The power and beauty of untranslatable words — A note on language and its links to culture: Languages are strange. Think about it. We make specific noises with our mouths and an idea can move from our heads to another person’s head with a surprising level of precision. Our languages not only transport our individual ideas but also carry hints of the cultural ideas that created them…

The difficulties of defining our circles of competence — and how knowing them will mean you make smarter decisions — Defining your circle of competence In life, it is an enormous advantage to play the games you’re good at. A fish will perform terribly at the tree-climbing olympics, but it’d beat a monkey at swimming every time. If you want to improve your chances of success at anything, begin by defining your circle of competence…

Recognizing and Solving the Paradox of Choice — What is the paradox of choice? You know the feeling. You're at a new restaurant. The menu comes and it's seventeen pages of bewildering option after bewildering option — and that's just their chicken section. What sounds satisfying? Is it the cilantro-based chicken chutney malai, the trusty chicken tikka makhanwala or the continental chicken in creamy…

Understanding and beating common cognitive biases — What are cognitive biases? Your brain is powerful, but it isn’t all-powerful. You are not a rational demigod with piercing logic all the time. You have brain farts — you forget where you put your keys, you walk into a room and immediately ask yourself why, you create mental stories that don’t match reality…

A Tanzanian translation of Euphrase Kezilahabi’s “Upepo wa Wakati” — (P.S. A note on the whys and hows of my translation follows the poem. Find the Swahili version by Kezilahabi himself at the end of the page.) The Wind of Time Written by Euphrase Kezilahabi (1974) Translated by Princely H. Glorious (2021) Upon a small hill I stood one day looking down at the lake; that…

January 2009 — Ask the stone and it will tell you how much easier it is to exist than live — How effortless to lie on this road unconscious of seconds, and hours, and time — Not you in self-inflicted comatose: breathing in, breathing out Adding nothing to time but nothing — How…

Life is meaningless and confusing. Here’s a brain dump of ways you can cultivate calmness and create meaning in yours. — The meaninglessness of life can be overwhelming. Like, why the hell are we here? Is this it? How should I live? This meaninglessness can also be a useful starting point for you. The fact that life has no meaning means you get to create this meaning for yourself — with…

Short notes on online discourse — People don’t want to listen. They just want to hear that you agree with them. So much of online discourse is people wanting to hear THEIR opinions in YOUR voice. A lot of discourse falls apart before it’s even begun because of this. Even the most open-minded among us prefer…

A micro essay on courage and taking action despite fear — You grow most when you do what you fear. It isn’t about having no fear, it’s about having courage. And courage is action despite fear. Courage is action despite fear. You often see fear as the problem. Fear is a signal. Fear is your brain prompting you to take action. …