Some Announcements

It’s been a long time since I last posted an article. When I originally started this blog, I planned to post daily articles. However, I soon realized that it conflicted with my vision of what I wanted this blog to be. At the time, I was obsessed with Mark Manson’s blog after discovering his book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck—a witty, life-changing book that showed me the potential of the self-help genre I had become so disillusioned and jaded by. My first articles were written in a similar style to Manson’s work and loosely classified as self-help articles. I’m proud of those articles but decided that this blog should not focus exclusively on the self-help genre and be a medium for me to share insightful, meaningful ideas with the world. I want to continue writing about topics I’m passionate about, without tarnishing my ideas with sensational marketing labels. I don’t care if my blog doesn’t achieve the status of Tim Ferriss's or Mark Manson’s blogs. I refuse to post about topics that are trendy or widely appealing in lieu of ones that are just as intriguing to the intelligent reader. 

I also realized that I want to write the kinds of articles that only I can write. I hold nothing against Top 10 lists and reviews (which are still entertaining, trite as they are) but I want each of my articles to feel revolutionary to readers. I remember the awe of uncovering brilliant hidden gems of content through the deluge of content that pervades modern life and I hope to elicit this same awe in my readers. As such, I select my topics deliberately and write them to be only as long as necessary. None of my articles should contain unnecessary details that would bore a reader or encourage them to skim; every sentence must brim with purpose. At the same time, I avoid perfectionism to ensure my writing feels natural. The reader should feel that I’m a wise friend talking to them by their bed, during their morning commute, or in whatever setting they read my articles. Through my writing, my mind does not die with me. 

Now, having shared the purpose of this blog, I have some announcements to make:

1. The book I was coauthoring has been canceled indefinitely. I’ll leave excerpts from the project posted but don’t expect to see much more content critiquing the education system—at least not for a while. My friend felt too busy with schoolwork later in the semester and we both agreed that there were greater ways to make an impact on the education system than through a rushed book. Note that I don’t regret any of the time I spent on the book. I learned a lot about the challenges of writing a book and crystallized my ideal pedagogy. I may undertake a similar writing project in the future, but my interests lie primarily in fiction. On the bright side, that same friend and I are planning to start a youth policy organization to advocate for better educational policy. I may post articles regarding this in the future.

2. I’m placing The Art of Computer Programming on hold. I began working through the book out of curiosity, its supposed value as a conspectus of computer science, and a desire to prove to myself I could handle it. I was unable to complete any problems rated 30 or higher but understood most of the concepts and solved several problems rated in the 20s. I worked through the math sections and stopped at the introduction of MIX (I later learned it was superseded by MMIX, as delineated in fascicle 1). I lost interest in the book and felt it would be a better use of time to learn x86 assembly, but I would still recommend it to anyone fascinated by computer science who could handle the rigor. Knuth doesn’t always explain concepts well, but his passion for the subject and abstinence from didactic trivialities were a welcome facet of his books. 

3. I’ve returned to programming. I took a long break from programming because I lost interest, but I’ve decided to give it another shot. I’m in the process of completing several Freecodecamp certifications and playing around with the potential of programming. I find that programming, like many other disciplines, is much more entertaining when viewed as a hobby as opposed to a career avenue. Look forward to articles about computer science or personal projects in the future. 

4. Many of my ideas are too compact to warrant articles of their own but are still worth sharing. I initially felt that bundling these sundry topics would deviate from the quality and novelty I strive to achieve, but I’ve changed my mind. From now on, I will publish “bundle articles” which contain an assortment of quality ideas.

I most likely will not post articles that recommend a specific show or book, but I want to promote other people’s content that doesn’t receive enough attention. Therefore, I will include recommendations at the end of each of my articles, some of which will be labeled as further reading. 

Recommendations:

1. Hana Ga Saita Yo: a blog about anime and manga analysis that sets a new standard for my writing, literary analysis, and blogging alike

2.  "The Mundanity of Excellence" by Daniel F. Chambliss: an ethnographic report that incisively reduces “success” to a scientific phenomenon

3. The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity: a little-known romance manga that executes a generic premise to perfection

4. Pizza Tower: a delightful 2d platformer that could be considered indie game of the year