Interest is everything Each time I sit down to choose a topic for this newsletter, there’s a moment when my self-important inner judge – who loves to involve himself in such mat...
The Imperfectionist: Interest is everything
Interest is everything Each time I sit down to choose a topic for this newsletter, there’s a moment when my self-important inner judge – who loves to involve himself in such mat...
People Who Have “Too Many Interests” Are More Likely To Be Successful According To Research
Author’s Note: This article was written over 60 hours with love and care using the blockbuster mental model. If you like my writing style…
The Imperfectionist: Navigating by aliveness
I’m amazed and very pleased to say that the UK paperback of Meditations for Mortals entered the Sunday Times bestsellers at number 9 this week, after being selected as a Waterst...
Attraction - LGBTQIA+ Wiki
Attraction describes a feeling of interest or desire towards a particular individual. Feelings of interest or desire which are not directed at a particular individual...
A revolution in our sense of self | Nick Chater
Psychologists have tried to plumb the depths of human motivation to make sense of our behaviour. But our inner mental world is a fiction, sustained by constant improvisation
Having a Growth Mindset Makes It Easier to Develop New Interests
Much innovation happens when people combine knowledge from different disciplines. But some people are more likely to reach outside of their areas of interest and expertise than others. Researchers investigated why by studying people’s “mindsets” about interest and their impact. They found people vary — some people lean more toward the view that interests are inherent in a person, simply waiting to be awakened or found (a fixed mindset of interest). Others lean more toward the view that interests can be developed and that, with commitment and investment, they can grow over time (a growth mindset of interest). They reasoned that these mindsets might affect how open people are to new or different interests, whether they be in arts, science, business, athletics, or other areas. In studies, they found that students with a stronger growth mindset reported being more open to areas outside of their interests than those with a stronger fixed mindset. Their research also suggests that a growth mindset may promote resilience in maintaining interest when a subject becomes challenging and that a growth mindset may be cultivated.
The Buffett Formula: Going to Bed Smarter Than When You Woke Up
Learn how Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger turn curiosity into insight. Discover how interest-driven learning builds understanding and reveals hidden opportunities.
The revolt of the reader | The Observation Deck
Reading is important to me. While I’m not a quick reader nor an especially voracious one, I have found that long-form reading has had a profound influence on me over my life. And because reading is important to me, writing is too: writing not only allows us to convey our ideas, but the very act forces us to test and distill them — at once making our ideas more robust while providing the vehicle by which to share them.
Almost anything you give sustained attention to will begin to loop on itself and bloom
When people talk about the value of paying attention and slowing down, they often make it sound prudish and monk-like. But we shouldn’t forget how interesting and overpoweringly pleasurable sustained attention can be.
The Four-Phase Model of Interest Development
Building on and extending existing research, this article proposes a 4-phase model of interest development. The model describes 4 phases in the development and deepening of learner interest: trigg...
The attention market—and what is wrong with it
Attention is described as a “scarce commodity” that is traded in “a marketplace.” This, it is further claimed, contributes to a “widespread sense of attentional crisis.” But is there really an attention market, and if so, what, if anything, is wrong with it? We defend the claim that there are markets in attention. We provide an account of such attention markets and use that account to address what is morally wrong with them. Our account draws on knowledge of how attention works and what roles it plays in the mind. The attention market trades in an ability to influence our attention – somewhat (though not exactly) like the labor market trades in an ability to influence how we use our capacity for work. Specifically, the commodity it trades in is attentional landscaping potential, viz. the ability to systematically influence patterns of attention by changes to the sensory environment individuals are exposed to. Attention markets thus, we argue, commodify influence over a human capacity that plays a central role in shaping individual experience, agency, and belief formation. This feature of attention markets makes them ethically problematic. As markets in access to external influence, attention markets pose a special threat to individual autonomy and escape the classical liberal defense of free markets. Those who value autonomy should worry about the attention markets that exist today.
Intrinsic Motivation: A deep dive
I dig into the research on intrinsic motivation. Super interesting subject. Long but hopefully quite thorough.
Impact, agency, and taste
understand + work backwards from the root goal • don’t rely too much on permission or encouragement • make success inevitable • find your angle • think real hard • reflect on your thinking
Untangling Self-Observation From Self-Reflection
When self-observation and self-reflection are confused, awareness blurs. Untangling them—and adding agency—reveals a clear path from noticing to meaning to action.
Expecting researcher taste and judgement to become increasingly valuable (this is from Anthropic's Opus 5.5 system card) anthropic.com/claude-opus-5-5-system-card
