Ahhhh, spring has properly arrived here in NZ, and I have 2 recommendations, and 5 links to last week’s daily emails.

My Bottleneck Detective Bootcamp email course is live ! Go sign up now …

Recommendation 1 - How to Invent Everything by Ryan North.

This book is funny. And interesting. But I hope I never have to use it!

It’s an instruction manual for people whose time machines have broken down, meaning that they trapped in the distant past. The instructions teach you - in a humorous, and practical way - how to build a modern civilisation from scratch, and much faster than our ancestors did.

An eye-opener.

I’m dipping in and out of it, just for fun.

Recommendation 2 - Harbour Lights webcam

Very niche but our local council has just installed 2 webcams that overlook our local harbour (Nelson Haven). Here’s what it looked like last night:

And … this morning:

Last week’s daily posts

Christine’s Three rules for hermit crabs

At the risk of sounding like a man with no original ideas … I confess: * I didn’t invent the Hermit Crab analogy. I had a long conversation with chatGPT when I started disliking the snake metaphor and, eventually, and probably just to get rid of me, it suggested hermit crabs.

Clarke Ching - The Bottleneck Guyclarke ching

Is there a Clever Tax?

For the last X years I’ve been feeling guilty and lazy because - most days - I run out of steam after 3–4 hours hard mental work, and I’m exhausted. I theorised that this was just a natual side-effect of getting older. But then … I noticed that a

Clarke Ching - The Bottleneck Guyclarke ching

Stagger

A little clarification on yesterday’s post about the Clever Tax. * It’s not that clever people should only work 4 hours a day. * It’s that clever people need to spread the 3-4 hours of brain-heavy work over a normal day. * And, especially, that big cheeses like Bree, must not dilute their

Clarke Ching - The Bottleneck Guyclarke ching

Announcing: The Bottleneck Detective Bootcamp

Over a year in planning … I was going to charge $199 for this. And then I thought 🤓 I should teach it as an expensive course. But then I realised what I really want. * I want millions of people to know (and use) this stuff because it’s good for the world.

Clarke Ching - The Bottleneck Guyclarke ching

Can AI help us improve our emotional intelligence?

It sounds unlikely - thinking of The Terminator! - but AI has helped improve my social skills! Here is one example: Finding the right words in tricky situations. One of the biggest things I learned from writing novels is how to craft dialogue. It’s an art and a skill.

Clarke Ching - The Bottleneck Guyclarke ching