5 Quick Things #300 š„
Michaelmas, unmixed attention, titans of technology, & good problems
Hey there,
In some ways I can hardly believe this is the three-hundredth (!) installment of 5 Quick Things, but on the other hand, I feel like I've been writing on the internet since it was done on stone tablets so it kinda checks out. I started this series before it was on Substack as an email-only enterprise, and I remember back in mid-2019 asking a few writing friends whether I should migrate both my Patreon and 5QT to this new-ish platform called Substack. The response? āWhat's a Substack?ā Understandable. It was definitely a leap of faith to try out this newfangled platform that hardly anyone I knew was using.
I'm grateful for the wisdom over the past decade and a half thatās helped me make the decisions I've made about my work on the internet: starting stuff (a blog, a podcast, a newsletter), quitting stuff (a blog, a podcast, social media)āthose little hints of intuition that peek at what's just around the bend, both good and bad, about the digital space, are worth listening to. They've been for me, anyway.
Four years in, and I am beyond happy with Substack. The collection of phenomenal Substack writers here just keeps growing by the day, so if you're at all inclined to write but aren't sure where to begin, I encourage you to consider starting a newsletter here and just be consistent. Yes, it'll just be your mom and an old friend for awhile. That's okay. Don't despise small beginnings. Stay true to your voice.
5 Quick Things āļø
1.Ā š» A new episode of A Drink With a Friend! š» We officially live in a world with AI, like it or not. Itās been around quite awhile, but its ubiquitous presence is escalating, and quickly. How shall we then live? Is there ethical space for AI? Seth and I have thoughts.
2. Arguably C.S. Lewisā best non-fiction (my favorite, anyway)? Education? Parenting? The conundrum of todayās technology? All in one long-form essay? Sign me up. Yes, itās long, but itās worth reading in full, even in small bites. From
: āThe titans of technology arenāt just incentivizing āthe conditionedā toward actions that will make them sad. Theyāre conditioning people to habitually act in ways that are clearly connected to worse mental and physical health, for themselves and their loved ones.ā3. Happy Michaelmas! Today is the Feast of St. Michael and all the Archangelsāhereās a lovely recap of some traditions, as well as some beautiful art from
. (This afternoon Iāll be baking bread and smearing it with blackberry jam.)4.Ā What a calming, grounding read from
: āIām lost in the work as I find myself attuned to berries and bees, sun and shadow. The words of Simone Weil rise distinctly in my mind: āAbsolutely unmixed attention is prayer.ā And I feel relieved as I realize: I think Iāve been praying. Maybe the bees are too.ā5. And finally, the easier things have gotten, the unhappier weāve becomeāI love a good mash-up of two good thinkers (I listen to both these ladiesā podcasts). Weāre made to wrestle with problems, so when wisespread culture and technology has made life too easy, we look for problems. Whatās the antidote? Good problems. (Look for an upcoming essay here in TCP about this idea.)
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening š
The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century, by Joan Chittester
Quotable š¬
āDon't be more serious than God. God invented dog farts. God designed your body's plumbing system. God designed an ostrich. If He didn't do it, He permitted a drunken angel to do it. Empirical facts can add significantly to the meaning of ābeing godlikeā.ā
- Peter Kreeft
What time period do you most think about? š
Iām not surprised that World Wars I & II is the most common topicāthatās high up there for me, too (especially with all the movies, books, and series set in this period!).
Donāt hate me, but the only wrong answer here is āI donāt really think much about history.ā History is the story of our roots, so to learn it is to learn more about both us collectively and you individually (yes, you!). If you donāt think about it much, consider deep-diving into one tiny blip of history (there are lots of good podcasts!) or simply find out what happened in history today.
World Wars I & II: 29.9%
18th & 19th century America: 25.9%
I donāt really think about history: 15.6%
A time period not listed: 14.2%
The Ancient World: 10.9%
The Medieval Period: 10.9%
The Roman Empire: 3.3%
Find this weekās poll here.1
See You THIS Thursday! š
Looking forward to seeing you at Fabled Bookshop in Waco, Texas this Thursday, October 5 at 7 p.m. to celebrate First Light & Eventide. Enjoy drinks and an evening among kindred spirits as we welcome autumn and enjoy a laid-back Q&A.
Bring your friends and family āĀ itās free!
Quick Links š
š¬š· Join Me in Greece: June 20-30, 2024
Question(s) For You to Ponderā¦ š¤
Whatās one app you should delete from your phone? Whatās holding you back from doing so?
Have a great weekend,
- Tsh
p.s. Street for the win.
This week Iāve asked paying subscribers more detailed questions similar to this so I can plan future pilgrimages. If this is you, check your inbox! Iād love to hear your input.
I really enjoyed this podcast discussion - I've been having a lot of the same thoughts... And Tsh, we're kindred spirits. No Alexa, no cable, no smart TV, no tablets in this house... Actually we still use DVDs and CDs! We're THOSE people! So I get that I'm a little outside of things and that maybe my absolute dread (I'm all for throwing holy water on AI) may be a little extreme. At the same time I feel pretty convinced that the 'benefits' are minimal at best and may in fact be downsides in disguise - as you say, taking away important (if inconvenient) opportunities to just be a human being.
I had an AI specialist on my podcast recently to 'defend' AI (though he himself is very tech-lite in his personal life) and it's funny because he actually brought up how he doesn't have to hire an attorney anymore for small legal matters (sorry Seth!). Anyway, it was an interesting conversation and I don't think he really convinced me - though again, some fair points.
I often think of this MLK quote from his profound speech "The Three Evils of Society" -
"The second aspect of our afflicted society is extreme materialism, an Asian writer has portrayed our dilemma in candid terms, he says, āyou call your thousand material devices labor saving machinery, yet you are forever busy. With the multiplying of your machinery you grow increasingly fatigued, anxious, nervous, dissatisfied. Whatever you have you want more and where ever you are you want to go somewhere else. Your devices are neither time saving nor soul saving machinery. They are so many sharp spurs which urge you on to invent more machinery and to do more businessā. This tells us something about our civilization that cannot be cast aside as a prejudiced charge by an eastern thinker who is jealous of Western prosperity. We cannot escape the indictment. This does not mean that we must turn back the clock of scientific progress. No one can overlook the wonders that science has wrought for our lives. The automobile will not abdicate in favor of the horse and buggy or the train in favor of the stage coach or the tractor in favor of the hand plow or the scientific method in favor of ignorance and superstition. But our moral lag must be redeemed; when scientific power outruns moral power, we end up with guided missiles and misguided men."
"...those little hints of intuition that peek at what's just around the bend, both good and bad, about the digital space, are worth listening to." They are, indeed! Well said.