10: Notes from a Commonplace

Quick administrative note: subscribers can now listen to this newsletter. Click listen online for an audio reading of Notes from a Commonplace.

3..Notes from the Greats

Earnest Hemingway on the iterative process of writing:

"You've got to work it over. The first draft of anything is shit...Don't get discouraged because there's a lot of mechanical work to writing. There is, and you can't get out of it."

Henry Ford on learning as a source of longevity:

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young."

Excerpt from professor of philosophy Peter Kreeft on the failings of moral relativism:

"Moral relativism also seems to destroy social bonds, and thus society itself, for keeping promises is a minimum requirement for all social bonds. Absent this moral bond, only external, physical force can hold a society together—and that is totalitarianism, tyranny, or dictatorship."

2..Notes to Know

Free Play: Activity that is freely chosen and directed by the participants and undertaken for its own sake, not consciously pursued to achieve ends that are distinct from the activity itself. Developed by Professor Peter Gray, free play is the most crucial type of activity for the development of young children. Unfortunately, this type of unsupervised play is in a sharp decline in the United States.

Amara's Law: We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate it in the long run. Named after Roy Amara, a futurist and researcher, this principle highlights our difficulty in accurately predicting technological impact over time.

When a new technology emerges, excitement takes hold and massive changes are expected immediately. However, the reality is that significant shifts take time. In the short run, the impact of the technology underperforms expectations. Conversely, we fail to grasp the profound, long-term effects of technology in the long run. For example, the internet's immediate impact was overestimated during the dot-com bubble, but its long-term influence on communication, commerce, and society has been far more transformative than initially imagined.

This same cycle can be observed today with robotics and AI technologies.

1..Note From Me: On the Velocity of Truth

Have you ever had a moment when you realized that something you've believed for years might not be true? That's exactly what happened to me recently, and made me reflect on the nature of truth and misinformation in our world.

As a history lover, I've spent many hours reading and listening to accounts of major historical events -- like the French Revolution. I thought I knew this period inside and out. But a recent history podcast threw me for a loop, revealing a startling fact about one of the most infamous figures of the revolution: Marie Antoinette.

You've probably heard her quote: "Let them eat cake." It's a phrase that has come to epitomize the disconnect between the ruling class and the struggling masses during that revolutionary fever. It's a statement so ingrained in our collective understanding of history that people worldwide can instantly recognize and associate it with Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution.

But here's the kicker: she never said it.

This revelation hit me like a ton of bricks. If I, someone who devotes many hours to learning history, could believe this false narrative, what other misconceptions might I hold? What other "facts" from history or even current events might not be as factual as I thought?

We're facing a significant problem, both in understanding history and interpreting current events. It's a problem I've come to think of as the "velocity of truth." Or more precisely, the lack of velocity of truth.

All narratives, whether true or false, spread at different speeds. Some narratives catch fire quickly, often fueled by emotions, social media, or the tensions of the moment. False narratives, especially those that are particularly shocking or inflammatory, tend to spread like wildfire. They capture our attention and imagination, making them irresistibly shareable.

The truth, on the other hand, often moves at a much slower pace. It's like the tortoise in Aesop's fable, steadily plodding along while the hare of falsehood races ahead. The truth does eventually come out, but it often takes its sweet time doing so.

This disparity in velocity means that by the time the truth catches up, the false narrative has already taken root in people's minds. The initial impression, however incorrect, can be hard to dislodge. The truth rarely spreads as far or as fast as the initial lie, leaving many with incomplete and misinformed views about the world around us and the world that came before us.

In the case of Marie Antoinette, the false quote attributed to her has persisted for centuries. While it may not have significantly altered the course of the French Revolution - the tensions that led to her eventual execution by guillotine were far more complex than a single statement - it has colored our perception of her character and the events of that time.

We need to be patient with the truth. It may not arrive as quickly or dramatically as we'd like, but it's worth waiting for. When new information comes to light that challenges our long-held beliefs, we should be open to reevaluating our understanding.

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this newsletter, consider sharing it. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, consider subscribing.

Copy this link to share: https://www.readjohnstreet.com/subscribe

A commonplace book is a personal collection of quotes, observations, ideas, and other bits of information that an individual finds interesting or inspiring. It is one of the most tried and true methods for learning & compiling information. Famously, Leonardo da Vinci, Marcus Aurelius, and Thomas Jefferson all carried a commonplace book.

This newsletter shares the notes from my own commonplace book and will add highlights to yours.