Ways of Looking #19 (March '26)
In this issue: meatballs, fallibilism, ecstasy, Samurai Jack, bioelectricity, American Gods, and telepathy.
Welcome to Ways of Looking. Roughly every month, I send my friends links and summaries for anything I’ve written recently, plus a few things I’m enjoying.
Check out my more regular writing and reply to this email anytime. Thanks for reading.
What I wrote last month
Collaborative Folders: multiplayer notes for Obsidian — I made a plugin that turns Obsidian into a collaborative, Google Docs-like experience. It’s been great.
Busy month! Not much writing time.
What I’m enjoying
Book: American Gods by Neil Gaiman. An outstanding, genre-spanning read (awarded the Hugo & Nebula for sci-fi, the Locus for fantasy, and the Bram-Stoker for horror). Endlessly imaginative Americana odyssey. I couldn’t put it down. Make sure to get the tenth anniversary edition, which is expanded to Gaiman’s preferred version of the text vs. the edited-down original.
Bonus book rec to keep clearing out the backlog: The Secret of Life by Georges Lakhovsky. If you liked The Body Electric, you’ll probably enjoy this 1939 quick read about electromagnetism and the human body. Does everything in it still hold? No, but it stands up pretty well for being nearly 100 years old, and the lindy-ness of those ideas is worth something.
Articles:
How will OpenAI compete? by Benedict Evans. A great analysis with some big questions. Big doesn’t always mean durable. OpenAI has some work to do!
My dive into the world of telepathy by Tyler Alterman. A thoughtful inspection of a “weird” topic.
Introduction to Critical Fallibilism by Elliot Temple. Elliot is one of my favorite contemporary philosophers, and CF is one of his core ideas. It integrates concepts from Ayn Rand & Objectivism, Eli Goldratt & Theory of Constraints (a favorite Way of Looking), and Karl Popper & Critical Rationalism. For Temple’s overall intellectual heritage, see this image from his site:
The Visual World of ‘Samurai Jack’ by Animation Obsessive. Never watched this show but the article makes me want to.
The King of X by Tom Foster. Classic easy-read New Journalism about the top Texas ecstasy dealer in the 80s and 90s.
Product: Force of Nature Grass-Fed Ancestral Blend Classic Meatballs. A rare, unreasonably tasty & simple prepared food product. Grass-fed/finished muscle & organ meats + organic brown rice flour + organic spices, and quick to make. We’ve been having these a lot when we want something easy for dinner.
While we’re on the topic, Lineage Provisions has been shipping some great products recently. The protein bar (I prefer the berry one but chocolate is good too) is the only protein bar I’ve found that I’m willing to eat, and the AB Complete protein powder is also excellent.
App: Shortcat. Allows you to navigate around your entire computer with just your keyboard, clicking links and buttons without touching the mouse. Bit of a learning curve but then it’s great if you’re a power user.
For a compilation of all past recommendations, see the Recommendations page on my site.
About me: I’m a multi-time founder (Eco, Lightwork Home Health, CoinList, Sidewire). I’m currently spending time on: Eco, Lightwork, building interface0, investing at Amity, supporting FreeWorld, hacking on a few other products, and advising great companies and founders.
Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.
— Andy