1 Family Photo:
Technology

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
​– Arthur C. Clarke

The Apple Vision Pro came out last week. I don't have one. I don't know if it will become the next big thing everyone has - like headphones that don't have wires, or phones that don't have a place to connect headphones that do have wires. I don't know if it will flop - like glasses that don't have lenses but do project a tiny computer screen into your eyeball.

I look forward to finding out.

I remember when I first held an iPhone. Magic. I remember when our family got our first computer at home. Magic. I remember when my dad took us to see Lion King in the movie theater for the first time. Magic.

I remember when I first held Calvin, and later Lawrence, in the delivery room and wondering, "How is it even possible this baby exists?" Magic. Every few weeks I find myself wondering, "How do these little bodies keep growing bigger?" Magic.

With YouTube, Calvin and Lawrence have digital access to the entire world. This week Calvin was telling me, in great detail, all about the turntable at the Kyoto Train Museum. Magic.

And how much more magical are their imaginations? Unlocking universes, turning dirt yards into construction sites. Magic.

Modern parenting seems to be about balancing the magic of the physical, the digital, and the imaginative. I don't know what that balance should be.

I look forward to finding out.

1 Dad Joke:
Grand Canyon

Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.
– Teller

Highlights:
Magical

When you see the world as magical, it meets you as a magical place.
– Simon Sarris

​On the Usefulness of Photography by Simon Sarris​

Photography is a magical art and an underrated tool: Combined with modern photo storage it is the biggest boost to memory since the invention of writing.

​Making Normal Conversations Better by Sasha Chapin​

Small Talk Is Vital
​
You cannot force good conversations to happen. You have to allow and invite them, and small talk is where you get to the point of extending the invitation.
​
The best invitations are usually casual and vague, if you’re at the stage of a conversation where you’re establishing a connection, which can be anywhere between 2-15 minutes in. “Say more” and “care to elaborate” are magical phrases. You can also repeat what they said. “Work has been crazy lately.” “Work has been crazy lately?” That can do a lot. The question “why is that important to you,” while more intense, can get you really far, really fast, if you sense a mood of openness, especially if you learn to ask it casually.

​In Defense of Small Talk by Camilo Moreno-Salamanca​

​inarticulable knowledge by Ava​

​The Man Who Fixes the World's Finest Violins by Elly Fishman​

Asked to explain his precise methods, Becker points to instinct. “These instruments have a certain soul,” he says. “People think it’s magic, but it’s just experience.”

iamJoshKnox Highlight:

LLMs are also a magical technology. My essay from last year: A Word Calculator…What is GPT?​

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Also magical: self publishing! Thanks to all who've purchased my book! You can still buy it on Amazon here – or reply and I'd love to gift you a copy.

​

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Until next week,
​iamJoshKnox​​

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