The Map is Not the Territory
I was curious about the origin of the phrase, “the map is not the territory” so decided to do some searching and found this:
The phrase “a map is not the territory” is identified with the philosopher of science Alfred Korzybski and his 1931 lecture at an American Mathematical Society meeting.
In both of its prominent meanings (philosophical and practical) this is certainly an ancient idea. In fact, it sounds like an inevitable Roman maxim.
The Quiet American by Graham Greene
This book was a quick read and I would not hesitate to recommend it as a well-written novel. I deserved some fiction after enduring Wendell Berry’s work. I had not heard of this book before and was led to it by Clifford Lee Sargent from his YouTube channel, Better Than Food.
Evening with Friends
An evening with friends at Bonge’s Tavern
Good Advice, Good Framework
This is good advice for considering the next thing in your life.
Will this enlarge me or diminish me? by Austin Kleon
(Consider subscribing to Austin Kleon’s weekly newsletter if you are not already)
In Awe of the Legendary James Brown
Main Bedroom TV Hole Project
We are now nine years into this house as of last month. In our main bedroom, there is a vaulted ceiling, but one of the delightfully odd features of the ceiling was a cut out for a television. It was angled perfectly for a standard box tube television like you would find in the last century. For the modern flat television, this was entirely impractical, not unlike the telephone line jack right next to the toilet I had removed long ago.
Office Lighting Project
I had recently switched rooms in the basement for my office. It is important to have a place where I can spend an inhumane amount of time on Zoom calls as I work from home. Since the basement has no natural light, it means I must get the lighting just right to light up my face, not cast too many shadows, not reflect in my glasses, and not make me look any worse than I already do.
Record Player Update
Last week I turned on my record player, phono pre-amp, and speaker amp when I ran into problems. The speaker amp turned on, made a popping noise, and then stopped working. I did a quick look online and found that though not common, this was a death sentence for my particular model.
I started some research on replacement amps. I’m not opposed to spending a little bit more to get a good quality amp.
Relax into the Run
Rebounding from my injury, I am learning to trust my own feet again. This combined with re-integrating minimal shoes has been figuring out how to walk and run again. What I mean by “minimal shoes” is a shoe with zero support, zero drop in soles, and little padding between you and the ground. My running shoes have been minimal for eight months and have been broken in and working out great.
Technological Determinism
Our humanity seems driven by endless technological innovation. We seem to think that the solution to all of our problems will be born of future technology and do not consider that the source of our problems is also technology. We seem predisposed to a full-throttle consumption and expansion of every technological innovation. Much of our economy is predicated on large bets to create billionaires out of an idea without a market.