When do we self-sabotage? How do we break out of cycles? Can we form new habits? Why did Sam choose to move to a frigid, muddy island off the coast of Europe? We ponder all these questions and more in this episode of Take Back the Day, and along the way we mention: Steven Pressfield and the War of Art (https://stevenpressfield.com/books/the-war-of-art/). Mr. Ferriss (https://tim.blog). BF Skinner and his superstitious pigeons (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/bf-skinner-the-man-who-taught-pigeons-to-play-ping-pong-and-rats-to-pull-levers-5363946/). Atomic Habits by James Clear (https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits). Ira Glass (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Glass). How to With John Wilson (https://www.hbo.com/how-to-with-john-wilson). Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake (https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/entangled-life).

Take Back the Day

Cycles

Yo yo yo. It's another episode of Sam and Simon Speak on the Internet™, bitches! In this episode they touch on: The stupid US elections. Simon's stupid book (https://www.amazon.com/Math-We-Trust-Bitcoin-Cryptocurrency-ebook/dp/B07C7TPXMD). Sam's amazing book (https://www.likeafuckinggrownup.com/books/). M O N E Y . Behavioural.... economics (https://xkcd.com/1894/)? Vanguard (https://investor.vanguard.com/corporate-portal/). Sam's newsletter (https://www.likeafuckinggrownup.com/) (sign up!). Satrix MSCI World ETF (https://satrix.co.za/products/product-details?id=33) (it's a thing you can invest in). Sam's thing she loves: Geocaching (https://www.geocaching.com/play). Simon's thing he thinks is pretty cool: Wave Accounting (https://www.waveapps.com/).

Money

Sam and Simon are making new things, and talking about it on the internet. Some of the things they mention along the way: * Notion (https://www.notion.so/) * Super (https://super.so/) * Product Hunt (https://www.producthunt.com/) * Our friend Lauren (https://laurenbeukes.com/) ♥ * Dr. Bronner's - All-One! (https://www.drbronner.com/) * Gumroad (https://gumroad.com/)

Make

Sam and Simon discuss the contents of their bug (or go) bags and what's needed to survive the apocolypse. They also discuss our incredible ability to make things normal, and how careful we have to be about what we allow to become regular things. Stuff mentioned in this episode: The Good Place (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4955642/) The Prepared (https://theprepared.com/) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386162.The_Hitchhiker_s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy) Radiolab's Atomic Artifacts (https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/atomic-artifacts) episode Survival biscuits? Lettuce (https://lettuce.money/) Hedonic Adaptation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill) Our sun entering a 'solar minimum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_minimum)' period Susan Sontag (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Sontag) Highland 2 (https://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland-2/) word processor Microsoft Fluid (https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/19/21260005/microsoft-office-fluid-web-document-features-build) ?

Normal

Sam and Simon are extremely locked-down, and explore what this is teaching them. Some of the things mentioned in this episode: The Sims (https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims) (yes, yes, we know) Devs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devs_(miniseries)) Tiger King (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_King) (yes, yes, yes) Quibi (https://quibi.com/) Dungeons & Dragons (https://dnd.wizards.com/) Fiona Apple's new album (https://open.spotify.com/album/0fO1KemWL2uCCQmM22iKlj). One World: Together At Home (https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/connect/togetherathome/) Some Good News (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOe_y6KKvS3PdIfb9q9pGug) with John Krasinski Hamilton (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_(musical)) Second Life (https://secondlife.com/)

Shitshow

Sam and Simon had a conversation on the internet after a very long time of not doing so. They examine the reality of this crazy alternate timeline the world has slipped into where sentient cheetohs seemingly run the galaxy and staying at home to play video games all day is sanctioned. Some of the cool, cool things we mention in this episode: * Don't Starve (https://www.klei.com/games/dont-starve) * Fireside (https://fireside.fm/) and Zencastr (https://zencastr.com/) * Daniel Defoe (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Defoe) and his [A Short Account of the Progress and Effects of the Plague ...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37281399-a-short-account-of-the-progress-and-effects-of-the-plague-which-prevail?ac=1&fromsearch=true&qid=UBSVEPLXXZ&rank=3)_ * Matthew Barge (https://www.instagram.com/mbarge) * Houseparty (https://houseparty.com/) * Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/) and Zoom (https://zoom.us/) We'll probably talk on the internet again.

