading a book or newsletter, learning something on YouTube, taking an online course, etc.
4. No Tech: Unplug to recharge. At minimum, give yourself 15 minutes without any technology, notifications, or audio in your ear. You can go for a walk in nature, meditate, journal, etc. Just no tech.
5. Finish: Make meaningful progress on something personal or professional. It could be finishing a draft of a sales proposal, pressing publish on a blog post, organizing the closet, washing the car, or booking a reservation for date night.

Fun Finds

• The nine levels of pickpocketing.
• PamPam is a fun, AI-powered map-making tool.
• How photos were transmitted "by wire" in 1937.
• Choose the type of "noise" you'd like to study/read/work to.
• Same Energy is like the NYT's Connections, but with photos.

Words Of Wisdom

“The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that is has taken place” – George Bernhard Shaw

"Sadness will not kill you. Depression won’t, either. But fighting it will. Ignoring it will." — Brianna Wiest

"Whatever seed you are, bloom." – Atticus

"If you're trying to choose between two theories and one gives you an excuse for being lazy, the other one is probably right." – Paul Graham

"Because people are very careful with the secrets of their own business doesn’t mean that they’ll be careful with the secrets of yours." – Ian Flemming

"If your workspace has a hole exactly the size of a creative idea in it, you’re more likely to fill the hole." – Seth Godin

"The highest form of wealth is deciding you have enough." – Kevin Kelly

“What matters isn’t being applauded when you arrive—for that is common—but being missed when you leave.” — Baltasar Gracián

“Risk is what’s left over after you think you’ve thought of everything.” – Carl Richards