Greetings,
An early morning paper written from downtown Vancouver!
Simplify, simplify, simplify.
—Henry David Thoreau
✏️ Simplification
Good writing is hard work, but reads remarkably easy. I think there is a generalization to be made there.
All great things, in knowledge and in life, when taken to their completion, have a natural simplicity. The pursuit of simplification has become a foundational ethos for me, as I have a tendency to overcomplicate things. In an attempt to squeeze out more productivity I build fancy workflows and calendars. To energize my writing I scour thesauruses for the perfect word. All these things I find to be increasingly frivolous and unnecessary.
What is needed is simplicity. If I am tired, take a nap. If I want to write more, I just need to wake up and write. If I want to get more serious about my running goals, I don’t need new runners and an Apple Watch, I need to put on the shoes I have and go — anywhere. Knowledge works in a similar way: the more you learn about something, the more you realize how simple everything really is. In health services research, we call these ‘simple rules’ — the things that govern why complex systems work the way they do.
Let us not overcomplicate things. The answer is [almost] always simplicity.
simplex sigillum veri
simplicity is the sign of truth
💡 Food for Thought
There are no shortcuts with quality, and quality starts with people.
Steve Jobs
🔗 Sunday Best
Why read every day?
One of those talking head YouTube sages.
There is no other animal on earth than can read and write. It is our most human of all activities. It is our biggest invention. It is a need — a need that must be satisfied.
Feudal Society
My current read right now. By a legendary writer and historian.
For Bloch history was a process of constant movement and evolution and he describes throughout the slow process by which feudal societies turned into what would become nation states. A tour de force of historical writing, Feudal Society is essential reading for anyone interested in both Western Europe’s past and present.
I waited for you
By Chet Baker
A man who lies to himself is often the first to take offense.
—Fyodor Dosteovsky
See you next week!
AT