love the concept that you know you're at the right level when you're in flow. Also a good way to know if you're competing at the right level in the metagame.
This is a lovely piece of writing, Chao. I particularly enjoyed the loop back to “life is a fractal” at the end, and how that idea resonates throughout the piece.
Such a cool topic you're digging into here Chao, makes me want to tune more into the present and see where I need to do more zooming in or out. So awesome to see the evolution of this piece - I think I'm going to find myself dropping "life is a fractal" in conversation sometime soon.
Thanks, Michelle. It would be so cool to one day hear that a big name creator say "life is a fractal", and I have zero doubt you are on your way to becoming one (whether you like it or not 🤣)
haha, my old skool brain was thinking photoshop zoom levels, but google maps is definitely a more apt metaphor. Maps are definitely more fractal-like and incredibly interesting at every level
So proud of you for getting this one out!! I love how the seed of this idea you expressed has bloomed into this piece. There is a lot that resonates here, especially about the flow state and procrastination.
I might have to come back to this and reread it for the reminder to switch between the zooming in and out more.
Wow, thanks Sandra - this is making me giddy in the head 🥰 Everything seemed to have clicked into place after our wonderful zoom session, I knew I just needed a fun hook after that
Haha, I do the opposite - as an engineer I tend to see patterns and abstractions in everything and gloss over the details: that's why POP writing is so hard for me, I don't recall anything much to my wife’s frustration 🙈
Then I realize my natural self is to go abstract in my word use.
Which relaxed me
Josh waitzkin has an analogy of a rocker trying to learn classical
He said that rocker should not try to learn from a classical but from a fellow rocker who fell in love with classical because the fellow rocker would have the same temperament as the learner
Similarly, I’m trying to figure out POP not from a natural in POP but as a natural in abstraction
love the concept that you know you're at the right level when you're in flow. Also a good way to know if you're competing at the right level in the metagame.
This is a lovely piece of writing, Chao. I particularly enjoyed the loop back to “life is a fractal” at the end, and how that idea resonates throughout the piece.
Thanks, Nic! Michelle Varghoose gave me the idea to circle back to my brother and I really liked it
Such a cool topic you're digging into here Chao, makes me want to tune more into the present and see where I need to do more zooming in or out. So awesome to see the evolution of this piece - I think I'm going to find myself dropping "life is a fractal" in conversation sometime soon.
Thanks, Michelle. It would be so cool to one day hear that a big name creator say "life is a fractal", and I have zero doubt you are on your way to becoming one (whether you like it or not 🤣)
Yes I too use the metaphor of the zoom in google maps as a way to get unstuck
From anything as routine as problem solving in day jobs which are for well defined problems to poorly defined problems such as how to live a good life
haha, my old skool brain was thinking photoshop zoom levels, but google maps is definitely a more apt metaphor. Maps are definitely more fractal-like and incredibly interesting at every level
Damn, Chao.
So proud of you for getting this one out!! I love how the seed of this idea you expressed has bloomed into this piece. There is a lot that resonates here, especially about the flow state and procrastination.
I might have to come back to this and reread it for the reminder to switch between the zooming in and out more.
Wow, thanks Sandra - this is making me giddy in the head 🥰 Everything seemed to have clicked into place after our wonderful zoom session, I knew I just needed a fun hook after that
Haha awww Chao!! These things take time. Keep up the great work!! Looking forward to reading more of your essays.
Such wonderful advice! I tend to zoom too much in and need to practice zooming out...
Haha, I do the opposite - as an engineer I tend to see patterns and abstractions in everything and gloss over the details: that's why POP writing is so hard for me, I don't recall anything much to my wife’s frustration 🙈
> as an engineer I tend to see patterns and abstractions in everything and gloss over the details:
Same here
What makes things bad is I implicitly assumed it’s a problem
It’s only recently when I came across this diagram by Keirsey https://sentino.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/image-1.png
Then I realize my natural self is to go abstract in my word use.
Which relaxed me
Josh waitzkin has an analogy of a rocker trying to learn classical
He said that rocker should not try to learn from a classical but from a fellow rocker who fell in love with classical because the fellow rocker would have the same temperament as the learner
Similarly, I’m trying to figure out POP not from a natural in POP but as a natural in abstraction
Haven’t quite figured that out yet