Juan David's Newsletter - February 7, 2021
Thank You! Innovation Tale, & Chalkboards.
Hi there,
I’ve gotten incredibly good responses from many of you about Deciphering Fully Living (aka The Meaning of Life).
Know that every time you read, share, and think about my essays, you’re encouraging the next generation of doers and dreamers to embrace a curiously optimistic and ambitious worldview.
And it’s not too late, you can still read it here.
College is getting more intense, but also more exciting as I make progress in my research, and get to learn more in my classes. My favorite class is my computer science class because it stimulates my brain with the tools to flesh out and create ideas.
I have daily CS homework, and lately, the highlight of my days is struggling and being lost. Then, somewhat understanding what I’m doing. And finally, getting my code to work. When I read, “100% Correct.” I feel an insane amount of ecstasy, which makes me want to come back to struggle the following day. Just to get that feeling of euphoria one more time…
I’ll keep you posted on anything I build.
Curiosities 🧞♂️👨💻🎭
1. How To Be a Productive Human as a College Student, Researcher, YouTuber, Essayist, and Productive?
It’s never about productivity. It’s about quickly doing the things you have to do so you can do the things you WANT TO DO.
2. COVID-19 Became a Catalyst of Future Trends
There’s a running joke that if Balaji was right, you better be scared. If you’ve never heard of Balaji, he’s a really smart dude with four engineering degrees from Stanford, founded startups, and is an excellent thinker.
He wrote this thread before COVID-19 hit the world, and explained how the virus could become the catalyst of already existing trends.
3. The Innovation Tale
This is surprising.
Where do innovation and invention come from?
From Anton Howes, Upstream, Downstream:
Innovation spreads from person to person. It is a mentality, that we pick up from others.
To be an innovator, you need to have contact with other innovators.
4. Success in Startups = Being a Programmer
Programming will be like knowing Word or Excel. You don’t have to know it and there will be tools like paper and pencil (e.g. no-code tools). But if you want to involved and be part of the future, you better learn how to code.
How about startups? Yeah, coding is the minimum bar of entry.
But coding is merely a tool. To have a long-term impact, you need to complement programming with concepts such as physics or philosophy.
5. To Think Bigger, Think in Bigger Spaces
I’ve found a few “secret” places where I go study. What I like most about my “secret” place is 1) No one knows about it, 2) There are these BIG CHALKBOARDS.
I sit down in that place, and I get an impulse to start writing things down on the chalkboard.
Want to see an example of what I’ve written down in the past?
Click on the image below.
The more rest, the more tired you'll get.
We’ll talk next Sunday,
Juan David Campolargo