And those who were seen dancing, were thought to be crazy, by those who could not hear the music.

– Friedrich Nietzsche

Featured artist: James Boast

Dense Discovery
Dense Discovery
 

Welcome to Issue 318!

Dec 10 2024

Many of you already know Maria Popova’s work. Her carefully curated insights about literature, poetry, art and philosophy have a way of bubbling up through our digital lives. There’s something remarkably persistent about her work that speaks to its enduring relevance and her gift for illuminating timeless wisdom.

To celebrate 18 years of running what began as Brain Pickings and evolved into The Marginalian, Popova recently shared 18 life lessons that feel particularly poignant in our current moment. While each observation carries its own weight, two stood out to me as especially relevant:

Choose joy. Choose it like a child chooses the shoe to put on the right foot, the crayon to paint a sky. Choose it at first consciously, effortfully, pressing against the weight of a world heavy with reasons for sorrow, restless with need for action. Feel the sorrow, take the action, but keep pressing the weight of joy against it all, until it becomes mindless, automated, like gravity pulling the stream down its course; until it becomes an inner law of nature. If Viktor Frankl can exclaim ‘yes to life, in spite of everything!’ – and what an everything he lived through – then so can any one of us amid the rubble of our plans, so trifling by comparison. Joy is not a function of a life free of friction and frustration, but a function of focus – an inner elevation by the fulcrum of choice.”

Don’t just resist cynicism – fight it actively. Fight it in yourself, for this ungainly beast lies dormant in each of us, and counter it in those you love and engage with, by modeling its opposite. Cynicism often masquerades as nobler faculties and dispositions, but is categorically inferior. Unlike that great Rilkean life-expanding doubt, it is a contracting force. Unlike critical thinking, that pillar of reason and necessary counterpart to hope, it is inherently uncreative, unconstructive, and spiritually corrosive. Life, like the universe itself, tolerates no stasis – in the absence of growth, decay usurps the order. Like all forms of destruction, cynicism is infinitely easier and lazier than construction. There is nothing more difficult yet more gratifying in our society than living with sincerity and acting from a place of largehearted, constructive, rational faith in the human spirit, continually bending toward growth and betterment. This remains the most potent antidote to cynicism. Today, especially, it is an act of courage and resistance.”


In characteristically elegant prose, Popova reminds us that inner change comes not from passive observation, but from engaged presence.

As we navigate this strange and anxious world, choosing joy becomes more than a personal act of resilience – it becomes a radical gesture of hope. In an era where cynicism so often masquerades as wisdom, the decision to remain constructive, to trust in human potential, is itself a quiet but powerful form of resistance. – Kai

 

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Delving deep into the human condition, Why Art Matters from author and curator Heidi Zuckerman takes readers on a thought-provoking journey into what it means to connect both to the world around us and to works of art. A newsletter that is a reference guide covering essential subjects such as perseverance, imperfection, and ritual, drawing on art to reflect on the idiosyncrasies of human life. Sign up now!

 

Apps & Sites

Openvibe →

One timeline, all open social apps

Openvibe is a social media app (iOS and Android) for the open social web movement. It unifies multiple decentralised networks, such as Mastodon, Bluesky and also Threads, into a single timeline for seamless interaction. It allows you to cross-post content across platforms and manage your social presence efficiently.

IINA →

Mac media player

IINA is a modern media player for macOS that thoughtfully combines clean design with practical features like online subtitle downloads, customisable touch bar controls and picture-in-picture support. With the support of youtube-dl and its browser extensions, you can also play a variety of online streams in IINA via one click.

CheatSheet for Mac →

Keyboard shortcuts directory

CheatSheet is a free macOS utility app that lets you see keyboard shortcuts with a press of a button. Regardless of the app that’s open, you only need to hold the Command Key for two seconds and it will open a separate screen showing all keyboard shortcuts available, sorted by category and purpose.

Which Country To Move To? →

Country matchmaker

This tool will tell you which countries to consider for relocation based on things like cost of living, quality of life, healthcare, climate, job market, and other aspects that impact daily life. There’s a rather glaring assumption built into its framework: that relocating is simply a matter of personal choice, rather than the complex reality of visa requirements and immigration policies, i.e. the power of your passport.

 

Worthy Five: Anne V Mühlethaler

Five recommendations by communication wiz and mindfulness nerd Anne V Mühlethaler

A question worth asking:

‘What obstacle can I remove today?’ This reflection was offered to me during my 200H yoga teacher training, at the end of an arduous physical practice, and after a lengthy savasana. It dawned on me that by asking myself this question, I am able to crush procrastination and complete time-sensitive tasks.

A concept worth understanding:

Positive neuroplasticity: in a lecture delivered by Dr Rick Hanson, I learned that our brains are not ‘set’ and that we can at any point rewire neural connections to change behaviours, override negative thought patterns, etc. He explains it so well: “Passing mental states become lasting neural traits.” Check his TEDx talk.

