Cal Newport Writings

This blog post was created to host all Cal Newport articles that I find interesting. If you want to see his other writings, it should be available at his blog here.

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Beyond Black Box Management --- April 21, 2018 

Hugging the X Axis - an essay on commitment

 I like this article which centres on commitment. The author argues that long term commitment to something, is a possible key to success. Interesting angle compared to the current gratification culture.

The link is here.

an accompanying video

Farnam Street On Charlie Munger

 Charlie Munger, the no 2 of Berkshire Hathaway, has passed away at the age of 99. Being famous as Warren Buffet's no 2, he was also interesting as an individual especially his talks when he does give them.

I loved the link on Farnam Street's collection of articles on him, so that I would bookmark it here, and keep it for my future reference.  

his famous USC speech

Cal Newport Productivity System

Below is a summary of his system from Cal himself. I have posted the source at the bottom of this post.

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The system work as follows:

• Choose a schedule of work hours that you think provides the ideal balance of effort and relaxation.
• Do whatever it takes to avoid violating this schedule.

This sounds simple. But think about it for a moment. Satisfying rule 2 is not easy. If you took your current projects, obligations, and work habits, you’d probably fall well short of satisfying your ideal work schedule. Here’s a simple truth: to stick to your ideal schedule will require some drastic actions. 

For example, you may have to:

Dramatically cut back on the number of projects you are working on.

Ruthlessly cull inefficient habits from your daily schedule.

Risk mildly annoying or upsetting some people in exchange for large gains in time freedom.

Stop procrastinating.

Source: here.

It is Not Faith or Belief To Do It

 Ryan Holiday said it the best in this article. You can read the full details there, but here is a paragraph.

" As crazy as it sounds, you don’t need to believe in yourself. That’s not what’s holding you back. Whether you think you can do something is so much less important than whether you actually can or can’t do that thing. You need to assemble a case that proves you can. You need to do the work that stands as evidence for what you’re capable of. "

Sudah2 la Tun

 Nota pendek mengenai Tun M sekarang. Senang cerita ... dendam kesumat beliau terhadap PMX tidak habis2. Kalau dilihat kronologi beliau sejak 2018, aduhai ..

2018 - bersama Pakatan Harapan

2020 - letak jawatan sebagai PM, sebelum menyerahkan jawatan PM kepada DSAI, seperti yang dijanjikan pada 2018

2022 - masuk PRU15 bersama Pejuang , habis deposit

Sekarang, sepentas kembali dengan PAS ... aduhai ...

I will say, and I will say it again ... Tun is the best Machiavellian disciple ever in politics. His only consistent method is his Machiavellian principles, where the ends justify the means, and he does not know when to fade away. Have to give props to his supporters, your devotion is amazing.

Sudah-sudahlah Tun.

You Cannot Teach Wisdom

 This article is by Julie Zhuo via her newsletter - The Looking Glass

A friend celebrated his 40th birthday the other day. He said, you know, the older I get, the more the cliches seem deeply true.

Cliches like, The days are long but the years are short. Or Having less is having more.

In my teens and 20s I rolled my eyes at statements like these.

They seemed like a soda can’s empty calories. Everywhere and cheap. No nuance, no inventiveness. The easiest thing to serve up when you don’t want to put in effort.

But now, when we utter them to each other — swallowing back the lump in the throat at a child’s birthday party, fingering an exquisite dress before walking away, offering gentle words to a partner after a hell of a week, or mari-kondo-ing the shit out of January — we glimpse the profundity of these so-called words of wisdom, as clear and essential as water.

What I failed to realize back then is that the words are merely containers.

In my teens, the containers were shallow, filled with black-and-white plotlines and youth’s arrogance.

But year over year, these containers gathered more memories. Hues of heartbreak. Textures of love. Mistakes and their sharp aftermaths, slowly eroding the edges of hubris.

The containers became fuller. And speaking their words felt like uttering prayers, like drinking in the past itself. Exquisite and complex. A prized wine growing ever finer.

That elixir is wisdom. How I wish we could drink of each others’ collections!

Oh, but we try. To weave that wisdom into our stories. To convey it in our art. To capture it in our words. Humanity’s best attempts become today’s cliches.

But all of these attempts are still containers, containers of all shapes and sizes, bouncing in our minds.

They have their value; after all, our minds are like houses — more likely to be tidy with a larger collection of containers.

But do not mix up the containers themselves with the wisdom inside them.

To my young-hearted friends: read and learn. Reflect and absorb.

But never forget: Wisdom is life itself.

Sometimes, there is no more advice left to give.

Sometimes, you must simply live.

The original link is here.

19 Rules For A Better Life (From Marcus Aurelius)

 I love this article by Ryan Holiday as he writes about the lessons of life from Marcus Aurelius. In my hunble opinion, you don't have to follow all, just pick a few, a minimum of two, that make sense and arehumble applicable to you, and work on it.

It is never thinking that makes us, it is the doing. A thing Ryan mentions over and over again, in his writings.

da moon on equinox 25 nac 2023

Mutiara Pagi Prof Kamil 1

Dipetik dari buku Beri Dua Minit beliau, impian adalah doa (22)  itu dan sabar adalah penting untuk kejayaan (23). 

My Take On AI ChatGPT

 ChatGPT brought AI into mainstream culture. Let's face it, everyone now has their 2 cents about AI nowadays. My favorite AI joke since ChatGPT came to the front is that it heralds the birth of SKYNET. :) (if you don't get it, you're really young).

I liked the WSJ  interview of Satya Nadella, when it was announced that Microsoft made 10 billion investment in OpenAI, ChatGPT parents. He is enthused about the various potential of AI, and how they will integrate it in Bing, their search engine. You can see the gleam in his eye, when he talks about how the AI-powered Bing search could challenge Google.

the part of the WSJ interview on Search

I have used the ChatGPT and it has been interesting journey. One thing though, keep in mind that it is a tool. And you, as a user, need to still moderate/assess the results, instead of blindly using it. I would say that, as it is, it is a damn good suggestive tool, to help you to find what you are looking for. 

I like MKBHD take of ChatGPT, as it mirrors mine. In summary, he is cautioning against too much reliance on it, as it can make mistakes as well.

the MBKHD video

In the end, ChatGPT signals the emergence of Generative AI,  the video below is a good description of it.

a bit long at 21 mins but worth watching

Yep, AI is here.