Travis Hellstrom's Blog, page 11
April 13, 2014
How to Predict the Future with Taboos
I really enjoyed this article by Paul Graham, What You Can’t Say.
“It seems to be a constant throughout history: In every period, people believed things that were just ridiculous, and believed them so strongly that you would have gotten in terrible trouble for saying otherwise.
Is our time any different? To anyone who has read any amount of history, the answer is almost certainly no. It would be a remarkable coincidence if ours were the first era to get everything just right.
It’s tantalizing to think we believe things that people in the future will find ridiculous. What would someone coming back to visit us in a time machine have to be careful not to say?”
I love this idea, to think into the future and imagine what people might consider ridiculous.
Ridiculous Now
Here’s a quick refresher on things that, if you said them, would have been social heresy not too long ago:
The earth moves, not the sun (400 years ago)
Slavery is inhuman and should never be allowed (150 years ago)
Of course women should be able to vote (100 years ago)
Racial segregation is terrible and should be illegal (50 years ago)
Interracial marriage is wonderful and should be legal (40 years ago)
These things, some of them within our parents’ time, are easy to look back at now and say, “Oh yeah, of course these are ridiculous.”
It’s much harder to identify ones in the last 20-40 years, since that is still in our lifetime.
Even harder still is to run ahead in our minds and try to predict the future, to “be on the side of history” as they say.
Future Ridiculousness
Here are some examples of what could be seen as ridiculous years from now (with some likely questions from grandkids):
Global warming – “People really didn’t think that was happening?”
Dependence on fossil fuels – “How could you not always run on renewable energy?”
Religion and politics – “Why was it unthinkable a non-Christian should be President?”
Power – “What do you mean everything had wires? Wireless power is so much better!”
Gun Control - “Why didn’t people do something about the mass shootings sooner?”
Third World – “Why did America always insist on being better than everyone else?”
Homosexuality – “So a majority of people thought homosexuality was morally wrong?”
Healthcare – “Why was education free and not healthcare?”
Being Fashionable
As Paul mentions in his article, it would be nice if outdated moral fashion were as easy to see as regular fashion.
Look back at your photo from 10 years ago and everyone says the same thing, “Wow, we dressed like that?”
We’re all guilty of being a little unfashionable in hindsight.
I wish things happened that quickly with social progress.
April 7, 2014
Of Course You Want to Do More
One of the hardest things about saying No and simplifying your day is that there’s so much you want to do!
I know this is the case with me — I want to say yes to meetings with interesting people, to say yes to cool new projects, to be a part of fascinating organizations, to contribute to blogs and books and the careers of people just starting out.
That’s not to mention everything else I’d like to do: travel the world, go to conferences, learn languages, learn to program and play guitar, try new restaurants, cook amazing meals and have dinner parties, try new experiences in the city around me …
It all sounds amazing.
How do you say no to any of this? Isn’t it wrong to skip any of that, when it’s absolutely incredible and on your dream list? Isn’t it right to want to do all that?
Well, there’s nothing wrong with wanting it — it’s totally natural. It’s human nature to want to do incredible things and be a part of cool things and meet fascinating people. We can’t help that.
However, the problem is that if we say Yes to all of that, we have a life that’s crammed full, overflowing, and complicated. It becomes stressful, and we can’t do everything, so we are doing nothing well.
The first step; to solving this problem is admitting we can’t do everything. At least, not right now. We just don’t have the bandwidth.
The second step; is resolving to be more conscious, to cut back, to create some space and simplicity in our lives. If we commit to doing this, we commit to making choices, to prioritizing what’s most important so we have room for that important stuff, and the sanity to actually do it well.
The third step; is figuring out what’s most important. This is difficult because it all sounds brilliant, but we can’t do it all … so we have to make hard choices. It’s not easy. But nothing worth doing is easy, right? So make the choices.
The fourth step; is regularly saying No to the things that don’t make the cut. This means today, but also every single day when new requests and opportunities come in. We have to make it a conscious habit, to check the new opportunity against your short list of most important stuff. We have to step back regularly and ask if we’re saying Yes to too much.
And the final step; is enjoying the simplicity. Enjoy the time you’ve created for what matters most. And know that this is better than trying to do it all, no matter how tempting doing it all might be.
