Newsletter Week 16 | 2022

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Hey there.

I hope you've had a great week.

I was sitting in my office a while back, just watching a few videos on YouTube. Suddenly, it suggested a talk by Jeffrey Brenzel on The Essential Value of a Classic Education.

I didn't really think much of it, but the name intrigued me a bit. So I clicked on it and started watching.

Wow! What a presentation—captivating from start to finish.

The first thing I'll say: watch it, or at least, just a little bit. It is my belief that we focus too much on the modern, the recent, when so many of our problems are the same as they had hundreds (even thousands) of years ago.

I was so inspired by the whole presentation that I wrote down the notable books from it, as well as some others I remembered at the time.

And that brings us to now.

This year, I'm setting out to read 10 classics*. I'd love for you to join me. To get us both started, here are the books I'm considering:

• The Republic

• Dialogues of Socrates

• Aristotle's Ethics

• Oedipus Rex

• The City of God

• Dante's Inferno

• King Leer

• Paradise Lost

• War and Peace

• The Brothers Karamazov

• The Wealth of Nations

• On The Origin of Species

I've already started reading The Republic—I'm halfway and loving it so far.

Let me tell you why I'm doing this—it might give you some reasons as well.So, why did I even consider this challenge?

First and foremost, older and more classical books have stood the test of time. In other words, they're pretty solid, according to the Lindy Effect.

I will let Nassim Nicholas Taleb explain:

We get to focus on the quality books with this filter. And that's what you want to spend your time on.

So that's the first reason: not getting our time wasted by reading garbage.Of course, a book doesn't have to be a classic to be bad, but it does help filter.

Next, it is my belief that we should read books that intimidate us.It's like progressive overload for the mind. Your mind-muscle only gets stronger if you train it—and you can't keep training it on the 1 kg dumbbells that are getting published today.

The climb to the giant's shoulder is hard, but the view is worth it.

So that's why I'm reading more classics this year. I hope you'll join me.

As always: don't be afraid to discard a book if it does not serve you. Do not feel obligated to finish it. There are too many books to read, and you won't ever have time to read them all anyway. Don't let the few books you get to read be those you didn't want to read.

* For a good definition of what constitutes a classic, watch the aforementioned video. 

Favorite Article This Week

Why grandmasters like Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana lose weight playing chessA very interesting look into why and how master chess players lose weight while playing. The piece gives great insight into what they do to optimize for mental performance. A surprising one: chewing gum. 

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