The Weekly Remiix — Understanding Progress — Issue #3
And we back, and we back, and we back!
Gone but not forgotten. Hope you enjoy this week’s issue.
🤣 Project Updates
What am I working on?
Tunez Man — I’ve been droppin mad beatz on my soundcloud. Maybe not mad, or crazy, or great, but there are a few hittaz! The one I like most recently is Anda. Give it a listen. This weekly creation is not a struggle because I find inspiration in the everyday moments. I have noticed that the way the songs jam late at night with headphones on can differ greatly from in the car or on your phone. I’m working on my craft to get the kinks out: too much bass, misalignment, too many conflicting melodies, repetitive rhythms, etc… Also if you happen to have bomb FL Studio soundpacks. Hmu. Feedback always welcome.
3D Stuff — The next input interface for AR. Maybe you’ve heard of the Leap Motion controller. It uses an IR sensor to allow your hands to be the input for your PC or VR headset. I’m working on a 3D keyboard that allows you to type in space, with the controller as input. It’s been going okay. See below.
AIND — I started an Artificial Intelligence Nanodegree in January. It takes up mucho time post-werk. It is super awesome though. I would like to say this is why I’ve missed the previous weeks, but nah. No excuses. Be better Hope
So I read the book One Thing by Gary Keller. It has a very simple thesis and wasn’t too long. Basically, my takeaways were that A) I’m doing too much B) I’m not doing enough deep work C) If I want to do more, I have to grow them as small habits rather than change completely overnight. In the words of my high school football Coach E (who probably quoted someone else) — “The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.” This is not to say that this section will be sparse in upcoming issues, just that if you do see less, see the lesson behind the less-than. BARS!
🧠 Thoughts
This last week was pretty awesome. I asked a bunch of peeps the question,
“If you had to write an equation that defined progress what would it be?”
I’ll provide you more context than I did for them, initially. I’m going through a period in which I am provided lots of new information, in new environments, where there are some right answers, but most of them are ultimately “It depends on what you want”. So through the goal-creation and tracking process required to develop an individual, I’ve been wondering what generic theory underlies all these attributes and scenarios I’m trying to improve on, ranging from social, personal, spiritual, financial, etc. Before asking I already had an answer, because ya know, I’ve been thinking about this. Mine was:
Progress = ((humanity * awareness) *action) / time
Other answers I got were:
Progress = IF(current position) — (previous position) >= 0
Progress = megawatt hours per capita annum + number of people who can achieve happiness/self
Progress = God
Progress = Time*work*natural talent — roadblocks
Progress = (empathy)^n , n=number of homosapiens
Progress = innovative movement + acceptance of that movement — comfort in the norm
I stumbled into a few powerful insights from this question. Some of the answers were less equation and more discussion of the parameters themselves. They talked about how things like density of innovation centers, access to health equity, water, community connectivity, and stability would contribute to a normalized index for progress. The beauty of the open ended question lies in the journeys the answers take you that you could not fathom with a well delivered contextual question. Also if the question is broad enough, how people answer tends to reveal core filters that they use to see the world. What I liked best was that through mixing and matching ideas I could come up with a better equation that would have taken me much longer to arrive at. The progress equation v2.0 I am currently at is:
Progress = Delta [(humanity*awareness) ^(action — roadblocks) / time ]
There are some contentions as whether time should be in the denominator. This equations also uses Delta to denote difference. I think it is important to note that initially I thought of progress as independent of setbacks. I think acknowledging and anticipating them is key to progressing. Also, the exponential nature of action allows progress to exist when there is no action (=0) whereas if it is multiplied, progress is 0.
So I learned a ton, and realized that I could learn a lot more if I keep asking good questions. There’s so much more to unpack but ain’t nobody got time for that. I was interested in seeing if someone had already done *real research on the subject. Turns out my homie Bill Gates and the United Nations Human Development programme have been working & thinking about this subject (they have a Human Development Index across countries) for a minute: Read/Skim this very long and comprehensive pdf. I think next step for this equation is to apply it to key aspects of my life in a meaningful, non-tedious, seamless way while continuing to get more feedback.
I was inspired by Nikhil’s newsletter who does something similar. I will make this a bi-weekly occurrence, because it taught me so much. Do you have an answer to the question? Hmu with your answer.
🔥You gotta see this🔥
I’m super excited for this Thursday because Ready Player One is coming out. If you haven’t seen the trailer, see below. I read the book at the end of last year and it is definitely a must-read for those interested in tech AR, VR, or the future of our tech-dependent society. The book was vividly painted and chock-full of 80’s and 90’s references (many of which I did not catch). There’s no way the movie could do it justice, but the spirit of the book will definitely be squeezed out by Spielberg. This is a must-watch akin to Ender’s Game because it brings diverse children to the forefront as agents of change for our future. Kinda similar to #marchforourlives movement. Different thread, same wavelength.
