Your post "Writing up" inspired me so much and talked me out of that same thinking you had when you were 26-- I'm sad I can't write well (I am also 26; it's comforting to know people go through similar experiences at the same age). Over and over again, your essays and posts challenge me to think and push boundaries of what I can write about. Looking forward to more of your work! I'm so grateful I found your writing :)
I'm so glad it did that! I find it so surprising every time that sitting with your confusions, writing them through and then posting it online can be of use to others. It feels so personal and idiosyncratic. But it really underscores how important it is to be open about your process and curiosities and problems so that others can pick up what they need from it. Sometimes its not even what you meant to say!
Also, did I mention that Talking to a part of a friend was written while contemplating something you wrote in the chat?
Hello! I found your stack after Cal Newport's recent email newsletter in which he mentioned your article on slower publishing cadence. I too have been trying to post something every week but pushing out pieces that could be better doesn't really sit well with me. You've inspired me to focus more on producing something good!
Also, judging from your overall "themes", I didn't think I would find so many pieces I'm curious about here! This summary seems like a good starting point to dive deeper into your thinking. Thank you & wishing you a great writing year in 2024 as well!
I find it useful to play around with cadance. Because I need something like a deadline, but it is interesting to observe when I say, lets do one every ten days, no every 15, no every 21 - each brings out different things from the process, and I calibrate (and of course shift depending on the need of specific pieces).
Yours has become my favorite paid Substack, Henrik, and it is precisely because you committed yourself to just doing your best work at the pace that it comes to you. Did you happen to see Ian Leslie’s recent piece on “value capture,” and the very interesting draft paper that he pointed to? I think you’ve succeeded at not letting the Substack payment “machine” orient your goals, and that’s what I like most.
Thank you! That line of thinking was much in the back of my mind when i wrote relationships are coevolutionary loops. I'm good friends with Alexander Obenauer who researches user interfaces that are more adaptive and let users grow with their environments, and we keep talking about writing a piece about the problem how to create user interfaces that allow people to discover their values and then reify those values in the interface, and then do this again and again in a coevolutionary loop. Like a profound relationship lets you discover yoruself and your values and then externalize them as language and rituals and rules and norms that gradually expand you.
Your post "Writing up" inspired me so much and talked me out of that same thinking you had when you were 26-- I'm sad I can't write well (I am also 26; it's comforting to know people go through similar experiences at the same age). Over and over again, your essays and posts challenge me to think and push boundaries of what I can write about. Looking forward to more of your work! I'm so grateful I found your writing :)
I'm so glad it did that! I find it so surprising every time that sitting with your confusions, writing them through and then posting it online can be of use to others. It feels so personal and idiosyncratic. But it really underscores how important it is to be open about your process and curiosities and problems so that others can pick up what they need from it. Sometimes its not even what you meant to say!
Also, did I mention that Talking to a part of a friend was written while contemplating something you wrote in the chat?
I was just thinking how the post spoke to me... :) Thank you Henrik!
Hello! I found your stack after Cal Newport's recent email newsletter in which he mentioned your article on slower publishing cadence. I too have been trying to post something every week but pushing out pieces that could be better doesn't really sit well with me. You've inspired me to focus more on producing something good!
Also, judging from your overall "themes", I didn't think I would find so many pieces I'm curious about here! This summary seems like a good starting point to dive deeper into your thinking. Thank you & wishing you a great writing year in 2024 as well!
Thank you!
I find it useful to play around with cadance. Because I need something like a deadline, but it is interesting to observe when I say, lets do one every ten days, no every 15, no every 21 - each brings out different things from the process, and I calibrate (and of course shift depending on the need of specific pieces).
Oh, you do set deadlines for yourself then? I've experimented with them but I might be coming to the conclusion that I don't need them after all.
No sharp deadlines. But I try to wrap things up at a certain rate - otherwise I would tinker until the end of time.
Yours has become my favorite paid Substack, Henrik, and it is precisely because you committed yourself to just doing your best work at the pace that it comes to you. Did you happen to see Ian Leslie’s recent piece on “value capture,” and the very interesting draft paper that he pointed to? I think you’ve succeeded at not letting the Substack payment “machine” orient your goals, and that’s what I like most.
I'm so happy that you appreciate that.
I haven't read Leslie's piece. Can you link it?
You bet, here it is: https://open.substack.com/pub/ianleslie/p/seduced-by-the-machine. The longer piece he draws on is from the philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, here: https://philpapers.org/go.pl?aid=NGUVCH
Thank you! That line of thinking was much in the back of my mind when i wrote relationships are coevolutionary loops. I'm good friends with Alexander Obenauer who researches user interfaces that are more adaptive and let users grow with their environments, and we keep talking about writing a piece about the problem how to create user interfaces that allow people to discover their values and then reify those values in the interface, and then do this again and again in a coevolutionary loop. Like a profound relationship lets you discover yoruself and your values and then externalize them as language and rituals and rules and norms that gradually expand you.
Wild that all that happened this year. Thanks for writing, Henrik.
Yes, lol. I think I did 8 pieces in 2022, so it was like 4X! Not to talk about how many interesting people I got to meet through the process.