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just had a great chat with @mattgoldenberg about what I do, how I do it, why I do it, etc – I think it might've been the most "systematic / in-depth" version of this conversation I've ever had, Matt is v intentional about digging into the precise mechanisms of everything
v useful thing he did was to really get me to dig into many of the formative experiences and media that influenced my worldview – never met anyone that persistent on really getting details about this, which was very enjoyable for me given the context. I'll thread some here
1. Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. I watch this roughly once every year. The bit that changed my life: "Randy, it's such a shame that people perceive you as so arrogant, because it's going to limit what you're going to be able to accomplish in life." https://t.co/XUdR8y1fKD https://t.co/k651YHdQ2W
2. Karl Paulnack's address to freshman parents at the Boston Conservatory. He talks beautifully about how artists are the chiropractors of the soul. Steeled my resolve in wanting to be an artist, in whatever sense. https://t.co/AUUcDsflL6 https://t.co/lCRx8xDylJ
"If there is a future wave of wellness on this planet, of harmony, of peace, of mutual understanding, I don't expect it will come from a government, a military force or a corporation. [...] I expect it will come from the artists, because that's what we do." – Karl Paulnack https://t.co/99oRZXDoTL
3. Neil Tyson's criticism of Richard Dawkins: "Being an educator is not only getting the truth right, but there's got to be an act of persuasion in there as well... Here are the facts, and here is a sensitivity to your state of mind. It's facts + sensitivity that creates impact." https://t.co/jGi0t1sQTw
4. Eve Ensler's TED talk, which clarified for me that we heal ourselves by helping others. "When we give in the world what we want the most, we heal the broken part inside each of us." https://t.co/KTLM9vyn5B
9. Eve Ensler's 2004 talk about her journey as The Vagina Monologues lady. After every show she did, women would line up to tell her about the horrors they experienced. This bit stuck with me forever: it was by *helping others* that she saved *herself* https://t.co/FvvSvC8XuM
5. This thread about misfits and outsiders creating a sense of belonging for others. Knowing that there are others who have done it before gives me the courage to do it myself https://t.co/2mjmDP7gl6
Bozoma was born in Connecticut to Ghanaian parents. She grew up moving frequently, including to Ghana and Kena, before settling down in Colorado. She was obviously Not White, but she was also not quite African-American, and not quite African. A foreigner everywhere. I feel this.
6. which, come to think of it, is the obvious-in-retrospect precursor to this thread, describing how it's done: https://t.co/PEQnmKDv1b
7. you'll always find the influence of music and musicians in everything I do. Musicians understand what it means to play *with* someone, to be inclusive, to work together https://t.co/034lp8Skq0
8. "My job is not to just play with him, my job is to make him sound better." the core principle of good reply game in 1 sentence https://t.co/yShIMh5pGa
(and the opposite of that:) https://t.co/G616HEs2JK