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Jul 5, 2023Liked by The Minted Minutes

Historically, emails have been the best way for surveys to reach me personally (: I also enjoyed the How to Do Great Work Article, even if I don’t completely agree with it

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Have you read any of the other stuff by Paul Graham - I always find his writing to be actionable

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I love “is there such a thing as good taste” and “how to get new ideas”. As I have approached the frontier of a few fields (neuroscience, tennis, and writing) I have found what he talks about in these two articles to be true.

What I do not agree with in “how to do great work” is his premise of education. I do not believe education exists to show a person what he or she is passionate about, or what a person should do for the rest of his or her life (although it may, in some academically inclined individuals). Education exists to organize the cortical connections of a developing brain. It exists to expose a young mind to the lenses through which one can view the world and the human experience: language, math, science, history, art, physical movement. Learning to see the world through these lenses is a mental workout for a young brain, because each “school subject” requires one to develop a different way of thinking. No one can teach a person how to think, one must discover that for herself/himself, but the nature of the subject matter alone will give a person the tools to do that, IF genuine effort is put forth, regardless of the teacher.

Discovering what one is passionate about is a messy business. It is a lesson that must be learned outside the classroom. While it may seem tempting to limit the time in the classroom so as to commit more hours to this messy business, doing so would be most unwise in my opinion, because once you’ve discovered which direction to go, you will need your mind to take you there, and failing to invest in one’s mind, especially in the critical stages of adolescent neuronal development, will prove to be a significant setback.

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When will the podcast return?

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Jul 7, 2023·edited Jul 7, 2023

Enjoyed these minutes - always good to receive feedback from a variety of stakeholders.

Great article on the issue of plastics and microplastics. I've looked into it in the past and its definitely made me take count of my use of plastics. I've also focused on the plastics I wear and try to limit my purchases of synthetic fibers. I know in the performance gear world, most gear contains synthetic fibers. Have you looked into alternatives every for Minted gear?

Agree with you on Paul Graham - a good provider of actionable insights.

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