Approved Thoughts

Having done a throat clearing piece the first week and the one writing idea I actually had when starting the newsletter, the second week, this week I was finally forced to think about the direction I want to take with this letter.

I enjoyed heading down the rabbit hole of how to learn better last week. I already knew that there was much I needed to learn about teaching after struggling to homeschool the boys for a year recently. Last week it also became clear that I also had to learn a lot about learning.

As it happens, this is also a space where a lot is changing (yes, AI, duh!) and one that is even otherwise relevant to me given the presence of two (reluctant) learners that I am (even more reluctantly) trying to support.

So it seemed like a natural beat to walk.

I subscribe to a few Substacks and as I trawled through them I realised that the only reason I subscribed to each of them was because they were written by experts who also happen to have an amazing way with the words. Here’s a sample:

1. Money Stuff by Matt Levine - GOAT of newsletters. It’s not even close. And daily? Get outta here…

2. Don't Worry About the Vase by Zvi Mowshowitz - I can’t believe it’s free.

3. Bits about Money by Patrick McKenzie (Patio11) - How is a software engineer teaching me about my job?

In other words, I have a very high bar for who I let into my inbox. I could write about how to learn better but clearly I am not the preeminent expert on the topic, I am barely getting started. It would be hard for me to clear my own bar for quite some time, if ever. And if I am going sustain this, I need to enjoy what I am doing. I need to be able to experiment, make messes and generally figure things out.

It occurred to me that a better medium for that kind of a goal might be a website rather than spamming people in their inboxes. It will give me the freedom to play around with the format, topics, content & timing and make the aforementioned messes without worrying too much.

Now my wife thinks I am trying to wiggle out of my New Year’s resolution with this talk, but frankly, she barely knows me, so we can safely ignore that possibility.

So here’s the plan: I will continue writing here on a weekly basis till the website is setup and then move everything over there.

1. This feels accurate. 😅. He says AGI but looking at the next link I wonder if this is true for plain old AI.

2. Two weeks ago, it was Will Smith eating pizza. Now its this. Click the link to see the video. WhatsApp University is about to go nuts.

3. She Is in Love With ChatGPT (NSFW. NYT Paywall.) And you thought K-Dramas were stealing your spouse.

4. The Serendipity Machine or how to use Twitter better. A few years ago I implemented a simple algorithm on my twitter feed:

   a. Block everyone who talks about politics and

   b. Block everyone who is is dissing / attacking anyone / anything.

   In less than a month my feed stopped being the anxiety inducing, doomscrolling nightmare that it was and transformed into the best source of learning & inspiration on internet. This piece takes you to the next level.

   Committing to writing this newsletter has also been great. Now instead of mindlessly flicking my finger and consuming, I have a purpose every time I open Twitter. Its almost energising to engage actively with each tweet, thoughtfully considering whether its fit to be served to my exceptionally smart and good-looking audience.

5. E(X)>0: An Open Letter to Elon:

   “Your top engineers and programmers are only able to work 80-hour weeks because they can hire nannies and maids, ride in Ubers, and order food delivery. High-skill productivity depends on an abundance of complementary low-skill productivity.”

   As a repeat immigrant, I have many thoughts on this debate going on in US right now. There’s a lot that is wrong with a policy of focusing exclusively on so called Skill or Merit based immigration. This piece from Bryan Caplan makes some good points.

6. The War for India: I am enjoying this talk by Prof. Sarah Paine of the Naval War College. She talks about the history of international conflict and politics in South Asia and the role to US & Russia. I did not know that India supported China’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. 🤯 😱

7. Better ways to wear a Polo: Always a pleasure to see a master in action.

“…networking conferences where there’s plated cantaloupe.” chef’s kiss.

Here’s another one from Derek:

8. Fix Your Glutes. (NYT Paywall) Strongly endorse. Really helps when trying to hold a fart but many other benefits too.

   My frail-as-porcelain glutes — the cluster of tissue from hip to thigh tasked with keeping the body upright and on occasion propelling it forward — were causing a domino chain of damage, and had most likely been doing so for some time. To compensate for the glutes’ infirmity, my ankles, knees, hips and even my shoulders and arms had to thrash madly, taking on vast and uneven amounts of pressure, often far more than they were structurally fit to bear

   and

   Only after I started remedying my “gluteal amnesia” (real medical term) did it become clear how little I knew about basic affairs like walking, standing and sitting (or living, for that matter). Within a week of the mandated twisting and shimmying and clam-shelling, my spine was noticeably straighter, smoother. Four weeks later and I could finally walk without pain again. It took three months more to fully rebalance my loopy musculature and break into a manageable jog — but when I did, I noticed a wondrous new power to each step and spring. My reawakened haunch muscles were doing their job.

