Seven Bullet Sunday #20

“Five Bullet Friday” is a weekly series of what I’m enjoying or pondering inspired by Tim Ferriss. I want to stay consistent with this log, so I decided that for every extra day that I put things off, I will add an extra bullet.

1. Podcast I am listening to

Sebastian Junger with Tim Ferriss
I've learned a ton from this podcast episode and took over 650 words of notes, which is the most I've ever taken from any individual podcast episode.

Key take aways:

1. Think about what is it you like or dislike about what you read. When you read something you like and you continue to read it, this is positive reinforcement. You are operant conditioning yourself to become a better writer in the style that suits you the best.

2. Modern society is missing the rites of passage. A dangerous trial before you are recognized as an adult defines your character.

3. War time communal life is healthier psychologically, with lower suicide and murder. They are also more egalitarian, because nobody really owned anything physical and those who are most capable rise up to lead. The leadership is voluntary and doesn't come with the modern baggages associated with prestige.

4. PTSD of veterans is not just from trauma, but from loneliness of modern life after paleo way of living. Unit cohesion is a buffer for psychological trauma. It's not related to danger, but related to the level of control you have. In fact, special forces guys' cortisol levels dropped as soon as they heard that there is an attack, they just took action. They had a sense of concrete purpose: things to do. Their stress came from uncertainty - anticipating the next attack.

5. Humans need skin on skin contact. Living alone and having own room is not natural.

2. Book I am reading

Dhandho Investor by Mohnish Pabrai
This book is about value investing and entrepreneurship with low risks without going the route of venture capital.

3. Book I am rereading

Art of War by Sun Tzu
I am now going back through the book using my meta-learning methods to completely internalize it and using it as background research for my upcoming book, The Art of the Meme War.

4. Another podcast I am listening to

Myths and Legends Podcast by Jason Weiser
I've posted about this podcast before. Jason is a very entertaining narrator and many lessons can be learned from these myths. This week, I listened to episodes Jason and the Argonauts, Snow White, Loki, Narcissus, and a Russian folklore about fools.

I listen to this for fun, but it is also great research for my upcoming book, The Art of the Meme War. I will explain the significance of myths in the book, particularly the relationship between memes/trolling and myths of trickster gods like Loki.

5. Cool video I learned about

Mind = blown that brain fMRI scans can predict what people are seeing. This is some advanced machine learning.
The funny thing is that I learned about this from my Coursera Tibetan Buddhist meditation course, not the machine learning course. It's amazing how everything is connected in interdisciplinary ways. This was shown in a lecture explaining how visualization can be used as practice for real world activities.

6. Word I learned

Umwelt - the world as it is experienced by a particular organism.
I also learned about this in the Coursera Tibetan Buddhist meditation course. We always talk about viewing the world from other people's perspectives, but that doesn't truly describe what you are trying to do. Instead, simulate the world from other people's umwelts.

7. What I am continuing from last week

Dream of the Red Chamber (《红楼梦》) also known as The Story of the Stone (《石头记》)
I have now finished 4 chapters of reading, notes and analysis. I hope that I will have the time to write about how I am applying meta-learning to reading this book this week.

Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful week,

@limitless