Catalyst

Sam and Simon have started a business! With EACH OTHER! It's made them contemplate the joys of tiny ambitions, tiny spaces, and caring about tiny problems.Also howzit, American friends. Y'all okay over there? Things seem pretty bleak. We're sending cuddles.Things we talk about in this episode:Being an entrepreneur is 90% doing adminBusiness science is astrologyThe few things Simon can't live without: Levis 510s, Superga sneakers, and his Samson Go MicSam Harris talking to Scott Adams about TrumpThe Nintendo SwitchHow the US Army uses Sci-fi movies to recruit peopleUlysses, Sam's favourite writing app, and iBooks AuthorThe Economy, an economics textbook for the 21st CenturyThe trailer for Blue Planet II &#147;Motivation consists not of massive bursts of inspiration but instead finding joy in little everyday activities.&#148; — @dailyzen on Twitter 

Tiny

Sam and Simon kick off the year from a wuthering height (Cape Town summer is hella windy, yo) to discuss their intentions for 2017, and their best discoveries from 2016. Simon also tells us why he's planning to build himself a remote cabin in the woods (with high-speed broadband).Discussed in this episode:Tim Ferris discussing his end of year ritual to focus on the things that actually matter, and making "not to do" lists.Scott Adams, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big.Freakonomics Radio podcast, A still fascinating 2011 New Yorker profile about that billionaire vampire, Peter Thiel.The (like, only) good thing South Africa did in the 80s: voluntarily dismantled our nukes (probably for terrible reasons, but still).And our favourite things of the year:Two fascinating DAO projects: Wings and BitNation.Neil Gaiman's Sandman: Overture.Adventure Time.Glorious Trainwrecks.Twine.The Hamilton musical.bell hooks, Feminism is for Everybody. 

Cabin

We think 2016 could've tried harder. Disheartened as we are, this episode looks at the up and downiness of a strange few months, and whether the world is really getting stupider. We also manage to talk about some productivity stuff. Charlie Brooker’s yearly ScreenwipeEven Kanye is mentally beleagueredLe Tigre.The Village SquareAlain de Botton's plan for secular churchesThe World Until Yesterday by Jared DiamondTom Waits stopped drinking a long time agoSushi Go! (the board game)Exploding Kittens & Bears vs Babies (the other board games)Google PhotoscanModernist poetry in generalRefly EditorCollaboration on Keynote"The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that, 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'.” -Isaac Asimov

Busyness

Simon and Sam talk about all the things Pokemon Go can teach us about life, why you should  beware of weird unlabelled food products, and the virtues of deliberately exposing yourself to things that are bad for you.Plus! Hear our friend Jono Hall reading out a bit of his short story, first published on our Medium collection, Drippy Fun Times. Send us your stories too!Things we talk about on this episode:How it's weird when old Apartheid generals give you PokeballsThe Dresden Files - an RPG that makes real life more fantasticalThe Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris - which, fuckit, we still think is kinda smartThe Lean Startup by Eric ReisRuss Fujioka's fun article about Pokemon and MillenialsThe 2014 April Fool's Day video from Google that gave us a sneak peak of Pokemon Go without us realisingThe Code: Numbers, Shapes and Predictions - a documentaryI'm a Strange Loop by Douglas HofstadterGabriel Weinberg's excellent list of Mental ModelsThe strange subreddit, "Insightful Squirrel Men"The NSFW subreddit, "Library Girls"Minitel, France's version of the Internet before the Internet was a thingThe Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber BUT DON'T READ ANY BLURBS JUST READ THE BOOKMoney From Nothing by Deborah James 

Allergens

Predicting the future is a chump's game. Going back into history and seeing what they thought the future (i.e. now) would look like, is the best reminder that we have no idea about anything. Join Sam and Simon as they discuss the joys of being a perpetual beginner, how much fun it is to be a Swiss Army Person, admitting we don't know shit about shit, and how our alien overlords are likely to punish us if global politics keep going the way they're going.Things we talk about:Bitcoinsocks.com, Simon's and @nicharry's awesome new online store that sells, YOU GUESSED IT, Bitcoin socks.  They are rad. Simon and Nic launched this thing in like 2 days because they are wizards.CS50, the intro to computer science course you've always wanted, available for free on the interwebz, and other ways of learning to code.The documentary She's Beautiful When She's Angry.Whether Game of Thrones is secretly about climate change.Get your shit together, global politics U R DRUNK. But the New York Times published a pretty interesting long read about who Trump supporters are and you should read it.Is Snapchat a thing now? (tl;dr: no)Shopify, the thing that lets you build an ecommerce business in, like, minutes.Google Fusion Tables, for data nerdz. In the future, there will be HELICOPTERS FOR EVERYBODY! Except, you know, women.