   For the last two months, I have been doing a core workout formulated personally for me by (who else?) ChatGPT, with a special focus on glutes and I can feel the difference, not just in my ability, but my willingness to do things. Core strength is underrated and it isn’t just about the abs. You can have a six-pack and a weak core. I happen to have one of those.

That’s it for this week. It seems like my writing and links are all AI all the time but that isn’t the intention. However it is a space where a lot of fun stuff is happening right now and so that’s the path of least resistant.

I will be on the road for the next few weeks so programming may be light. Hopefully the website will be ready soon.

What is Spaced Repetition (SR)?

Claude says:

Spaced repetition is a learning technique that involves reviewing information at gradually increasing intervals. Here's how it works:

When you first learn something new, you review it fairly soon (like the next day). If you remember it well, you wait a bit longer before the next review (maybe 3 days). If you still remember it well, you extend the interval further (perhaps a week, then two weeks, then a month).

The key principles behind spaced repetition are:

1. The spacing effect: Information is better remembered when studying is spread out over time rather than crammed into a single session.
2. The testing effect: Actively recalling information strengthens memory more effectively than passive review.

This may not sound revolutionary. After all, some version of this is how we prepared for our exams. But the important thing is that unlike the 90s, there’s an app for that (Anki, Mochi & others). The app handles the spacing and repetition, making it more practical, reliable and scalable.

When I first learned about and used SR apps years ago, I thought, “Wow! It would have been great to have this in school. This will be great for the boys in a few years.”

I never used the technique until last year when I used Anki for homeschooling the kids in Hindi. You can get many ready-made decks (free & paid) on the Anki website, but creating your own (necessary for specific requirements) was a chore, and I stopped after a few months.

I thought SR was for students until I saw a Dwarkesh Patel podcast with Dan Shipper using it to learn more broadly. It wasn’t limited to coursework or vocabulary but included concepts. He claims it allows for better understanding of linkages and patterns over time.

But what had my jaw drop was that he used Claude / ChatGPT to create the cards! Of course. Just throw in the material you are learning into Claude, ask it to create SR cards for the material and you’re done.

It may need some editing or creating additional cards, but it’s generally good enough. It can even output in Anki file format. Rope in an AI and the amount of knowledge you can include in your SR system just explodes.

While researching this piece, I revisited Alexey Guzey’s original post that introduced me to the concept. I didn’t remember this, but the first thing he talks about is to use SR for instilling novel thought patterns.

Front card: saying no

Back card: If I want to say no, I will stop and make sure this is not just status quo bias (coz it probably is)

Status quo bias sucks. Does this one solve it? Beautifully so. Although several months had passed before it finally kicked in, the number of times I noticed saying “no” out of status quo bias, then having this thought come up and make me retroactively reverse the initial “no” is in the tens already.

Will this work? I am not sure, but between how Dwarkesh is using SR and this, I feel the case for having my own SR system is growing stronger. Hopefully, I’ll have an update in a few weeks.

How do you train?

Tyler Cowen’s post inspired by David Perell planted another bug in my brain.

“Athletes train. Musicians train. Performers train. But knowledge workers don’t.”

Recently, one of my favorite questions to bug people with has been “What is it you do to train that is comparable to a pianist practicing scales?”

If you don’t know the answer to that one, maybe you are doing something wrong or not doing enough. Or maybe you are (optimally?) not very ambitious?

Here’s his answer. Of course, I didn’t know the answer to that one.

Watching Andy Matuschak study Quantum Mechanics with Dwarkesh Patel (who else?) led to a few realisations.

Having the right tools and workflows and being good at them is a huge productivity unlock. In the video, Andy uses custom software that allows him to do much more, faster. He reads, creates SR cards, and reviews material on the fly.

He also knows how to put mathematical symbols in his notes, making useful cards so much more quickly.

What is the difference in learning between someone manually revising from a textbook before an exam (as I used to do) and someone using a custom SR system, AI-generated SR cards, and a workflow to push those cards daily? Huge.

This year, I plan to practice getting better with the keyboard. How long can I work on my desktop without touching the mouse? To switch between windows and apps, and use functions within apps?

Sure, I can do Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V. But can I effortlessly do Alt + E + S + V + F (Paste Special > Formulas in Excel)? Can I do 50 other menu actions across multiple programs? Can I set up workflows for routine processes and use AI to automate?

The second thing that struck me was the depth of his learning approach. Sure, it’s a tough topic, but he spent 20+ min on the first page, asking questions, drawing connections, testing himself, and revising. I don’t recall engaging with my coursework so diligently.

The last thing that occurred to me is how important and hard it is to learn these hacks/tricks/workflows. Some people just know and others never do.

Here’s a great resource for this “tacit knowledge.” I’m glad someone recognised the importance of the concept, named it, and created a knowledge base.

