Why what's interesting is so interesting

On Day 1, I said I would be writing about what’s interesting to me.

Maybe this sounds a little trite. If you write online, there is often an expectation to mould your writings into short, punchy essays, layered with hot, contrarian takes.

But following what’s interesting is deeper than this.

To follow what’s interesting is to trust your sense of salience. Salience is an exquisitely complex way of pulling meaning from the world. It’s fast, yet utterly personalised. A lot of it happens beneath your awareness. You don’t know all the inputs and you never will.

Your salience has been shaped by biology and culture over vast timeframes, a kind of intelligence operating upstream of your conscious beliefs.

It has a lot to tell you if you’re patient. It will highlight things you don’t know are important yet.

We need beliefs, but we jump to them too soon. I care less about what broad label you resonate with and more about what ensnares you, in spite of yourself.

In writing from this place, you draw on something much larger than one ideology or belief. You’re plugged into a broader intelligence.

I find that it’s a competitive advantage to be writing about things I’m interested in. I can do that, every day, whilst having a ball. Each spark shared generates three more.

I think of it as building a philosophy from the bottom up. It stays open and panoramic in the short-term to create something bold and holistic in the long-term.

What’s in it for you? Little ideas for better living; dim sum for the mind.

See you tomorrow.