A book worth reading:

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak is a story of unfolding, of loss and love, centred on how Rumi was changed by his companion and spiritual teacher, the dervish Shams of Tabriz, to become the sufi master and poet beloved to this day. The novel is peppered with Shams rules, profound sufi wisdom that never fails to open up my heart, every time I read it.

A recipe worth trying:

I changed my diet due to an autoimmune diagnosis and while I liked my vegetables, I never thought to give them centre stage. This roasted butternut squash and red onions dish by Ottolenghi and Tamimi has become a favourite staple that satisfies even the most carnivorous in my circle.

A quote or saying worth repeating:

“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” by Simone Weil. You’ve heard that ‘where attention goes, energy flows’. Well, it’s true: we have this great power, and how we choose to wield it is essential. Who and what to give our attention to is critical. It is indeed an act of kindness and generosity.

(Did you know? Friends of DD can respond to and engage with guest contributors like Anne V Mühlethaler in one click.)

 

Books & Accessories

The Serviceberry →

Abundance and reciprocity in the natural world

In her newest book, Robin Wall Kimmerer (see DD171) explores the ‘gift economy’ in the natural world. She uses serviceberry trees, a native plant, as a lens to examine broader questions of sustainability, gratitude, and what it means to live in harmony with the natural world. “Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude.”

New Radical Enlightenment →

A philosophy for a common world

Marina Garcés argues that the Enlightenment’s core values of emancipation and critical thinking must be radically reimagined for our contemporary world, moving beyond both blind faith in progress and postmodern cynicism to forge what she calls an ‘enlightened radicalism’. “Today’s young people need powerful tools for a critical imagination. The new radical enlightenment arrives to address anew the central problems of contemporary philosophy and place them in a planetary, postcolonial, and feminist framework: a philosophy for a common world.”

 

Overheard on Mastodon

I have to complete my self evaluation today and I really just want to write, “This year I did work and you compensated me for it, as per our agreement.”

@theropologist@beige.party

 

Food for Thought

18 Life-Learnings from 18 Years of The Marginalian →

Read

Maria Popova reflects on 18 years of insights from publishing The Marginalian, highlighting the importance of presence, understanding and the beauty of personal growth through life’s challenges. “How you love, how you give, and how you suffer is just about the sum of who you are. Everything in life is a subset of one or a combinatorial function of all three. Seek people who love and give generously, who have the strength to suffer without causing damage.”

Is creativity dead? →

Watch

I’ve read several essays about the sameness of everything recently: same music, same aesthetics, same marketing tricks, and so on. In this five-minute video, Kirby Ferguson asks: ‘Is creativity dead?’ Spoiler: of course, it’s not. It’s just hiding under a layer of algorithmicly served fast food content.

Ending homelessness is possible →

Listen

The first 25 or so minutes of this podcast episode is a speech by Tim Richter, the founder of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) and it is extremely insightful. Homelessness is a systemic housing problem – not caused by mental health issues or drug abuse, like many assume. Richter points out so many interesting facets to this issue and several solutions. For example, consider this: in a natural disaster, thousands of people can lose their homes but are given temporary, then permanent new housing incredibly fast. Why can’t we apply similar strategies and policies to homelessness more generally?

Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy →

Watch

In time for Christmas, Netflix has released a new doco that “pulls back the curtain on the world’s top brands, exposing the hidden tactics and covert strategies used to keep all of us locked in an endless cycle of buying – no matter the cost.” It’s on my to-watch list, but the trailer looks promising.

 

Aesthetically Pleasing

The fifth annual ViewSonic ColorPro Awards celebrated global visual artistry under this year’s theme ‘Momentum’, drawing nearly 10,500 entries from over 100 countries.

Under the moniker Mad Charcoal, Josh Hernandez draws expressive portraits with loose, gestural charcoal strokes that create a sense of ethereal movement around the subject’s face.

Absolutely stunning: The Bird of a Thousand Voices is a free, immersive online game that follows Prince Areg through a magical duotone landscape, illustrated by Khoren Matevosyan and scored by Tigran Hamasyan. (via)

“Weird is always interesting.” Stacion Grotesk comes with a fun character, playful glyphs and some unique details – inspired by Brutalist Bus Stations in the Yugoslavian Era.

 

Notable Numbers

28

Researchers in South China recently found tyre-derived chemicals in most human urine samples. Particles from tyres are a significant but often-overlooked contributor to microplastic pollution, accounting for 28% of microplastics entering the environment globally.

12.4

A handful of US airlines pulled in $12.4 billion from seat fees alone over the last six years, according to a Senate subcommittee inquiry. Seat-fee revenue is now second only to bag fees, which pulled in $25.3 billion for the same five airlines between 2018 and 2023.

344

Added together, the billionaires nominated for the new Trump administration are worth at least $344 billion – higher than the GDP of 169 countries.

 

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The Week in a GIF

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