People Afraid of Thinking, Elon Musk, Generative AI, Steve Jobs Mail and More.
Explore this week book, articles, videos worth looking at.
*Welcome to “The Backlog” Newsletter.*😊
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🙋♂️Thinking is Challenging for People
This week I came across an interesting study from Timothy D. Wilson from the Department of Psychology, University of Virginia.
The study is about people who are afraid of thinking about their thoughts. Its surprising.
In 11 studies, we found that participants typically did not enjoy spending 6 to 15 minutes in a room by themselves with nothing to do but think, that they enjoyed doing mundane external activities much more, and that many preferred to administer electric shocks to themselves instead of being left alone with their thoughts. Most people seem to prefer to be doing something rather than nothing, even if that something is negative.
Nowadays, we enjoy any number of inexpensive and readily accessible stimuli, be they books, videos, or social media. We need never be alone, with no one to talk to and nothing to do. Wilson et al. explored the state of being alone with one's thoughts and found that it appears to be an unpleasant experience. In fact, many of the people studied, particularly the men, chose to give themselves a mild electric shock rather than be deprived of external sensory stimuli.
📕 Book of The Week
Walter Issacson’s new biography “Elon Musk“ was released last week. I haven’t read it yet but I have read some reviews from people. Issacson is famous for his biographies on historical figures like Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, Jeniffer Daudna, and Leonardo Da Vinci.
6 Thoughts on "Elon Musk" by Walter Isaacson By Trung Phan
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson review – Arrested Development By Gary Shteyngart (The Guardian)
📷Image Worth Sharing
This is an image illustrating the 9 types of humor shared by Shaan Puri
https://twitter.com/ShaanVP/status/1701768483670004195
🗨️Quote worth sharing
“You should keep learning…to the end of your life.” — Seneca
📺Worth Watching
The disappearing computer -- and a world where you can take AI everywhere - Imran Chaudhri
In this video, Imran Chaudhari, former Apple designer and cofounder of Humane, talks about his company's new product first ever on the TED stage, and explains how it could change the way we interact with tech and the world. Definitely watch to see this cool product.
📖Worth Reading
Steve Jobs emails Adobe's CEO - Internal Tech Emails
Know the conversation between Steve Jobs and Adobe’s CEO about employee poaching between companies.
The Economic Case for Generative AI and Foundation Models
The article deep dive into the revolutionary potential of generative AI and foundation models, with how these advanced technologies are poised to reshape industries and economies.
It begins by contrasting the historical performance of AI, which primarily benefited established tech giants, with the new landscape where startups are using generative AI to compete effectively.
🤔Question Worth Answering
What types of books do you often read?
A/ Self-help and Business
B/ Literature & Philosophy
C/ Fiction
D/ Other
The answer can be more than one option or out of the options, do comment on the books you read.