Culture

Cultural Noise

Javier Feliú

Sep 13, 2024 — 1 min read

When it comes to news events, I often waver on a line. The line itself is the event, and each side is represented by how relevant and how quickly I need to hear the news.

Normally, we think we need to know everything right away. But most of the time, we don’t. This realization can free us to check updates only when they’re truly relevant.

Knowing where tornadoes are landing while a hurricane wreaks havoc across my location is useful if I’m driving home from the hardware store. Those live updates matter. But in our current context, which is not life or death, most other events can wait a few hours or days.

One category is especially pervasive: political and cultural news.

While these types of news events are important to us as citizens and members of society, social media platforms can overwhelm us with a constant flow of updates. Scrolling through X (formerly Twitter) is like opening a fire hose of news, and I’ve found it to be the most politically charged of all social platforms. Instagram and others are similar, but X especially amplifies political content.

Crafting how we consume news can significantly improve our productivity. We should decide when to check the news, not let our brain’s dopamine response be at the mercy of an algorithm.

Until next time,

Learning to Sharpen Chisels and Plane Irons (…and Some Basics on My Gouges)

Hand tools are a taboo topic for many power tool woodworkers. We’re confident in our cuts, joints, and builds—until we pick up a hand tool. The challenge isn’t just owning them; it’s learning to sharpen them. No disposable blades or high RPMs here. Sharpening takes skill,

Making Math Make Sense for Parents

My wife’s mission is to make today’s math easier for parents. With 200+ short videos, she breaks down all the new methodologies taught in most schools in a way that’s simple and relatable. If you're a parent wanting to understand your child’s math better, take a look!

From Here to There...Keeping Family Close Across the Globe

Kids are the beginning of the end of the family core. This is good in every sense but is progressively painful. Family can be viewed as a cycle of life, where when a man and woman unite, if given the gift of children, they now have the opportunity to have

A Belief in Perfecting Myself (Tolstoy)

Tolstoy once believed self-perfection would fulfill his destiny—it was his personal religion. Yet striving alone reveals our limits. When faith guides our actions, our lives gain true purpose.

Read more

Learning to Sharpen Chisels and Plane Irons (…and Some Basics on My Gouges)

Making Math Make Sense for Parents

From Here to There...Keeping Family Close Across the Globe

A Belief in Perfecting Myself (Tolstoy)