1. Reflections - Sam Altman:

   We are now confident we know how to build AGI as we have traditionally understood it. We believe that, in 2025, we may see the first AI agents “join the workforce” and materially change the output of companies. We continue to believe that iteratively putting great tools in the hands of people leads to great, broadly-distributed outcomes.

   We are beginning to turn our aim beyond that, to superintelligence in the true sense of the word. We love our current products, but we are here for the glorious future. With superintelligence, we can do anything else. Superintelligent tools could massively accelerate scientific discovery and innovation well beyond what we are capable of doing on our own, and in turn massively increase abundance and prosperity.

   This sounds like science fiction right now, and somewhat crazy to even talk about it. That’s alright—we’ve been there before and we’re OK with being there again. We’re pretty confident that in the next few years, everyone will see what we see, and that the need to act with great care, while still maximizing broad benefit and empowerment, is so important. Given the possibilities of our work, OpenAI cannot be a normal company.

   Emphasis mine. Those are tall claims. More from Zvi here.

2. How to grow a $3tn market cap? - John Gruber. When You Search for ‘Google’ on Bing, Bing Attempts to Trick You Into Thinking the Results Page Is Google. Don’t know if I should laugh or cry.

3. Having spent more time on LinkedIn last year than anyone should ever have to, I fully endorse this advice. via Shaan Puri.

3. It’s the Most Indispensable Machine in the World—and It Depends on This Woman - WSJ (Paywall). One can never get enough of ASML:

   Brienna Hall has the most valuable role that you’ll never see at the most vital company that you’ve never heard of.

   Until she began working at ASML last year, she didn’t know the first thing about the company. She also didn’t know what she would be doing as a customer-support engineer—a “fancy mechanic,” as she calls herself.

   It’s the machine that produces the most advanced microchips on the planet. It was built with scientific technologies that sound more like science fiction—breakthroughs so improbable that they were once dismissed as impossible. And it has transformed wafers of silicon into the engines of modern life.

   Even today, there are only a few hundred of these EUV machines in existence—and they are ludicrously expensive. The one that Hall maintains cost $170 million, while the latest models sell for roughly $370 million.

   But maybe the most remarkable thing about these invaluable machines is that they’re all made by the same company: ASML.

   ASML is the glue holding the chip business together. That’s because this one Dutch company is responsible for all of the EUV lithography systems that help make the chips in so many of your devices. Like your phone. And your computer. And your tablet. And your TV. Maybe even your car, too.

   These machines have become indispensable. And they depend on the invisible work of Brienna Hall.

   Truly a case of following the previous tweet’s advice. Brienna Hall still has a LinkedIn profile, but I give it another 18 months at most.

4. Meta announcements. If you’ve been hiding under a rock and missed this on the airwaves. Not much to add but Zuck knows how to nail a pivot.

1. How to be More Agentic by Cate Hall - Staying with the new year resolution theme… as the twitter meme goes, you can just do things.

2. Life Without Stars: Stanets and Ploons by Julian Gough - Could most life in the Universe exist without stars, in the deep oceans on icy moons of large planets?

3. How to do the jhanas by Nadia Asparouhova

4. Will Smith eating spaghetti - the pace of progress in AI is mind boggling.

5. How Dwarkesh Patel uses AI a podcast by Dan Shipper - Also subscribe to Dwarkesh’s podcast if you don’t already.

6. A Tutorial on Teaching Data Analytics with Generative AI by Robert L. Bray

The last two are a great if you are thinking about how to incorporate Generative AI in your work or life.

A hack I learned recently is anytime I have a question I am too embarrassed / worried / lazy to ask the right person or even google for, I just ask Claude or ChatGPT. Here are some examples of questions that would have gone unanswered but for the chatbots.

A piece I was reading mentioned that Starlink’s low earth orbit satellites have a useful life of 5 years. I wondered what happens to them afterwards. Sure I could have googled that1 and probably found the answer somewhere in the top 3 links2. But having the bot answer your exact question has a lot less friction than doing that and I find I am asking a lot more of these questions.

I recently started reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, apparently a modern classic. After the first 10 pages I was really struggling to understand what was going on and ordinarily I would have just dropped the book.

Instead, I asked Claude “I am reading the book Cloud Atlas. I am struggling to understand the theme through the first few pages.” I got this response: “The book is structured in a unique way, with six nested stories that span different time periods and genres. Each story is interrupted halfway through, only to be concluded in reverse order in the second half of the book.”

No risk of spoilers and I suddenly felt more comfortable navigating the book.

Claude has already changed my mind on multiple questions and I am sure will keep doing so. I hereby declare 2025 the year of asking more questions.

Did you know that (in iOS at least) this button allows you to dictate text? I used to think it was to send a voice message (don’t do that) but no, this types it out and does a pretty good job of it too. This deserves to be used a lot more.