Author: alearningaday

Vorfreude, in German, means “the pleasure of anticipation.”

There is a lot of pleasure in the anticipation – of big things and small.

Here’s to channeling more Vorfreude in our lives.

H/T: Sketchplanations

HBO is working on a 7 season Harry Potter TV series. Why? The obvious answer is that there’s money in the franchise and in a reboot.

But perhaps more importantly because the movies were not great.

The movies got a collection of casting decisions right – Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Hermione Granger, the first Albus Dumbledore, Bellatrix Lestrange among a few others. They got a bunch of others pretty wrong.

While John Williams’ score was epic, they messed up a fair number of storylines and some epic scenes (e.g., Harry and Voldemort’s last duel) didn’t capture the greatness of the books.

In contrast, the three Lord of the Rings movies, for example, were exceptionally well done. The casting was great, the cinematography was excellent, the storytelling was superb, and the soundtrack was exceptional. It’ll take a brave soul to attempt a reboot of that storyline.

Similarly, despite the trainwreck that was season 8 of Game of Thrones, seasons 1-7 were arguably amongst the greatest TV series seasons of all time. Again, it was an exceptional mix of casting, storytelling, cinematography, and music.

As a result, work on both these franchises have focused on alternate storylines.

It is a good lesson on any kind of work. If it needs to be redone, it wasn’t great work in the first place.

It is very hard to say. We had a collection of people who made many discoveries and kept improving on previous ideas. It is hard to point to one person – whether it is Alan Turing or John Von Neuman or Grace Hopper or even the OGs Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace – and call them the inventor of the computer.

This is the case with many great inventions. Even inventions like the radio or the telephone don’t have one clear inventor. Even if individuals like Alexander Graham Bell and Guglielmo Marconi have gotten the credit, the reality is that they simply bested somebody else from filing the invention in the patent office first.

This is what is intriguing about inventions in general. At some point, all the prevailing science makes an invention possible. Very few inventions – if any – wouldn’t have happened if the “sole inventor” who got the credit wasn’t around. There are always a series of people who are pushing the frontiers of science and inventing the future. The idea of the single inventor is nothing but a myth.

Then again, invention alone does little to drive positive impact. The many minds who compete and collaborate to commercialize an invention and drive widespread adoption deserve just as much credit (if not more in some cases).

“Who invented the computer?” is thus a question that doesn’t matter. If we seek to celebrate innovations, we must celebrate the many unsung heroes who made it possible.

If we seek to innovate ourselves, our goal must be to simply obsess about a problem and keep using the tools available to create the best possible solutions.

In time, good things follow.

Here are 2 lessons I’ve learnt about buying sneakers –

(1) We often think of foot size as the key variable when we buy sneakers. In reality, there are 4 variables that are important to consider when we buy sneakers –

• Foot size (this is the obvious one everyone checks)
• Foot width – understanding if your feet are wide or narrow
• Foot arch – understanding if you have low, medium, or high arches
• Pronation – understanding if we have mild or high pronation

Once we understand these, it becomes much easier to understand which sneakers will work best for us.

(2) If you wear sneakers all day, it is critical to rotate them. A sneaker’s foam needs time to recover. So, if you wear sneakers three days a week for example, you’ll need two pairs so you can alternate. Else you’ll find foam comfort and support deteriorating within ~6-9 months.

PS: I’m grateful for two patient and knowledgeable ladies at our local REI and Sports Basement for sharing all this sneaker wisdom.

Here are 16 things I’ve learnt about diet and metabolism over the past 5 years.

1. Throughout the 2010s, the mental model I had was that “nutrition research is complicated.” I’ve since realized that this idea is a side-effect of the fact that most nutrition studies were funded by processed food companies. There’s a lot of rigorous independent research on nutrition and its effect on our metabolic health. And I’m grateful to folks like Tim Spector, Peter Attia, Andrew Huberman, and Casey Means for getting the word out on this.
   
2. Let’s start with hydration. There are straightforward guidelines on water – most adults need between 2.7 (women) to 3.7 liters (men) of water per day. This translates to 100-125 oz. I didn’t realize how dehydrated I was for many years.
   
   I carry an 18 oz bottle with me everywhere and I’ve been making small changes to ensure I drink 6 of these every day. I feel better when I do.
   
3. Ultra-processed foods are BAD. It isn’t about the quantity of calories but also the quality. Ultra-processed foods are low quality calories,nmade mostly from substances extracted from foods, such as fats, starches, added sugars, and hydrogenated fats. Bring calories from these foods in any normal day as close to zero as possible.
   
   I wasn’t a big consumer of ultra-processed foods. But I’ve been working to reduce intake of some varieties of these – especially cereals and baked goods.
   
4. Our gut bacteria are key to our ability to digest the food we eat. The more the variety of good gut bacteria, the better. Fermented food – yogurt, kimchi, etc. – are great sources of good gut bacteria. Eating ~30 vegetables and fruits goes a long way here. And living a generally active lifestyle helps. For example, kids who played more with soil ended up with good gut bacteria that boosted their metabolism and immunity.
   
   I have been covered on yogurt since childhood. :-) I could do better on other fermented foods. I’ve been doing more salads to increase the variety of vegetables I eat and have been more intentional about eating at least 4-5 fruits every day.
   
5. Antibiotics destroy our gut bacteria. Beware regularly using antibiotics to cure illness. Avoid them where possible.
   
6. Nuts and seeds are also great adds to our diet. For nuts, we can’t go wrong with almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and cashews (hello Costco Mixed nuts pack). Recommended seeds include Chia, ground Flaxseed, Hemp, and pumpkin seeds.
   