Helicopters

Important news: come write short stories with us over at Drippy Fun Times on Medium. We want your stories!In a conversation that sounds like it's fuelled by caffeine and PCP, Sam and Simon talk about why they're so distracted all the time. They debate why context switching is so bad for you, and whether there's anything we can do to focus more on what matters. Featuring a lot of talk about rats and strange music genres.Things we talk about:Every noise at once, where you too can learn about fun new genres like Strut, Vaporwave, Bubble Trance and Deep Happy Hardcore.Our new short story Medium collection, Drippy Fun Times, which means that Simon doesn't have to donate a Bitcoin to Donald Trump, yay! Also, COME WRITE STORIES WITH US.Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg (NOT by Karen Armstrong, woops).A NEW STUDY SHOWS that context switching lowers your IQ. Also, you should never believe anyone who says the words, "a new study shows".Where to put your thoughts while your brain is focusing on important things: the big Google Keep, Google Inbox, Evernote playoff.Google App Scripts are magic and you can throw away Excel now.Fuckoins, the new currency Simon and I are making. Kurzesagt's amazing video about how you're not what you think you are.CGP Grey on why your brain isn't, either.Momentum, a Chrome app that might help you focus.PS: if you live in Cape Town, Simon and I want to take you out for a beer. No, really. Tweet us at @simondingle or @greenhamsam to let us know you're keen and we'll find a time. BOOM. The famous "Rat Park" mentioned in this episode. Go check out the full comic by Stuart McMillen over here. It's rad.   

Distraction

OMG GUYS LET'S WRITE SOME STORIESSimon and Sam challenge you all to a short story writing competition! All you need to do is write your story on Medium and post a link to it in the comments. We're going to make a collection on Medium. If we love your story we'll read a bit of it out loud on our next podcast. Do eeet! You have until next Tuesday. Whenever next Tuesday might be for you.In this very drippy episode, Sam and Simon consider whether we might be living in a video game. We talk about whole mind simulation, Rick & Morty, keeping it real, and debate whether or not humans might ever forget how plumbing works. Again.Things we talk about:Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life by Nick Lane.This article proving that we know nothing about how weight loss works.Wait But Why writing about Cryonics.The Playboy interview with Ray Kurzweil. Simon reads it for the articles.The philosophical brilliance of Rick & Morty.Whether Jake from Adventure Time is super-creepy.The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.The Dot Spot by Dorothy Black.Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom.J. G. Ballard books. All of them, but specifically Concrete Island.Two of the best short stories ever, "The Last Question" and "The Last Answer" by Isaac Asimov. &#147;We aren’t fleshy bags of magic. We’re fleshy bags of bacteria.”&#148; — Simon Dingle 

Real

Simon's back in London-town again where he's avoiding Sam's hugs, so we spoke on the internet about the weird way we classify humans into generations, and what makes this generation's work prospects different. Or maybe exactly the same.The definition of a "Millennial" (Sam speculates it has something to do with belly chains)Proof that old people have been complaining about young people forever Montage of Heck, that Kurt Cobain documentary Gen X's like Charles Bukowski's letter to John Martin about the lie of the 9 to 5Entrepreneurship without capital, and rent-seeking legislation that tries to stop itIs Bitcoin about to fail? Simon gives us an update.Octodad: Dadliest Catch - a game of deception and tentaclesConstruct 2 - an easy way for non-developers to make gamesOn Writing: Charles BukowskiSandman: Overture by Neil GaimanHITRECORD - Jason Gordon Levitt's new internet experiment 

Generations

The only thing we can be sure of is that we don't know anything. So, isn't it weird that everyone pretends to be so sure of what they're doing with their life when you meet them at a braai? This leads Sam and Simon down a conversation rabbit hole involving consciousness, language and how to train your washing machine."Screw Finding Your Passion" - an excellent short read by Mark MansonThings boytjies talk about while they're grilling animal flesh over an open flameWaitButWhy on how Elon Musk does amazing thingsHow to answer the question, "So, what do you do?"SelfLife, the religion Simon's kid invented (which is super profound)Life in the Mediterranean, and why people live so long in the Blue ZonesEpicureanism's four principles of happiness (the "Tetrapharmakos") Mindfulness and the spectrum of consciousness your own brain is capable ofThe amazing interactive version of Nam Lee's story, "The Boat"Join the hunt to find out what happened to the refugee boat that went missing on the Mediterranean, Ghost BoatGoogle's open sourced machine learning project, TensorFlow, also, WTF is machine learning?Chomsky on how the brain learns grammarWelcome to your Brain by Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang This is the washing machine you heard in the background of the episode. That's Simon on the left, Sam on the right, and a creepy demon child that's possessing Simon's flat on the floor.  &#147;... ‘Not knowing’ is the whole fucking point. Life is all about not knowing, and then doing something anyway. All of life is like this. All of it. And it’s not going to get any easier just because you found out you love your job cleaning septic tanks or you scored a dream gig writing indie movies.&#148; — Mark Manson 

Whatever

Sam and Simon talk about everything, but mostly how to do the things you have to do so you can make more time for what you want.

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Take Back the Day

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