Browsing Category Enthusiasms

TTE82 – Objectivity, Optimism and One of The Best Bands Ever

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Eugenia Zelaya

Photo courtesy of Rachel Docherty and Flickr

It’s enthusiasm time again. Let me know what you think via twitterat @JamieSmartCom, on my Facebook page, or in the comments below.

1. A quote I’m resonating with this week
This week’s quote comes from polymath Howard Bloom, author of the astonishingly brilliant book The Lucifer Principle.

“Sociological researchers maintain a mask of objectivity. But… when students in these movements report facts
that contradict the tenets of their group’s creed, they are… punished for their heresy. …forcing them “to leave the movement.”
A similar mechanism of repression is at work in every scientific discipline that I know.” Read More →

TTE81 – Creativity, Time and Celestial Mechanics

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Eugenia Zelaya

Photo courtesy of Logan Ingalls and Flickr

It’s enthusiasm time again. Let me know what you think via twitter at @JamieSmartCom, on my Facebook page, or in the comments below.

1. A quote I’m resonating with this week
This one comes from David Krakauer, Professor of Complex Systems at the Santa Fe Institute (I heard Sam Harris interviewing him on the Waking Up podcast). It struck me that his point about celestial mechanics is what we’re on the verge of with psychology today:

“Before Kepler revolutionized our understanding of celestial mechanics, we had armillary spheres with all these epicycles and deferents explaining—incorrectly—the circular motion of a celestial mass. It took a while for us to realize that there was a very compact, elegant way of describing them. And it could be that for many complex phenomena, there is a very elegant, compact way of describing them. For many others, I don’t think that will be the case.” Read More →

TTE80 – Stones, Fighters and Flying

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Eugenia Zelaya

Photo courtesy of Flickr and Charles LeBlanc

It’s enthusiasm time again. Let me know what you think via twitter at @JamieSmartCom, on my Facebook page, or in the comments below.

1. A quote I’m resonating with this week
This one comes from the one and only Muhammad Ali…

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it.
Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion.” Read More →

TTE79 – Facebook, Forever and Freedom!

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Eugenia Zelaya

Holy moly! It’s enthusiasm time. Let me know what you think via twitter at @jamiesmartcom, on my Facebook page here, or in the comments below.

1. A quote I’m resonating with this week
This one comes from Byron Katie. She appears to be enlightened.

“As long as you think that the cause of your problem is “out there”
—as long as you think that anyone or anything is responsible for your suffering—
the situation is hopeless. It means that you are forever in the role of victim,
that you’re suffering in paradise.” Read More →

TTE78 – Identity, Fluency and Good Decisions

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Eugenia Zelaya

Photo courtesy of Enrique Buscapé and Flickr

Guess what – there’s still lots to be enthusiastic about. Let me know what you think via twitter at @jamiesmartcom, on my Facebook page here, or in the comments below.

1. A quote I’m resonating with this week
This is from an email comedian Louis C.K. sent to fans last week:

“. . . please remember that the turning over of one year to another is a mental construct that bears no more weight than the things that keep us apart and in competitive categories as human beings. Time is not moving. You’re not losing or gaining ground. You’re not separate from “them” any more than you’re separate from your own umbrella. It’s now, we’re us and this is here. If you’re in pain, this too shall pass. If you’re in luxury, this too shall pass. Ask an old lady how she’s doing. The internet is not real. Draw a picture on a napkin.” Read More →

TTE77 – Impact, Takeovers and Floating in Space

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Eugenia Zelaya

Photo courtesy of Rubén Moreno Montolíu and Flickr

In the lull before the New Year, I’m enthusiastic. Let me know what you think via twitter at @jamiesmartcom, on my Facebook page here, or in the comments below.

1. A quote I’m resonating with this week
I’m reading Bold by one of my heroes, Peter Diamandis. He points out that it’s never been easier to have an impact in the world,

“Today all of us can have an impact. The difference between having an impact and not having an impact is a decision.
It’s not resources, it’s not money. That’s all there. It’s a decision.” Read More →

TTE76 – Obstacles, Oscars and Instant Classics

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Eugenia Zelaya

Ho ho ho! Get yer enthusiasms out. Let me know what you think via twitter at @jamiesmartcom, on my Facebook page here, or in the comments below.

1. A quote I’m resonating with this week
I’m listening to Ryan Holiday’s audiobook, The Obstacle is the Way, and this quote jumped out at me:

“Today, most of our obstacles are internal, not external. Since World War II we have lived in some of the most prosperous times in history. There are fewer armies to face, fewer fatal diseases and far more safety nets. But the world still rarely does exactly what we want. Instead of opposing enemies, we have internal tension. We have professional frustration. We have unmet expectations. We have learned helplessness. And we still have the same overwhelming emotions humans have always had: grief, pain, loss.” Read More →

TTE75 – Iteration, Instagram and Bittersweet Beauty

Posted on December 15, 2016 by Eugenia Zelaya

Photo courtesy of Bernard Goldbach and Flickr

We’ve got enthusiasms galore! Let me know what you think via twitter at @jamiesmartcom, on my Facebook page here, or in the comments below.

1. A quote I’m resonating with this week
Ed Catmull is the president of Pixar animation, creator of some of the most innovative and popular animations in history (think Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc, Toy Story, Ratatouille etc.) Here’s what he says about Pixar’s iterative development process:

“Early on, all of our movies suck. That’s a blunt assessment, I know, but I… choose that phrasing because saying it in a softer way fails to convey how bad the first versions of our films really are. I’m not trying to be modest or self-effacing by saying this. Pixar films are not good at first, and our job is to make them go… from suck to non-suck. We are true believers in the iterative process – reworking, reworking and reworking again, until a flawed story finds its throughline or a hollow character finds its soul.” Read More →

TTE74 – Memes, Profanity, and a Massive Result

Posted on December 8, 2016 by Eugenia Zelaya

I’m lit from within. Let me know what you think via twitter at @jamiesmartcom, on my Facebook page here, or in the comments below.

1. A quote I’m resonating with this week
I don’t know where this is from, but I was talking about it with a good friend of mine last night, and it struck me afresh:

“What’s in the way, is the way.” Read More →

TTE73 – Trigger Words, Instagram and Shazam

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Eugenia Zelaya

I’m enthusing again. Let me know what you think via twitter at @jamiesmartcom, on my Facebook page here, or in the comments below.

1. A quote I’m resonating with this week
This week, I listened to a fascinating interview with Jordan Peterson, a clinical psychologist and a professor at the University of Toronto. Peterson is a somewhat controversial figure because of his views on a variety of subjects including “trigger words”, “safe spaces”, “gender pronouns” etc. Details of the interview are below, but here’s a quote that jumped out at me:

“You don’t make the world and its horrors smaller; you make the person and their capacity to deal with horror larger. You encourage them, you strengthen them. That’s what you do at a university. You arm people with arguments, you hone their intellect, you help them learn to write so they can martial their arguments. You help them learn how to engage in intellectual combat, because that’s better than engaging in real combat. You make them hard and strong. You don’t mollycoddle them and make them safe unless you’re their enemy; unless you’re trying to devour their spirit!” Read More →

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