I think it was Tim Ferris, in late 2019, who introduced me to this idea: Rather than looking into the future and setting new years resolutions, step into the past and reflect upon the bygone year. I am perpetually inundated by this hypernormalised world, so as I did in 2021 and 2020, this is my attempt to reflect on my year and make some sense of it.
Here are some of my takeaways from the year 2022:
I have learnt that nothing is wrong. Nothing is ever wrong. Nothing can ever be wrong. Wrong is impossible to be. “Wrongness is in the eye of the beholder and nowhere else.”
The rate at which climate change is influencing our environment is much worse than I thought. Swiss Glaciers lost 6% of their mass this year. Within the next 30 years, they are forecasted to lose 75% of their mass.
We have a generational opportunity to create free, unlimited, clean electricity forever. Plus, people can make it themselves.
There is an easy and free method to tackling stress and anxiety; and it is breathwork.
Unbelievably, you can reach 80% of the American population with a 2hr flight from Atlanta.
Consuming at least one book, documentary or podcast about a place (prior to visiting) greatly boosts the probability of me enjoying it.
The future doesn’t exist. The future is the mind in low frequency.
Pokémon Go summer of 2016 was probably the closest our generation will ever see to world peace.
By re-visiting ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ I was reminded that “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
The mind is for having thoughts, not holding them.
Everything not saved will be lost.
Despite living there for most of my life, this was the year when I began to truly appreciate the diverse beauty of the Mediterranean.
The vast majority of my thoughts and decisions derive from fear.
GPT-3 is one of the most transformational technologies I’ve ever used. Feels akin to the first time I held an iPhone or the first time I browsed the world wide web.
The 6 degrees of Separation - the fact that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. So, I know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, who knows Kim Jong Un.
The mind is the tool to experience that which is external from the body. But the funny thing is, you don’t really need the mind for anything. Yet, I use it for everything. Gotta change that.
After a 2.5 year hiatus from social media, I got involved once again. The result is that I am currently dangerously addicted to it. Social media doesn’t satisfy my needs. Imagine trying to hydrate yourself with faux water; it won’t work. So you keep trying to consume more and more, with the hope you’ll feel hydrated & fulfilled. Social media is the same.
Machines are growing in intelligence much faster than I have been anticipating. I fear mass technological unemployment is just around the corner. Couple years back I dedicated issue #23 to the topic and the TLDR is: automation, demographics and globalisation have destroyed millions of peoples ability to provide value to the economy. It’s terrifying.
Mainland Spain is home to volcanoes. They lie within a region of Cataluña called La Garrotxa which I wrote about in #51.
Cataluña pertains to the nation of Spain due to a successful siege and subsequent invasion in 1713-1714; not because of a mutual agreement.
I learnt that over 600L of water is needed to produce 1L of wine. Hopeful that Cana will change the game.
I am a morning person and so I should aim to do the important things while I still have the drive to do so.
You don’t NEED anything material. But you NEED freedom of speech. Endorse appropriately.
It took 300,000 years for the human population to get to 1 billion, but only 218 years to go from 1 to 8 billion.
The blowup of FTX reminded me that mainstream media boasts pathetic morals and incompetent reporting abilities. They are the scum of the earth.
I discovered bike travelling and highly recommend it. There’s a unique sense of freedom when packing all your belongings onto a bike and venturing wherever you so wish.
The story of Aimo Koivunen - a Finnish soldier who crossed 100km on skis, fleeing enemy Soviets while on enough meth for 30 men.
The benefits of synergies are hypothetical but the benefits of focus are immediate.
The Costa Brava is a much more beautiful coastline than I gave it credit for.
Although I first came across ‘The Pessimistic Meta-Induction from the History of Science’ in the summer of 2020, the demise of FTX reminded me that whatever I believe to be true, is probably wrong.
The concept of Monk Mode; which I have unconsciously participated in a couple of times. I expect I’ll publish something about it in the coming months when I enter my next ‘Monk Mode’ phase.
I was introduced to the ancient sites of: Derinkuyu, Gunung Padang, Cholula and the Bimini rock formations.
This one I dedicate to my good friend Vavi Jela: Sergio Ramos outscored the entire Atletico de Madrid team in 2019/20.
DALL·E 2 is very cool. It opened the debate I’m still considering ‘Should art made by artificial intelligence be classed as true art?’
I started using Notion - my digital brain.
Blockchains are revolutions, and their success depends on the number of revolutionaries, not users.
I need to shift from content consumption to content creation.
The body follows thought.
Appealing narratives fuel bull runs.
Discipline trumps motivation.
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a ride!’”
The idea of the Network State.
There are rarely solutions. We confuse solutions with tradeoffs.
I’m often guilty of racking up my to-do list to avoid doing the things I’m scared of.
Build it right, and they will come.
Every government, right or left, has an opportunity to build trust with the public. Instead, every single time, they choose deception and zero accountability. It’s not the party, it’s the system.
The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It's people who follow orders that drop bombs and cause the suffering of innocent people.
Americans were handed $1,200 in stimmy cheques in exchange for 40-year high inflation and a recession.
The Great Reset is no joke. It is real and unfolding in front of our obfuscated eyesight.
ALWAYS do the due diligence.
“Unfettered money printing by central banks fuels a high-velocity trash economy filled with degenerates” a quote from Uncle Marty.
In 2015, 90% of transactions between Russia & China were settled in dollars. Now the number stands at 45%. This is one statistic from a larger trend.
Amazon are sellouts. They agreed to only allow 5* reviews of Xi’s book in China.
To manufacture just one Electric Vehicle battery, you must process 25,000 pounds of brine for the lithium, 30,000 pounds of ore for the cobalt, 5,000 pounds of ore for the nickel, 25,000 pounds of ore for copper; digging up 500,000 pounds of the earth's crust for the battery of a sole electric car.
I need to spend more time doing things I never regret. Things like: creative sprints, physical sprints, talking to smart friends & phoning my family.
The mind is Maya.
It is concerning that we spend 8 hours a day, for 15 years, in school, yet most alumni emerge not knowing who they are, what they’re good at and also finish with no particular skillset or expertise.
The Canary islands receive +300 days of sun each year (of the highest in the world) due to trade winds colliding and diverting clouds around the island. This creates a cloud-free bubble over the island. They are situated at a perfect latitude with no cold snaps or high humidity, and receive warm weather all year round with no tropical storms.
Running away is easy; it’s the leaving/living that’s hard.
‘The more we do = the more we achieve’ is false.
People pleasing comes from fear; not love.
Do what love says, not what fear does.
They speak Catalan in Menorca. I did not know this.
It’s a healthy practice to record my screen time.
90% of Kenya’s electricity comes from renewables; mostly from geothermal and hydro sources.
The idea that I can vote, not for myself, but for the greater good of others. Thanks Borka.
I feel pure bliss when sat in nature, indulging in the daily duties of nature, without a thought about the future. It is perhaps when I feel most fulfilled; when doing nothing.
Nice post. I like point 4 on the breathwork. What methods do you use or what channel do you recommend to learn from this? Also I dont understand point 10 what the difference between having and holding a thought? Im looking forward to readabout Monk Mode. Also 57 hit hard.