Gavin Slo > Recent Status Updates

Finished chapters 1-3- how the fuck could this have been published in 1969? And supposedly it was being written for a long while before that- all the humor is still so potent and sharp. The book hopping all over the place is certainly jarring, but very unique in that it's kind of mimicking what the main character experiences. I'm excited to see what ends up with the war story, aliens, and Billy in general

Read through ch5. Not sure if I'll finish it in the time that I need to, or even how Sanderson intends to pad the rest of this book (I've never read something this long), but it's really starting to pick up after that first true fight scene. It kinda just throws you into the world which was a bit jarring, but the magic system w the metals might be cooler than Tress, albeit less whimsically written. So vivid and cool

Finished the rest, from Confucius to Don Quixote. If You Love, The Best Thing in the World, Rabbits, Bingo, Marie's BF, Pick a Lane, Being Right, Never Fall in Love, Biggest Rip-Off, Labor Day, Kate Moss, Fine Line, Inflatable Women, Rome, & Love Poem all had aspects I liked. Strange News, Constructive Criticism, & The Bravest Thing I really liked- very funny. But the closer, despite its length, & the rest, were weak

Read from the comedian one through Great Writers Steal. I really enjoyed the one about the alcoholic, Willie- some interesting bits on friends becoming social media representations & karma. The rest were okay- I liked parts of Chris Hansen being at the Justin Bieber concert, Wikipedia Brown, & Great Writers Steal. Many shock endings- don't know if it's bad & repetitive or just a facet of Novak's style.

Read MONSTER through Johnny Depp. The ending of MONSTER is pretty weird, but I like the story as a whole- & the Kellogg's one is long but very good- I like the 5th graders talking like adults. The ones on pictures of food, nickels, the train problem, being young, and closure were all alright. I like how Arush appeared again. The ones on carrot cake & Johnny Depp were good, albeit brief, but I didn't care for Elvis

Ch7 & conclusion. The gap in our interests & the attention economy's, & advice for not getting taken advantage of: delete social media from your phone, turn your devices into single-use machines by disconnecting from the internet & using blockers, using social media w/ filtering tools to filter the noise, consuming slow media (intentional, long-form, well-crafted), & making your phone dumber. Morse, intentional

*Ch6 is meaty asf, leisure. Fulfilling lives require leisure time that involves creation/art, tiring hands on work, & cognitive effort. Mindless consumption is the antithesis of this. Video games can never replace board/card games- too little social bandwidth. Structured real world social interactions are crucial. Pick up a hobby, craft, schedule your downtime (including apps), join a club, make weekly/seasonal plans

Ch5, connection vs conversation. Real conv is meaningful & required for mental health- it involves picking up on rich social cues that our brains were designed to do. Conn is digital, & social media, texts, calls, & even video calls won't fill that void- & it'll replace of the more important conv. Put your phone on dnd so only emergencies go thru, don't like or comment, & set up office hours for ppl to call/meet you

Ch4, solitude. Time to think without influence from other minds is very valuable to our mental health, creativity, & intelligence, & is increasingly difficult to come by. You can be listening to something all day, or impulsively check your phone to take you out the moment. 3 things: start leaving your phone behind (even if you just leave it in the glovebox of your car), regularly go on walks alone, & JOURNAL

Ch3, end of pt1. The digital declutter: basically take a 30 day break from optional technologies that don't impact your work life. Rediscover what you're truly passionate about, and determine whether or not the technologies serve your values. If they do, ask if they do it in the best way- if they do, optimize them, if they don't, find something better to serve that purpose. Amish

Ch2, looking from the ground up to determine what technologies actually add more benefit than they subtract from your life, like the Amish & the Mennonites. Digital clutter often mitigates any benefits we'd gain from these technologies in isolation, we need to determine & optimize not just what we use but how we use it, & it feels good to use technology intentionally as opposed to automatically. Diminishing returns

Intro & ch1- social media & modern technology weren’t invented to be harmful, & they have their uses- but at this point they’re carefully funded & designed to automate human behavior. They utilize unpredictable rewards in the form of notifications just when you’re losing interest, & our innate desire to maintain social status & have our “tribe” like us. The bit about tags was rly interesting

Ch8, death. The ultimate fear, but fearing it doesn't make sense. It's inevitable, we cant feel it, you don't worry about the emptiness before your life, & in an attempt to avoid it, we pursue often ego-driven immortality projects that can cause good things, but also war. We should regularly confront death to remind ourselves that life is finite & make the most of our time, like the Mexicans. He lists an exercise

Ch7, failure. Museum of failed products seems interesting- most brands don't hold onto their failures & go there to see their own. You obviously need to embrace failure for success, but there are plenty who did that & never succeeded (survivorship bias). Europe celebrates failure, America doesn't. Failure is grounding, honest, & healthy- just an indicator you're not there yet. Success is delusional & uptight

Ch6, trying to chase security makes us feel insecure & unhappy- there is no end. We isolate ourselves, reinforce the ego, & attempt to shut out change in a world that is constantly changing & unstable. African slums seem to be the most happy & secure feeling, whereas the most developed countries are the opposite- it's an inverse relationship. Accept that change is not just inevitable but fundamental to life. Quantumm

