Dense Discovery, Issue 68:

In almost every regard this year has been wonderful for me. I have very little to feel anxious about – if there wasn’t this unabating sense of despair about the natural world. 2019 has been a disastrous year for our planet: fires, floods, droughts, heatwaves, air pollution – in almost every category we’ve seen records not just broken but smashed. As I’m typing this, catastrophic bushfires here in Australia are gobbling up flora and fauna of an area larger than the entire country of Belgium. (Or more than 3.5 times the area destroyed by the Amazon fires earlier this year.)

2019 was the year the climate crisis finally hit home – with a sucker punch. At times I found it hard to focus on anything else. The omnipresent headlines of new natural (?) disasters gave even joyous moments a hint of existential dread. 2019 was the year I realised that this is not an exception. This is the new normal.

A selfish part of me wants to just drop everything and enjoy what’s left of the natural world before it’s gone. The more altruistic me won’t simply accept this new reality. So my coping mechanism for 2020 is a balancing act of both: doubling down on my very limited impact as an individual while also carving out more time to immerse myself fully in nature, hoping that I can replace some of the more destructive anxiety with a sense of acceptance.

Choose Boring Technology:

Happiness comes from shipping meaningful work.

Bill Gates on Paul Allen:

When [Paul Allen] became one of the earliest signers of the Giving Pledge, he said, “Our net worth is ultimately defined not by dollars but rather by how well we serve others.”

Henry David Thoreau:

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.

jsn.frd (Instagram)

People have been asking where my photos went. Answer: I deleted them. I’m pulling back from social media. I don’t like its influence on me. I’ve found myself missing out on live moments because I scrambled to take a picture so I could share it instead. I’ve found myself buying/doing something because I was more excited to share it than to own/do it. I’ve found myself spending hours every month mindlessly scrolling to fill idle time, rather than using that time to mindfully read, learn, think, and pay attention to the things that really enrich me. I often wish I had that time back, rather spending it the same way again. And I don’t like the inescapable pull of checking in on the likes – the dopamine overdose can’t be good for you. These social media systems are built to addict, not to elevate. But I’m not entirely gone – I do learn things here, I discover things here, and I do enjoy the friendships that have formed. So I’ll be poking around from time to time, occasionally posting an ephemeral story. I just don’t want to contribute anything permanently anymore – especially to a Facebook-owned entity (not a fan of their practices). So cya around – have a great 2019! -Jason Fried

Bertrand Russell:

I think that a successful old age is easiest for those who have strong impersonal interests involving appropriate activities. It is in this sphere that long experience is really fruitful, and it is in this sphere that the wisdom born of experience can be exercised without being oppressive. It is no use telling grownup children not to make mistakes, both because they will not believe you, and because mistakes are an essential part of education. But if you are one of those who are incapable of impersonal interests, you may find that your life will be empty unless you concern yourself with your children and grandchildren. In that case you must realise that while you can still render them material services, such as making them an allowance or knitting them jumpers, you must not expect that they will enjoy your company.

Lauren Alix Brown for Quartz:

Last month, it was reported that Apple would add Live Listen, a feature that allows people to hear conversations in noisy settings, to AirPods later this year. The feature has been around since 2014. It uses the iPhone as a mic and connects to Apple-certified hearing aids to amplify hearing. When the next version of Apple’s key mobile software, iOS 12, is released, AirPod users will have access to the feature, though it’s recommended that those who require hearing aids still use them and not simply rely on AirPods for clarity and amplification.

It’s a feature they didn’t have to add, but they did because they thought it was the right thing to do.

Pursuing the Impossible, and Coming Out on Top:

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — On the 19th day of their climb, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, both now bearded, reached the summit of El Capitan’s Dawn Wall, completing a quest that included years of planning and that many considered the most challenging rock climb in the world.

This is a testament to the careful planning required to take on a large and ambitious project.

By Don McLean, performed by Shirley Bassey:

And I love you so
The people ask me how
How I’ve lived till now
I tell them “I don’t know”

I guess they understand
How lonely life has been
But life began again
The day you took my hand

And yes I know how lonely life can be
The shadows follow me
And the night won’t set me free
But I don’t let the evening get me down
Now that you’re around me

And you love me too
Your thoughts are just for me
You set my spirit free
I’m happy that you do

The book of life is brief
And once a page is read
All but love is dead
That is my belief

And yes I know how loveless life can be
The shadows follow me
And the night won’t set me free
But I don’t let the evening get me down
Now that you’re around me

And I love you so
The people ask me how
How I’ve lived till now
I tell them “I don’t know”

“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”

What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.

I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.

What is wrong cannot be made right.
What is missing cannot be recovered.

I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.

The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.

Ecclesiastes 1