Clay

Random Walk Newsletter, Issue 4#

One Sentence#

Fulfilling desires does not eliminate desires; instead, it strengthens them. The more we succumb to desires, the stronger they become, and our resistance ability decreases. When you control your desires, you can also control the negative emotions caused by desires.

Audiobooks & Books#

The Survival of the Sick

• The main content of this book is why certain diseases that are detrimental to human survival have not been eliminated during human evolution (natural selection).
• In conclusion, the author's viewpoint is that some diseases that seem to affect human health are actually avoiding more serious diseases, which is the result of "choosing the lesser of two evils" in natural selection.
• For example, diabetes: the higher the latitude, the higher the proportion of patients, which means that colder places have a higher proportion of patients because higher blood sugar concentration is more conducive to keeping warm, which is a self-protective mechanism for humans to cope with severe cold.
• Another example is hemochromatosis, which is very common among people of European descent. In descendants of Western Europeans, the proportion of people carrying the pathogenic gene reaches 1/4. This is related to a history of infectious diseases. At that time, the Black Death, also known as the plague, swept across Europe. People with this pathogenic gene can greatly enhance their resistance to the plague.
• Lastly, sickle cell anemia is common in Africa. It was mentioned in another book I read before, "Infectious Diseases and Human History." The root cause is that people with this gene can avoid malaria infection with a high probability.
• Based on the above viewpoints, the name of this book is easy to understand, "The Survival of the Sick," which means that some diseases exist to help the human population continue.
• It also inspired me to think that everything has two sides, without absolute right or wrong, and without definite good or bad.

The Pomodoro Technique, Hyperfocus, The Science of State, and The One Thing

• Let's start with the Pomodoro Technique. I believe everyone has heard about it countless times. After listening to this book recently, I finally have a systematic understanding.
  • First, you need to break down a responsible task into several Pomodoro sessions.
  • Then, during each Pomodoro session, focus on completing the designated task. When it's time for a break, follow the rhythm and take a break. You can stretch or meditate to completely relax your brain.
• Next is hyperfocus, which is simply about fully concentrating on one thing to achieve maximum efficiency.
  • There is also a mode called scatterfocus. It is difficult to maintain focus for a long time, so we need to take regular breaks and enter the scatterfocus mode.
  • During this time, the part of the brain responsible for hyperfocus gets sufficient rest, which is more conducive to the next phase of hyperfocus.
  • So this aligns with the principles of the Pomodoro Technique.
• "The Science of State" introduces a formula: Growth = Pressure + Rest. You see, it overlaps with the theory of hyperfocus.
  • The book mentions that if you have pressure during your rest, then the rest is ineffective.
  • Also, fatigue is not because the body is actually tired, but because our brain thinks we are tired. In other words, when we still have energy, our brain chooses to let us rest as a self-protective mechanism.
• "The One Thing" talks about not being busy in vain. Sometimes, more effort does not necessarily yield more results. Therefore, we need to choose the most important thing to do; otherwise, even if we appear busy, it is aimless.

These four books coincidentally happened to be the ones I recently listened to. The content and viewpoints can resonate with each other and complement each other. I hope they can be helpful to everyone in the workplace.

The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

• This book is very interesting and even has a prophetic flavor. The author believes that "putting people with fundamentally different perspectives together and allowing them to interact and engage with each other will result in conflict and turmoil, rather than understanding and coexistence."
• The reason why it has a prophetic flavor is that the book mentions the clash between Western civilization and Islamic civilization, and just five years after the publication of this book, the 9/11 attacks occurred.
• The book also mentions Ukraine, and the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War slowly confirms the author's viewpoint. The author believes that one reason for this is that Western civilization, in its self-righteousness, promotes its so-called democracy and freedom to the world, which will inevitably provoke a backlash from other civilizations and lead to rejection and defense of their own civilization.

Observations & Insights#

I bought a new app this week, called "Midi Vinyl." It's actually a music player widget, but because of this purchase, I started using Apple Music again. I hadn't really listened to my monthly subscription before.

The Relationship Between Age and Abilities

This is an interesting question I came across, and I find it quite thought-provoking. The question is: In what way do you think your abilities grow as you age?

The author's answer is: Although the upper limit of your abilities does not increase as you age, your lower limit of abilities keeps improving. In other words, if your peak level is 95 points, even after you reach your forties, it may be difficult for you to surpass your previous 95 points, but you will become more and more stable. Even if you perform poorly, you won't fall below 80 points. In other words, your range of performance becomes more excellent. This is a more solid advantage.

On this topic, let me add a few more words. I'm also approaching the so-called age crisis. The current society is really strange. After the age of 35, it's actually the prime of life, so why do we feel old? On one hand, we delay retirement, and on the other hand, we create a crisis at the age of 35. It's really difficult.

The Russo-Ukrainian War

Inevitably, I have to mention this event again. I read about it in an article. Europeans at that time believed that the discovery of the American continent was a glorious exploration, but from a different perspective, it was also a brutal invasion and plunder. I see many people condemning Russia now, and of course, launching a war should be condemned without a doubt. However, please do not have double standards. Recently, I saw a video on YouTube filmed in Afghanistan. There were 4-5-year-old children shining shoes to earn money and couldn't eat enough every day. So, to those who are vehemently condemning Russia, did they condemn the Americans so fiercely back then?

Moment of Decision

I am currently facing a decision at work that requires me to make a change at this stage. I'll think about it over the weekend.