Weekly Highlights #13
A weekly round-up of things I found interesting, fun or useful.
📚 Books
"On April 29, 711, the armies of the Arab commander Tarek crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco into Spain with a small army (the name Gibraltar is derived from the Arabic Jabal Tarek, meaning "mount of Tarek"). Upon landing, Tarek had his ships put to the fire. He then made a famous speech every schoolchild memorized during my school days that I translate loosely: “Behind you is the sea, before you, the enemy. You are vastly outnumbered. All you have is sword and courage.”
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
This story fascinated me because of how committal it is. I don’t know how it ended up for Tarek and his men but you have to admire his courage (or insanity) for doing what he did.
📜 Articles
I did a small guest post this week for The Daily Spark which every Friday helps to bring insights from some of the world’s greatest thinkers and practitioners. Head over to Taylor’s page to learn something new.
🎧 Podcasts
If you want to get fitter in life or excel in sport then Dr Andy Galpin is somebody you need to listen to. Dr Andy Galpin has been featured on the Huberman Lab podcast numerous times. He now has his podcast, Perform. The second episode on muscle is below:
💭 Quotes
“Happiness, love, and passion...aren't things you find-they're choices you make.”
- Naval Ravikant
"Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results."
- Phil Knight
"A mistake is not something to be determined after the fact, but in the light of the information until that point."
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
❓ Questions
I was at a BBQ last night and the subject of taxes (not my doing) got brought up. This led to arguments from what sounded like a communist/socialist’s perspective and a capitalist perspective between several people. I sat, watched and ate Ben & Jerry’s. With everything that’s happened the last few years there was obviously strong sentiments on both sides.
What was interesting though was that both sides blamed one another. This is what i despise about politics and such subjects. I summed up politics when i was only a kid- If one side says the sky is blue, the other will say it’s red. The aim is to try and convince as many people that your camp is right. What I failed to hear from either side was any sort of personal agency with both sides seemingly unable to change their own fate whilst the other side is still in the game. This led me to think:
How much agency can a person expect to have in their life?
If we don’t have agency, or it is limited, are we truly free?
How can we gain more personal agency?
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Until next time, Karl (The School of Knowledge).
Photo by Chevanon Photography: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-with-arms-outstretched-against-blue-sky-317155/