   I’ve made it a habit of late to eat a handful of nuts every evening. And I add 3 spoons of Chia + Flaxseed + Hemp to my morning protein shake every weekday.
   
7. Lessen (or even remove) grain – especially refined grains. This means less white bread and white rice. If you must eat rice for example, there’s no question brown or red rice is better.
   
   This one has been hard for me. I’ve never been a big bread eater but I’ve always been a big rice eater. The biggest shift I’ve made in the past months is to roughly halve the quantity of rice I eat. I still relish it and don’t plan to cut it out of my diet but I have realized that I didn’t need the quantities I was used to.
   
8. Moderate caffeine, remove tobacco, and avoid alcohol.
   
9. When we buy vegetables and meat, organic/pasture raised/grass fed are better where possible. Organic food has less toxins from chemicals and typically retains more nutrients. Same story with meat/fish – if it isn’t pasture raised/grass fed, it is likely raised by antibiotics.
   
   I’ve reduced red meat significantly over the past decade (given climate impact). We switched to pasture raised eggs a few years ago. All in all, we could do better with ensuring we’re buying more organic.
   
10. Supplements are a topic where my understanding is partial. From all my reading, I’ve come to the conclusion that adding protein and 5 gms of Creatine – which is one of the most studied supplements – sound like no brainers (as long as the protein powder isn’t filled with too many additives/is too sugary). We are living much older than our ancestors and we lose muscle mass rapidly as we age. Protein aside, some folks swear by vitamin supplements, and some oppose it. This is an area I expect to learn more over time.
    
    I cover my supplements in my morning protein shake. This shake is intended to cover a collection of the above notes – it is protein powder + spinach + seeds + frozen mixed berries.
    
11. Time restriction via fasting is a natural way to give our body a break. That said, Peter Attia makes the case that too much of this can result essential protein intake. So, your mileage with it may vary. A simple thing we can all do is to eat at least 2 hours before bed so we naturally get a long fast in the night. This way, our metabolic system isn’t taxed when we get to bed.
    
    I do a horrible job here. I am working on changes to my routine to consistently eat 2 hours before bed.
    
12. A 15 minute walk after a meal goes a long way in helping our system digest food. These walks are called “digestive walks” or “fart walks.” Those names made me chuckle.
    
    We’ve started doing 15 minute walks after dinner in the past week. It feels great. It is a keeper.
    
13. Building on that, exercise works wonders on our metabolism. The more we get our heart rates up, stay active throughout the day, and carry weights, the better. More muscles and more heart rate variability = better metabolism and better glucose control.
14. So does maintaining good circadian rhythms with good sleep and getting natural light in the mornings. All of these help improve our mental health (everything is connected!). Disconnecting from our phones as we approach bedtime and getting away from habits like doomscrolling that negatively affect our mental health are among the best things we do.
    
15. The best book I’ve read on the topic of our metabolism is “Good Energy” by Dr. Casey Means. She makes a compelling argument that the root of all our chronic illnesses is bad metabolism – due to a mix of a unhealthy diet and lifestyle. Reading it three weeks ago was a gamechanger. I’ve been recommending her book to everyone I know.
    
16. Finally, our bodies work better when we take a moment to appreciate the many gifts we’ve been given. Even a simple thing like savoring our food while we eat it and not, say, checking email while we do it positively impacts our metabolism.
    
    Gratitude and perspective got a long way in helping us make progress. While there are always changes to be made, the one thing I attempt to keep in mind is to never lose the joy. I think what we’re trying to do is to maximize joy while balancing healthy outcomes. The more the joy is healthy, the better.
    
    But we’re not perfect. And much of doing this right is making small changes consistently over time.
    
    Progress over perfection.

A teammate once beautifully summarized a key trait good leaders share in common – they are “shit umbrellas” for their team.

I know the visual that accompanies this term isn’t pretty. But stick with me.

Her observation was that teams are thrown all kinds of “shit” from above their level. And good leaders deflect the noise, ensure the team has relevant context, and enables them to focus on getting the job done.

It is a description I’ve come to appreciate more and more over the years.

Progress is non-linear.

One of those many simple and powerful ideas that is easy to understand and yet hard to internalize.

Periodic reminder to self – we can’t always do the big things, but we can do the small things with extraordinary care.

“You can write a narrative in your head, and spin yourself down a negative path, and beat yourself up and second guess. But what’s true is you made what you thought was the best decision in the moment. Then, you leave it behind. There’s no going back. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone makes good decisions, bad decisions, or they just didn’t work. For me, it’s, ‘Learn the lesson. Leave the event.’” | Stephen Vogt, manager, The Cleveland Guardians

H/T: Om’s blog

In the 1700s, scurvy – caused by a deficiency of Vitamin C – was a deadly disease on voyages. Captain James Cook noticed that Dutch ships used to have less scurvy than English ships.

He wondered what they were doing that’s different and noticed they carried barrels of sauerkraut (fermented cabbage). So he decided to carry Sauerkraut which happens to contain a trace of vitamin C.

But he didn’t want to tell his men he was doing it in the hope that it would prevent scurvy. That would mean telling his men that he was taking them on a voyage so long that scurvy might kill them.

Instead, he had his officers eat at one place where the men could observe them. And, for a while, he served sauerkraut to the officers, but not to the men.

Then, finally, he said – “Well, the men can have it one day a week.”

In due course, the whole crew was eating sauerkraut.

Tact might be the most potent persuasion tool of them all.

H/T: Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Peter Kaufman