6 Minutes Well Spent

Ciao!?

This is Leonardo. Or Leo, for most people.?

Welcome to 6 Minutes Well Spent:??

A newsletter about tech things you wish you knew, brought to you in 6 minutes or less. Just the time to brew your moka and drink an espresso ??

It will often be about how to put technology to public service because that is what I do. But not only or always, as this first edition shows.?

Why 6 Minutes Well Spent? Let me tell you in the next 6 minutes.?

1. What would you do if you had 5% more courage? If you are still mulling on resolutions for the year, I recommend asking yourself this question. In 2023, it literally changed my life. It made very big decisions feel small. This is how. Looking at 2024, I asked myself the question of 5%-more-courage, again. One of the answers was 6 Minutes Well Spent. Why??
2. Conversation is the best way of learning; synthesising is the best way of understanding. Formulating good questions takes preparation. The point of asking good questions is to find even better questions. Explaining what we learnt to someone in simple terms is the best way of validating our understanding. Socrates said this a couple thousand years ago, already. Tyler Cowen, in conversation with Rick Rubin, exemplifies the effectiveness of this method. I highly recommend listening to this podcast because one may disagree with Tyler, but can hardly dismiss his opinions.6 Minutes Well Spent is my act of service to the learning community. I want to enter in conversation with you, to learn more and better things.?Why a newsletter, then??
3. One of the most important lessons from economics is that incentives matter. Disproportionately, I would add. That’s another takeaway from the conversation between Tyler Cowen and Rick Rubin, by the way. Willpower is overrated, incentives are overlooked – in life and in business.??My incentives in writing 6 Minutes Well Spent are twofold. First, writing for you makes me accountable. The purpose of this newsletter is to inspire, satisfy, and grow your curiosity, enough to engage with me in conversation. What better incentive to be clear, concise, and correct in my writing? The second incentive is:?
4. Clear writing is clear thinking. That is according to some of the greatest thinkers in history, such as Nobel Prize-winner in physics, Richard Feynman. Today, AI can speed up or automate a lot of our routine writing, like most emails. Hence, writing becomes an ever more valuable act of deep thinking. It is no coincidence that some of the most successful companies in the world, like Amazon, use six-page narratives to take important decisions. So, I chose to write to offer you my clearest thinking.?Finally, why 6 minutes well spent - not 5 or 7??
5. This 30 second habit has lifelong impact. “Immediately after every lecture, meeting, or any significant experience, take 30 seconds — no more, no less — to write down the most important points.” I recently picked this up from Robyn Scott and found it a very effective way to retain, select, and compound knowledge. However, I am too slow to practice this habit in 30 seconds. 6 Minutes Well Spent is the sum of the best 1-minutes of my week, minus a day of rest. Also, 5 minutes was taken ??
6. “There’s always a future [to build], even if it’s very small.” This is the lesson from a 97-year old builder. At her venerable age, Maddalena Beatrice Monti has not gotten tired of providing “inspiration, camaraderie, and leisurely, wine-fueled meals to some of the foremost storytellers of our time.” I started writing this newsletter after learning about Ms Monti’s life. If you needed a kick to go build in 2024, here it is.?

Okay, time’s up! I hope you found these 6 minutes well spent.?

If so, please consider leaving a comment, to share what you found valuable and what you would like more of.?

If you thought this time was really well spent, please consider subscribing.??

The next edition will focus on “Overlooked perspectives in AI.” See you then!?

Leo