Hobbyist Academia #32
Personal development underscores the idea of lifelong learning, my initial inspiration for Hobbyist Academia. I missed school, and I specifically missed learning about digital sociology, design, and business, so I curated my own real-world curriculum of newsletters and books and podcasts and articles.
I also needed a purposely slightly vague category that seemed to capture all the things that I knew made sense to include in Hobbyist Academia, but I couldn’t directly tie to one of the other topics.
It’s the holistic layer that pulls it all together. Part of curation is selection, but part of it is also drawing connections.
Personal development + digital sociology = better relationships and community building. Personal development + design = intentional choices about our surroundings and experiences. Personal development + business = leadership and co-creating the future of work.
These are the outcomes of reading this newsletter- the tangible and actionable effects, what you can add to your life and your world.
Attend and Explore
I’m thrilled to be attending my first in-person House of Beautiful Business gathering in New York City next week. I’ll report back about my experience at The Polyopportunity, a hopeful and interdisciplinary exploration of a better future.
The London Design Festival starts this weekend, and even if you’re not attending in person you can virtually explore the program and stories behind the designs.
The Wisdom 2.0 annual gathering in San Francisco takes place next month, this year with a focus on the future of coexistence between humanity and AI.
Read
A theme that emerged across three things I read in the last few days is that of slowing down on the Internet, being more intentional about consuming longer form and higher quality content rather than scrolling through endless, shallow snippets. Jimmy Cerone shared his thoughts in “Escaping the Attention Economy” (which I found via the Sublime newsletter) about how to discover, organize, and make use of new and interesting content outside the whiplash of social media algorithms.
We’ll have to settle for my summarizations and thoughts on the other two, as they are in the form of email newsletters that are entirely lacking in sharing links- an interesting meta consideration.
Ingrid Fetell Lee’s latest Joyletter email is about her recent efforts to get back to a more generative place of thought and creativity in her brain. She shared the idea from Chuck Palahniuk that Big Brother is not watching us- he is distracting us. The way out and back to ourselves is to turn toward the real world so strongly that you let it pull you away from the feed and into “the deep end of the pool”. You can subscribe to future Joyletter editions here.
Sari Azout, founder of Sublime, sent a note to the community about the recent State of Sublime event. In it, she shares her philosophy behind building a tool to help users actually make something from everything we save- to move from passive consumption to active curation that feeds creation. It’s the opposite of a shortcut; it’s a way to engage more deeply with the work.
In a related vein of the tension between business efficiency and luxuriously overflowing amounts of care for design and details, Design Lobster published a special edition earlier this month about architecture in Mexico and the holistic whole of a design versus its parts.
New_Public shared an essay from Deborah Tien about her work designing and building serendipity engines- technology enabled infrastructure to facilitate IRL interactions between neighbors.
For a fascinating read about an experiment in co-living, wander around the world of Feÿtopia, a community housed in a castle in the Parisian countryside. The author spent a week there experiencing the magic.
Finally, Scott Galloway shared thoughts from a guest writer about personal use of generative AI as a mental sparring partner rather than a different and often unreliable version of a search engine. It touches upon the future of work and personal development, with a digital sociology lens.
Save This for Later
Adam Grant’s fall book list is out, and I’ve included my selections from his here. I also have a new indie bookstore in my neighborhood!
Hacking Communities: Cracking the Code to Vibrant Communities by Laís de Oliveira
Why Design is Hard by Scott Berkun
Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering by Malcolm Gladwell
The Secret Life of Books: Why They Mean More Than Words by Tom Mole
Calm in 40 Images: The Art of Finding Serenity by The School of Life
All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess by Becca Rothfeld
Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life Through the Power of Storytelling by Matthew Dicks
This Is Strategy: Make Better Plans by Seth Godin [Adam Grant recommendation]
Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together by Michael Morris [Adam Grant recommendation]
The Joy of Connections: 100 Ways to Beat Loneliness and Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life by Ruth Westheimer [Adam Grant recommendation]
Over Work: Transforming the Daily Grind in the Quest for a Better Life by Brigid Schulte [Adam Grant recommendation]
For more media recommendations at the intersection of digital sociology, design, business, and personal development, check out The Collection on my website.
[I will receive a small commission should you purchase a book using the Bookshop links included in the newsletter. Bookshop is an Amazon-alternative online bookseller that supports independent bookstores in your local community.]