Max Mednik
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Readings and musings

Notes on Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman

7/8/2014

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I just finished reading Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. I had it on my reading list for a while, and several people recommended it to me.

The book definitely was inspirational, and I liked many of its Zen-like lessons, such as about paying attention to life, being happy for no reason, and appreciating each moment you have. It also demonstrated the hard work it takes to make real change in life and the value of good teachers. The book reminded me a lot of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance; the fact that the teacher was a gas station attendant and car mechanic must have been an implicit nod to the Motorcycle inspirations.

What I didn't like were the several totally magical/fantastical/shamanistic elements; if these were brought down to earth and reality and explained as simple visualizations rather than as special powers of the teacher, I think it would have made the book lose less of its seriousness and value. Overall though, I did enjoy it and got many good ideas, inspirations, and butt kicks out of it, so it was all good.

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Notes on Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

3/31/2013

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For the last 2 months, my mind has been blown on a daily basis by the book Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

This is the longest and deepest I've gotten into a book since high school, and I found pretty much every chapter thought-provoking and lifestyle-questioning. I already felt like my mind had been blown, and that was just after finishing the prologue.

"Antifragile" is the word that Taleb coins for the concept of gaining from disorder (the real opposite of fragility, which is not the same thing as "robust"). The book covers the topics of philosophy, finance, math, statistics, lifestyle, food, fitness, education, and history, and it applies various strategies and concepts to finding ways to live more naturally and with more antifragility.

I can see how many people will be angered and offended by the direct manner in which Taleb denounces the professions of consultant, banker, economist, academic, business school professor, soccer mom, and tourist. I think books that question a lot of fundamentals are the only ones that bring actual progress to our lives as human thinkers, and this book does exactly that.

Overall, I took 47 pages of notes on the book (see below), and that sheer quantity is enough to show how much I liked it. It's not easy to distill these into a few bullet points, and I will be trying over the next couple months to come up with some concrete suggestions and techniques to put the book's ideas into practice in my own life. Here are just a handful of lessons and broad concepts that come immediately to mind:

  • There are important nonlinearities in life that many professionals and advice-givers totally ignore but which make a much bigger difference over time than the first-order obvious effects.
  • Many human interventions in health and government come with really bad iatrogenic effects.
  • Things that are in nature are right until proven wrong; things that are human-made are wrong until proven right (which only time can show).
  • Don't be a turkey, and avoid sucker problems. That's 95% of being successful.
  • Via negativa: Focus on what to avoid and remove instead of what to do and add.
  • Find ways to make your life antifragile in the sense of having limited, small downside and high potential upside.
  • Be an adventurous flaneur. Live life to take advantage of new, unforeseen opportunities and volatility.
  • Entrepreneurs are the unsung heroes of antifragility and deserve way more respect than politicians and other non-practitioners and non-risk takers.
  • Innovation is antifragile.
  • Use barbell methods to manage investments and black swan risks. Focus on your exposure (f(x)) instead of trying to predict some variable (x). Predicting or following averages is for suckers.
  • Study the classics, eat and drink the classics, and avoid the media hype or technology for its own sake.

Below are the rest of my notes. I really want to discuss some of this stuff with other readers, so let me know what you think.

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Notes on Everyday is an Atheist Holiday by Penn Jillette

11/27/2012

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I'm a big fan of the magicians Penn & Teller and really enjoyed Penn's previous book about religion, life, and magic. When I heard he had a sequel filled with more juicy stories and philosophy called Everyday is an Atheist Holiday , it went right to the top of my reading list.

I found this installment just as funny and thought-provoking as the first, and I was grateful for the chance to hear more about Penn's family and how he manages the craziness of his own personal life with respect to his devotion to his children, their upbringing, and their morality. I applaud his openness and willing to share, teach, and make fun of himself.

Below are some of the synopses and tidbits that were memorable for me amongst the many stories he told.

