Skip to content

Main Navigation

  • Home
  • Newsletter
    • Subscribe
    • Latest Issue
    • All Issues
    • All Takeways
  • search gradually
    Generic filters

Gradual Daily 73  📈

To: Gradually's OGs
February 18, 2021
View In Browser

Good Work

[Image source: @yawnicorn]
Cheers to the newly subscribed OGs🧃

Just the reminder I think we all need. We all know what it is. We all know what it isn’t. Good work is all about alignment. Keeping that alignment is the hard part. Keep (trying) to do good work.

Speaking of work, Happy almost Friday! I hope it’s been a solid week for you so far.

 

If you’re new here, welcome! Below you’ll find 3 pieces of valuable curated content that aim to make you wiser, wealthier, and healthier  — gradually (aka your daily dose of digital vitamins).

You can find all previous issues here, all previous curated content organized/archived here, and if you aren’t subscribed yet — you can do so here.

Wisdom
1mg • consume content below with care for full effect
[Image source: Kenji Aoki]
How Do You Know When Society Is About to Fall Apart?  by Ben Ehrenreich

Takeaways

I highly suggest consuming the full piece here (21 min. read time)

Joseph Tainter, author of “The Collapse of Complex Societies” and for years has been the seminal text in the study of societal collapse, an academic subdiscipline that arguably was born with its publication in 1988, Ben notes.

“In recent years, the field Tainter helped establish has grown. Just as apocalyptic dystopias, with or without zombies, have become common fare on Netflix and in highbrow literature alike, societal collapse and its associated terms — ‘fragility’ and ‘resilience,’ ‘risk’ and ‘sustainability’ — have become the objects of extensive scholarly inquiry and infrastructure.” — Ben Ehrenreich

“Only complexity, Tainter argues, provides an explanation that applies in every instance of collapse. We go about our lives, addressing problems as they arise. Complexity builds and builds, usually incrementally, without anyone noticing how brittle it has all become. Then some little push arrives, and the society begins to fracture.” — Ben Ehrenreich

“A disaster — even a severe one like a deadly pandemic, mass social unrest or a rapidly changing climate — can, in Tainter’s view, never be enough by itself to cause collapse. Societies evolve complexity, he argues, precisely to meet such challenges.” — Ben Ehrenreich

“If you close your eyes and open them again, the periodic disintegrations that punctuate our history — all those crumbling ruins — begin to fade, and something else comes into focus: wiliness, stubbornness and, perhaps the strongest and most essential human trait, adaptability…When one way doesn’t work, we try another. When one system fails, we build another. We struggle to do things differently, and we push on. As always, we have no other choice.” — Ben Ehrenreich

My two cents: Okay, I won’t lie. This piece was a tad depressing, but it opened up a new world to me that I did not entirely know was being studied. Perhaps (and fingers crossed), the people studying collapse are in cahoots and working together with people trying to keep it all together. They have to be, right? I sure hope so. All in all, stay safe and small or big, do your part. 

 



Share (if you're an OG)   Twitter Facebook
Wealth
1mg • consume content below with care for full effect
[Image source: Trends, Analysis, Lies, and Statistics]
DeFi + Creators = 🚀  by Tal Shachar

Takeaways

I highly suggest consuming the full piece here (7 min. read time)

“Like creator fandom today, every ‘company’ or project will become more like a tribe, driven and defined by the stories and symbols linking its members together, led by those who best weave its narrative.” — Tal Shachar

Problem: “Mechanisms for linking creators to a project, for rewarding their endorsement and engagement, are slow, clumsy, and arguably broken. Unable to match the ramping demand, traditional models are riddled with friction and mismatched incentives.” — Tal Shachar

Solution: “With smart contracts and tokens, you can provide value to creators that scale with their performance. Actual influence has a direct impact on compensation so it is easier to agree on value. You do not have to perfectly map contribution to compensation in advance. You allow the market to do it. And you don’t need deals, lock-up periods or even exclusivity. You just need to convince the influencer about the opportunity.” — Tal Shachar

“Frauds and failures will be commonplace. But there will be also a countervailing force tamping down on overhyped projects. When influencers not only recommend products but are token-owners, when their followers buy not only the product but also the token, it raises the reputation risks. If someone shills and it sucks, buyers will blame the influencer.” — Tal Shachar

“Regulators should and will step in to provide appropriate guardrails. Sometimes they will overreact and ban certain practices. But it won’t do much to stop the inevitable. DeFi-enabled influencer networks are too compelling, too ‘native’ to the nature of the Internet itself.” — Tal Shachar

“…as these projects become better funded and proven successful, the corporate world itself will be ‘eaten’ or at least transformed by this capital-charged collab culture. Companies and projects might become more like clouds, larger than ever before but with vaguer outlines, eroding the boundaries between employees, consultants, customers and investors.” — Tal Shachar

My two cents: The creator economy as we know it has only just begun. As the lowering of the barrier to entry and larger creator adoption occurs, Tal’s predictions seem almost inevitable. If you’re getting sick of hearing about NFTs, DeFi, and/or anything related to crypto, you may want to unsubscribe. This stuff is just too fascinating and unless I’m in some weird echo chamber of misinformation, this seems to be the next frontier of wealth creation. 

 



Share (if you're an OG)   Twitter Facebook
Health
1mg • consume content below with care for full effect
[Image source: Kirsty O’Connor]
How to make friends as an adult  by Marisa G Franco

Takeaways

I highly suggest consuming the full piece here (16 min. read time)

“Friends are a treasure. In an uncertain world, they provide a comforting sense of stability and connection. We laugh together and cry together, sharing our good times and supporting each other through the bad.” — Marisa G Franco

“What’s especially alarming is that many of us seem to be losing friends faster than we can replace them…If we’re not careful, we risk living out our adulthoods friendless. This is a situation that’s worth avoiding. Friends are not only a great source of fun and meaning in life, but studies suggest that, without them, we’re also at greater risk of feeling more depressed.” — Marisa G Franco

Overt avoidance: not putting yourself in situations where it’s possible to meet new people.

Covert avoidance: you show up to things, but you don’t engage with people when you arrive. 

“Both these forms of avoidance are caused by understandable fears of rejection. So imagine how much easier it would be if you knew that, were you to show up in a group of strangers, most of them would love you and find you interesting.” — Marisa G Franco

Go into social situations with a positive mindset. Assume people will like you. By doing so, it becomes more likely that they actually will. 

“To embrace the importance of initiating, you must to let go of the myth that friendship happens organically. You have to take responsibility rather than waiting passively.” — Marisa G Franco

An acquaintance = someone you know of

A friend = someone you know (you’ve seen a vulnerable side to them or you’ve shared a vulnerable side of yourself to them) 

My two cents: For some, it comes naturally, but for others, it can seem so foreign. To all my foreigners (I consider myself semi-foreign), this curation is for you. I’d love the internet version of this. I’d assume the advice would be pretty similar. Regardless, I’ll be on the lookout for an internet version because I’m here for all the clever takes on friendship! 

 



Share (if you're an OG)   Twitter Facebook

Read

  • Subscribe
  • Latest Issue
  • All Takeways
  • All Issues

Follow

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.