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What if…Running Replaced Walking

This is funny one (at least in my head), inspired by the current book I’m reading, What If? by the creator of XKCD, Randall Munroe. His book attempts to provide “Serious scientific  answers to absurd hypothetical questions”.

Walking to work one day I had the current thought: What if it took more effort walking compared to running?

And down the rabbit hole we go…

***

Premise

Firstly, why? Trying to do a slo-mo walk, takes considerable more effort and concentration compared to normal speed. So by this (flawed) logical running SHOULD be easier than walking.

In this world, walking would also lead to sweating and a higher heart rate. The slower the walk, the more effort. People would be competing based on fixed times instead of distance i.e. shortest distance traveled in 10 seconds.

Impact

Many industries would be different, especially clothing (footware and fashion), fitness / health (exercise programs) and transportation (buses would be less common).

A standard speed for running would need to be in mandated, as people most conformable speed will vary, and walking lanes would be necessary on streets.

People would be more efficient in their day travelling between A, B and C more quickly. Being early would be more common than being late.

Children will be learning to run before they walk. Old people would be the fastest runners and no walking sticks will be needed.

***

So that’s all I have for the moment. I find these thought experiments fun and challenge the way we think about things in the world. I’ll call these shower thought impact analysis (STIA for short). I will share more of these in the future.

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4 Thoughts on How we Leave a Digital Footprint

For the majority of us, we leave behind a digital footprint for everything we do online.

But just how much information do we leave behind? And what are the implications?

Here are my 4 thoughts/questions:

1. Web Pages

It’s been estimated that, on average a person has contributes approximately 10,000 unique web pages to the internet. This includes  dynamically generated pages from a Facebook post or a Tweet. (See the current book I’m reading: The Inevitable – Understand the 12 Technologcal Forces that Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly).

Given the right software and understanding, just how much could pieced together and track backed to us as individuals? Could this be scaled so machines can do this job? (See also point 4 about privacy)

2. Spam Emails

 Over 50% of ALL emails are spam, what is the energy/resource/time  (i.e. opportunity) cost of spamming people? Imagine a world, no digital spam. Less time spent defending our attention and less ‘technology overhead’ dedicated to spam traps/ whitelisting/ authentication protocols.

How easy is it develop ‘digital trust’ that doesn’t involve humans? Dedicating more resources to innovation, increasing productivity and improving functionality in HOW we communicate.

3. Useless Banner Ads

Banner Ads being served to me waste so much money. See Banner blindness. Where could these dollars go otherwise? What could replace the spaces used for ineffectual ads?

How would the internet look like with better advertising? Is advertising the best revenue model for websites to be self-sustaining? (More on this in Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of  a Media Manipulator by Ryan Holiday)

4. Privacy and Affecting Others

What’s the etiquette for sharing information of other individuals ? Children growing up now have their baby photos on social media platforms which they never explicitly gave consent to. Anything that touches the internet is almost permanent. Do these children just need to ‘deal with it’. Blame their parents?

Uploading a photo of friends or family, there’s implicit consent in which people need to optout (e.g. “Can you please not post his on Snapchat? I don’t want my workmates seeing me like this.”). Is this the right assumption?

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Reading Challenge 2017 – Jan Update

First of all. New blog layout!

Secondly, I’ve just completed my first book for the year (hurray!):

Quick Review

Title: To Sell is Human

Author: Dan Pink

Premise:  Nearly all of us are in sales, whether we like it or not. By “sales” Pink refers to convincing a person to part ways with a resource they own (i.e. time/money/attention) in exchange for something you are offering (i.e. service/product)

Some key Takeaways:

  • The Sales ABC has changed from  BEING Always Be Closing –> Attunement Buoyancy Clarity
  • An interesting way of examining depression and Anxiety:
    • Depression = Stuck in the Past
    • Anxiety = Stuck in the future
  • There is a golden ratio of positive to negative moments throughout a day, which tips the scale of  a person’s “general mood” from negative to positive – minimum ratio of 3 positive : 1 negative (any lower ration and you’ll be predominately feeling negativel) to a maximum of 11:1 (anything greater and you’re looking at being delusional)
  • Three things which sales should DO –> Pitch, Improvise and Serve

Conclusion:

Very insightful and practical book. Case studies/exercises were really helpful. Worth reading, especially those who think ‘used car salesman’ when thinking about sales.

Current reading list:

#Book TitleAuthorStatus
1To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Persuading, Convincing, and Influencing OthersDaniel H. PinkCompleted
2The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our FutureKevin KellyStarted
3Thinking, Fast and SlowDaniel KahnemanNot Started
4Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class PerformersTimonthy FerrissNot Started
5What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical QuestionsRandall MunroeNot Started
6Homo Deus: A Brief History of TomorrowYuval Noah HarariNot Started
7Diffusion of InnovationsEverett M. RogersNot Started
8The Goal: A Process of Ongoing ImprovementEliyahu M GoldrattNot Started
9Flip the ScriptBill WackermannNot Started
10A Theory of Fun for Game DesignRaph KosterNot Started
11The 4 Hour Work WeekTimonthy FerrissNot Started
12The Lean StartupEric RiesNot Started

Goal tracking

Here’s my spreadsheet for those interested in my progress so far – link

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An unconventional way to motivate myself – My 4 Goals for 2017

Just quickly goals need to be SMART:

  • S – Specific
  • M – Measurable
  • A – Action Oriented
  • R – Realistic
  • T – Time based

My 2016 goal was very straight forward and successful:

  • No Maccas (McDonald’s) or KFC for the whole year with no cheat days

New Goals 2017 Edition

Using the SMART goal methodology I’m going to up the ante for this year. The main point of this to develop life long habits (or correct the bad ones). They shouldn’t replace any positive habits or traits I have already.

First I’ll list my goals, I’ll then go into more detail.

This year, I want to focus on the body and mind. In no particular order of priority:

  1. Be able to bench press 100kg
  2. Read 26 books (1/fortnight)
  3. No fast food (except for the 1st of Jan)
  4. Post 52 times (1/week) on this blog

1. Be able to bench press 100kg

  • I did my PB back in 2013 of 95kg, so I’m looking to get to triple digits
  • This will require me working out at least twice a week
  • Will need to research protein options – I’ve never taken protein before (not a real gym bro)
  • A ‘physical health’ goal

2. Read 26 books (1/fortnight)

  • Towards the end of last year I began reading, as a way of trying to improve my reading speed
  • I came to enjoy it, and felt more productive reading vs binge watching videos
  • In the end I read about 7 books in 4 months, so I’m looking to make this a habit
  • 1 book a fortnight seems like a good pace
  • A ‘mental health’ goal

3. No fast food (except for the 1st of Jan)

  • Pretty self explanatory – more difficult version of my 2016 goal
  • My definition of ‘fast food’ – western food chains which I consider generally unhealthy
  • Will precede to pig out of the 1st of January again
  • A ‘physical health’ goal

4. Post 52 times (1/week) on this blog

  • I want to improve my communication and writing is very important for that
  • Will focus on the habit of writing before worrying about quality
  • Also an outlet of creativity and expression
  • A ‘mental health’ goal

Motivation

For each goal I don’t meet, I’m committing myself to donating $100 to an ‘anti-charity’.

More information can be found here: https://www.stickk.com/