Hi! In case you don't know me, my name is Ben Pence and I am a software engineer and writer. I write about modern culture, productivity, rationality, software engineering, and Mandarin. A weekly newsletter didn't seem right for me. My inspiration comes and goes and so too will my newsletters.
What is Twitter for?
I've been a Twitter user for almost 10 years and even worked at Twitter for several years, but never saw past the brands and advertising on the platform until this summer.
Visa Veerasamy's Friendly Ambitious Nerd made me realize that Twitter is fulfilling the old promise of the Internet: helping people find and build geographically dispersed communities based on common interests. It really is possible to create close relationships online!
If you're like I was and only see exploitation or noise on Twitter, I challenge you to suspend your cynicism and try on some different lenses, if only for a few days or a few weeks. Do you keep skipping tweets from someone you follow? Unfollow them and find better voices. Embrace the ephemerality of your timeline!
Promotion and Integrity
In a similar vein, I've been grappling with how to promote myself and join conversations online without wasting people's time or acting self-important. I have ideas I want to share, but for most of my life, I've relented because I didn't want to impose on people’s time. Although, many friends have asked me why I don't share my thoughts publicly, so here we are.
How do you put your ideas in front of the people that want to hear them without incidentally wasting others people's time? Where do you draw the line between providing value and taking advantage? I'll let you know when I figure it out. One heuristic I've picked up so far is to give a lot before you ask for anything (thanks Daniel Vassallo). Be a good friend!
Cite Everything!
Two note-taking paradigms have gained a lot of popularity over the last several years: Tiago Forte's P.A.R.A. and the Zettelkasten method (How to Take Smart Notes teaches it, Roam Research implements it). Both are intended to help you organize what you read and eventually remix it into your own novel ideas.
Last year, I started using Notion to store my book highlights, following Tiago Forte's method. But I noticed that so much of what I consumed didn't make it into my notes: podcasts, YouTube, Twitter, etc. So I wrote some code to automatically copy and transcribe excerpts from podcast episodes, YouTube videos, and Twitter threads that I find interesting. Here are some examples of my notes:
Later, when I discovered the Zettelkasten method, I was inspired. I wanted to use the new hot tool, Roam Research, to structure my thoughts according to the Zettelkasten method as a network of independent ideas.
So I came up with a system: Bold and highlight the important parts of my book/podcast/YouTube/Twitter notes in Notion until I've distilled the parts that resonate. Then, move those parts into Roam Research, making connections between the new and existing ideas.
Inspiration from an Automatic Process
Once I started making connections between my thoughts, I noticed that new ideas would emerge from 2 thoughts that were seemingly unrelated! It was very cool, so I wrote a little code to randomly "pair" my ideas together in order to come up with 1 single idea that connects them:
So far, the new ideas from this technique has significantly influenced what I think about day-to-day. Excited to see what comes next.
Recent blog posts
Pay Attention to Attention: How others use and abuse your attention. And what do do about it.
Some Matter More Than Others: Money affects how we view people and experiences.
Coming to Terms with George Floyd's Death: A nuanced discussion of George Floyd's death and the aftermath.
Principles: Exploring ideas in Ray Dalio's Principles.