May we all be universal philosophers

I just finished John Steinbeck's East of Eden and one passage toward the end of the novel really grabbed me:

"Old Sam Hamilton saw this coming. He said there couldn't be any more universal philosophers. The weight of knowledge is too great for one mind to absorb. He saw a time when one man would know only one little fragment, but he would know it well."

As someone who has never been much of a specialist, this quote both inspires and disappoints.

"Universal philosopher" as a title? Hell yeah. Can't be any more of them? Shit.

A century into old Sam Hamilton's nightmare, the weight of knowledge is heavier than ever and its growth shows no signs of slowing down. The world is on track to create at least 181 zettabytes of data in 2025^[1]—and you don't need me to preach about the flood of email, text messages, news, and social media. Every day, we all feel the weight of the world in a way Steinbeck couldn't possibly imagine.

In his book Range, David Epstein writes "the bigger the picture, the more unique the potential human contribution." Steinbeck didn't have the tools we do that help enable that potential, but today's world is very different from turn-of-the-century Salinas Valley. I see three trends that give me hope.

Filter

The era of creators is being met by an era of curators (and for better or for worse, algorithms). We rely more and more on others to filter and navigate the overwhelm. Newsletters parse the news and offer perspective.^[2] Tastemakers assemble product guides that surface remarkable items in our physical world. Reviews and rating systems, while imperfect, allow us to spot great restaurants and experiences without needing to try everything ourselves. Good curation itself requires the synthesis of "universal philosophers" and helps pave the way for others to draw connections in new ways.

Ground

Long-form writing is a proven way to ground our thinking, and the reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated. Indie bookstores are having a moment, Gen Z and Millennials still love the library, and #BookTok is a big deal. I read a physical book every night before bed and First Light is practically my second office. It's nice to see that I'm not alone in seeking out information in a form that inspires deep thought and creativity.

Augment

Then there's AI. It's not without its issues,^[3] but the age of AI is here and it's already reshaping how we think and work in radical ways. It front-loads the important parts, accelerating learning so you no longer spend months "getting up to speed." It's an on-demand specialist on nearly any topic you can imagine. And as a result it allows creators, curators, and entrepreneurs to focus on synthesis and ideation as a craft, not getting buried in minutiae or hunting down opportunities to learn. Spend time thinking up new cocktails, not figuring out what exists.

We're learning to filter the noise, ground ourselves with timeless knowledge, and augment our thinking with the world's ultimate research partner.

In Range, Epstein also tells the story of Gunpei Yokoi, the renowned Japanese video game designer best known for his work at Nintendo (timely!). He was an outstanding generalist:

Yokoi was the first to admit it. "I don't have any particular specialist skills," he once said. "I have a sort of vague knowledge of everything." He advised young employees not just to play with technology for its own sake, but to play with ideas. Do not be an engineer, he said, be a producer.

He didn't have today's tools to help forge his insights, but we do. May we all be universal philosophers.

Ten Things

🎧 While researching "universal philosophers" I ran across this excellent post, which features this excellent album by Urban Tribe / DJ Stingray. Great soundtrack for working.

🪜 Raddle is a clever word game that's become part of my morning puzzle routine (alongside Bracket City).

⏺️ Button Stealer is a "fun, useless, and free" Chrome extension. Honestly pretty fun.

🎳 Jeff Bridges' website is amazing. Gotta say this one wasn't on my internet bingo card.

🪑 Standard Equipment makes outstanding industrial "tools for non-standard living".

🎀 The Onion's "interview" with Ms. Rachel is a must-read for parents. Ifykyk.

✨ A delightful little story about magic.

🌳 Really appreciated danah boyd's article, "Five attitudes towards climate change (and the impact on our society)". What a mess.

🖥️ Um, this website is insane: hypertext.tv.

📱 The Tinypod seems like the "dumb" phone everyone needs, and also maybe a great option for older kids who crave connectivity (no Instagram on the Watch, etc.).

Website Updates

Partly inspired by James's 100 things you can do on your personal website, I've spent a little time the last few weeks sprucing up my website and adding a few new pages:

• My first /now page
• A fresh bio and a page for working with me
• A home for all my longer posts (like this one) and micro posts that end up on Threads and Bluesky
• My media log
• A linkroll with some of my favorite newsletters, blogs, and podcasts
• A tiny colophon for my fellow website nerds

Feedback

If you made it this far, I'd love your thoughts!

1. Do you like this format (essay + 10 things), or something longer / shorter? Should I include things from my micro blog and/or media log?
2. Should I consider splitting out essays and 10 things lists into separate posts (and email lists)?
3. Should I write posts that don't get emailed? Or email every post? Or email sometimes and include a digest of what I wrote in the meantime? (This is, ambitiously, assuming I actually write more frequently than once a month.)
4. In a dream world, how often would you like to hear from me? Weekly? Monthly? Never? 😂