Solving Problems
The idea for this post came from Andreas Fragner’s ”Three Ways to Solve Problems”. It’s a short but good one.
It’s mostly talking about solving problems from a career/business/programming standpoint. But I like viewing it from a self-help sort of way. I’ve had a lot of “fixing myself” to do over the past ten years. Changing my mindset, worldview, and simply myself.
You wouldn’t believe the number of times people don’t even entertain the thought, “maybe I need to change too.”
Yes, pursue your dreams, change the world. But remember that changing yourself not only can be easier (believe it or not /s), but often leave you just as content.
A Random Walk (no, it’s not about stochastic algorithms)
From this article by Kothari, some of the best things don’t come from productivity. But from random “accidents,” (or more than coincidence, depending on who you ask).
On a side note, one quote stuck out to me:
“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
I’ve had similar feelings about morality and “living with yourself.” When I disconnect from the computer — reading, walking, in the words of Gaston, “starts getting ideas, and thinking” — I feel better, but it also reveals the bad parts of me.
Ooh, I need to work on that. I’m still thinking about that conversation? Probably should resolve this. Need to get better at that.
This time alone helps me realize all the things about myself I need to improve. If I’m unable to sit in a room alone, then it may be time to work on myself.
Not that I consider myself a horrible person, but I try to be self-aware of my faults, and channel that to be better. As I said about becoming “a healthy artist”, improving yourself in one way will show in other aspects of your life too.
Don’t drown your brain with headphones on all day. Maybe you’ll miss something going on inside your head.
Getting Real with LLMs + Not Neglecting Soft Skills
This section is actually from two articles, because they reflect the same topic: AI.
They highlight what AI (in programming) covers, and what it falls short on.
As I’ve said in my other articles, my relationship with AI is complicated. I see its benefits, including saving time for more mundane tasks; I’ve mentioned here how I use one locally to generate rough transcriptions of my own videos before I polish and publish them (better than YouTube’s, so worth it).
But it is a far cry from “doing it all for us” and definitely not a replacement for self-expression and gaining experience. These articles reminded me of how necessary it is to work intentionally and thoughtfully. Not just for the final product, but for your own growth and experience.
Whether you have an AI agent or not, responsibility and accountability still falls on you.
Okay, these rants are going on too long. My point from these articles is this:
Reframe your mind and yourself
That includes being willing to change yourself
Because, as technology improves, paradoxically more will be up to you
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the others’ articles. Tell them thanks.