Hates "exception proves the rule"
Joy the world song: not joy in the world
No joy in holiday songs
Not much joy in new testament, just in afterlife
Where is joy in this life
Atheists have joy every day of the year

Sometimes a sheet is not just a ghost
James randy modern Houdini
Learn how to lie to reveal the truth
fetish balls for Halloween
Made his own ghost costume, looked like kkk
Loves kids dearly

Canadian thanksgiving
Equal opportunity offensiveness
Making fun of racists
profanity usage
Name in vein

Celebrity apprentice
Hawthorne effect
Dancing with the stars
Doesn't care about trump

Nov 9, 1909: everything in the world is enough
Can be polite and honest at same time
Just cuz want to believe something doesn't mean should
Religious view is more scary than atheist
Pierce Morgan radio show
1909 when his mom born
Life is time
Desire for something impossible doesn't make it possible
Death is nothing, not afraid of nothing
But afraid of time passing and not enjoying kids like now
Everything in world is enough

Defy jails of world to hold son
What Houdini said
Being happy with his own success so doesn't need son to do anything for him

Kevin/hugh jackman/Houdini movie

Thanksgiving
No religious overtones, just enjoying life

Magician stands lazily naked on stage
Purpose of art is to do that
Poet does this too
He and teller only ones to do full frontal naked in show

Telephone conversation with gottfried

New years days: gyms, whorehouses, mornings with prostitutes
Gives gifts to kids and presents
Art is life
Drones are death
Sports: everyone has a plan until u get hit
Magic trick during his brain surgery
Loves baths
Best to say when his mom died on new years day: I'm sorry for your loss
He doesnt drink or make resolutions or work on new years or watch sports
Celebrates new years day by remembering mom

Mlk day
separation of church and state
I have a dream speech has no religious references in it
Bible sets a low bar for compassion
King Chooses to include instead of exclude
Magic word Christian created by politicians to get elected
Thinks Obama really atheist
Thinks Mlk a hero

Groundhog day
No such thing as magical thinking
Don't have to worry about what to wish or hope for, just what to work for
Magic is intellectual art form
Teller was teacher and very determined
Penn was juggler, clown training
No one in show biz works as hard in life as someone with a real job in one day
Did roadshows with teller when started
Show is same every night
Groundhog day: try to do perfect each time
The art is groundhog day

Sick days
Blackmail against him
Worked with lawyers and FBI
Didn't want to care but did care
If ever blackmailed go straight to FBI
Just have to take sick days sometimes
Go with sickness, go through it

April fools day
penn and teller get killed movie
They don't do practical jokes
Teaches scientist to tell dirty joke at Ted conference

Happy birthday
Central planning doesn't work
He's libertarian
Disney wouldn't allow plaque that said no god or dog gone backwards

Chiquita banana Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Puts Chiquita banana sticker on forehead to show love of life

Have a nice Easter
Book of Mormon best play, says written by atheist
Deepest insult is just truth/identity of target

Easter is hollow chocolate rabbit
Gospel Christian magic

Hitch and tommy
Song poems by everyday people pure expressions of passion
Legacy after life less important, eventually all forgotten, but during life feels like will remember forever
Focus on this life

Fathers day cards
Will never be able to send and receive fathers day cards at same time
He got married late, one kid ivf, other natural

Graduation day
Got himself voted for every category of yearbook by convincing class

Arte
The who
Passion and art
Ron Jeremy
Celebrity apprentice
Blue man group
What art can mean

Fourth of July 
Joseph Campbell, plot abstraction, hero
"things happen"
Transformation
Production
Object in impossible location
Restoration
Animation
Trips to India, china, Egypt
Cultural differences
America only country founded on ideas, not cultural heritage
Worries we're losing sight of the ideas and becoming just a sports team

My son's morality does not come from gd
Gay marriage
Right and wrong are separate from authority
Son chooses moral actions from inside and from young age
Morality above religion

Thanks
Crying with happiness

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