Ch5, sense of self, which is intrinsically a recipe for unhappiness. Bits about descartes getting things "completely backwards" according to eckhart tolle, the ego being dependent on compulsive thinking & drama & the future rather than the present, more emphasis on merely observing your thoughts. People are happier to do things that help others than themselves. The line between self and other is impossible to define

Ch4, one year a bunch of businessmen who set out to climb Everest died bc they connected the goal to their identity & disregarded the signs- bad conditions only encouraged them more. Some goals are wiser than others, but to prioritize one thing means to sacrifice others, & most successful entrepreneurs just go with the flow & do what they can w their current means instead of trying to force anything.

Ch3, meditation & shit. I especially struggle with acknowledging my thoughts on a regular basis rn, but it seems pretty invaluable to be able to slow down, observe your thoughts non-judgmentally, & detach from them. Good science behind it too- & most anti-procrastination advise is bad cause it reinforces that you need to feel motivated to work, which you don't- you just need to do it. Concrete goals, consistent work

Ch2, recap on stoicism. Positive thinking & visualization leads us to put less effort in because we've already convinced ourselves that things are fine- we need to confront the bad directly, & when we do, we see that things aren't so bad at all. Suggesting a person's fear is unlikely only amplifies it. He gives 2 stoic exercises- saying which stop a train is at aloud, & acting like a lunatic/asking what year it is

Ch1, try not to think of a polar bear & you'll think of one. Trying to calm yourself down will freak you out more, and trying to be happy will place more emphasis on how you're not happy- especially cause we're always looking for things that affirm our sense of self, & things like affirmations make us aware of the gap between what we tell ourselves & who we are. Pessimism is often as healthy & productive as optimism

Read up to The Ambulance Driver- they're all very funny and entertaining so far. I think a lot of books feel very meticulous, so it's a breath of fresh air to read something written in such a tangential way. Loved the one about dark matter, the girl who gives great advice, and the ambulance driver- esp bc the girl shows up in the ambulance driver story. I just hope Novak's shtick doesn't get too repetitive by the end

To the end, kind of a grand retelling of that final race with the Tarahumara and Caballo Blanco's backstory

Been enraptured by this book. A lot of storytelling, insight on chia, pinole, Leadville, Tarahumara effortlessly dusting ultramarathon runners at the finish line, interesting characters, huaraches, biomechanics of running, and evidence that humans survived being able to run long distances while hunting based on our breathing abilities, foot structure, weight distribution, etc. Also, 50yos compete w YAs & veganism?

Ch1-2. Pretty interesting setup- there’s different Hells, & the one our main character ends up in is finding a book about your life infinite monkey theorem style. There’s amenities, food kiosks, no rules, & virtually endless books. Our Mormon main character tries coffee, runs away, comes back, finds new love- everybody’s young and healthy again. They have impeccable memory. Seems treacherous

Ch1-4- an introduction to the Tarahumara tribe in Mexico, who will run more than ultramarathoners for days & not get injured. They are incredibly difficult to find in the mountain, & in spite of their underdeveloped shoes & diet of corn beer, they run like superhumans. They are simultaneously the toughest & most gentle ppl- the men are too bashful while sober to get romantic w their wives. How do they not get injured

Ch5&6, they all eat the beef, another strange hare that disappears, Maddy is sleepwalking so Easton returns her to her room. There's no stars in the sky, but there's something that resembles stars in the lake. Bioluminescent algae? Then it's Denton out at night, so they exchange dreams/nightmares they've had in the house, then Maddy's sleepwalking again but really far gone, & she's shedding in her bed. Cool

Ch22 & the last words. There's a study that shows more long-term effects, and amongst the things I find most interesting are the super low frequency of bad trips (in proper set & setting) & how nearly all effects seem more noticeable a year after the trip than in the first few months. Then more blabber about how scheduling held back research & made these drugs less safe, & a final message to be open & help humanity

Ch21, long term changes form LSD & mescaline sessions. Decreased anxiety, increased satisfaction & positive emotionality in relationships, better work performance (primarily for productive than financial reasons), more memorable, vivid, & enjoyable dreams, more activity, less fear, more creative expression & religious tolerance, better sex, more self confidence, positive style, dietary, & drinking changes, etc.

Ch20, 2 ayahuasca reports & one from those hallucinating darkness retreats. The realizations from the first guy on the oneness of good & evil, perseverance, & the constant presence of love for everybody sounded really interesting, and his visions seemed to be so vivid & detailed. But the girl from the darkness retreat I think did a poor job wording her experience, it sounded not beneficial & maybe even harmful

Ch18&19, ending pt4 & starting pt5. Where psych research is today & can go from now, which it's kinda crazy seeing how there's been no continuation of the AA studies considering how promising those seemed, and then a recap of the guidelines for entheogenic trips from ch1-2. Prepare, be open, pick out good music, have a cozy environment, try to get outside, and integrate seem to be the most important. Have a sitter ig