Digging for Fire

I've been interacting with quite a lot of Americans, Europeans, and Brits the last few days. I've learned two new things about the USA, and for once, neither comes from my typical sarcastic, antagonistic disposition toward "the land of the free".

First, Americans share a common cultural temperament with Aussies, which is that they're not afraid to call bullshit. They're inclined to stand up for what's right. Of course, this can cause problems, especially when the definition of "right" is disputed.

It's pretty rare to find people who live an Orthodox Jewish lifestyle where there's no Orthodox Jewish community. But I do.

Because I'm recognisably Jewish (I wear a kippah), I often encounter people who have questions and pre-conceptions about Judaism, which I'm more than happy to oblige.

There is one particular misconception about Judaism that I encounter time, and time again. For some reason, people seem to think Jews don't drink alcohol.

My previous post was a little dense and academic. Sorry about that.

We're not all educators, but we are all learners. Even though Ecological Dynamics was a little hard to parse, there's some really helpful learning advice contained there. I'm going to sum it up here in a more casual tone.

And before you read this point I want you to pause. Think about something that you are trying to learn right now.

I was recently introduced the sports psychology methodology called Ecological Dynamics. It's an approach to skill acquisition for physical activities which is becoming widely adopted by contemporary coaching practices. Elite coaches across the globe are leveraging these strategies to achieve remarkable success in top-tier sports.

I believe Ecological Dynamics can apply broadly to skill acquisition in fields beyond sports. In fact, I'd argue that it's a direct reframing of Constructivism, a pedagogical movement which began way back in the 1920s (with every Education undergraduate's favourite reference: Jean Piaget).

The dragon is closing in. The cleric is out of spell slots. The rogue is unconscious. The barbarian is bleeding out, and the wizard has one last chance to pull off something, anything, that might turn this around.

The dice clatter across the table.

Don't we all live for moments like this? We’re drawn to the thrill, the drama, the high-stakes decisions. But Dungeons & Dragons isn’t just about rolling dice and fighting monsters.

Soundtrack for this post.

What Satie is teaching me.

Fast and quiet It's very natural to play allegro forte, fast and loud. It's much harder to play allegro piano, fast and quiet. Just because my days are busy, quickly moving from one task to another, that doesn't necessitate stress. It's possible to play quickly and quietly. So I endeavour to move through my day with calm alacrity.

Crossover is inevitable That top note of a right-hand chord is occasionally played on the left.

In order to, maybe, reach a wider audience, I’ve decided to change my position on social media.

I recently ran into an X profile which declared itself “write only”. My plan is to create social profiles that do the same, auto-posting words and clips from this blog.

l-w-------

I've chosen four networks: X, Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads. These are all primarily text-based platforms, which suits my blogging style.

I've chosen to avoid Instagram and Facebook.

Inspired by Matt Webb's Unoffice Hours, I've opened by calendar for 30 minutes every week. Whether you'd like to chat about a recent blog post, how I organise, homeschooling, podcasting, film recommendations, or anything else, I'm available.

All you need to do is book a call.

You will need to be contactable via FaceTime. When you book the meeting, you will be given a FaceTime link to join the call. This should work everywhere, including non-Apple platforms via the web.

Whenever I'm working on something new, my end goal is to distill it into the simplest version possible. Clean, readable, minimalist.

Usually, that process starts with chaos and complexity. Whether it's a coding project or a TTRPG concept, the genesis is the same. Throw together a whole mess of ideas, goals, questions, and inspiration. Then refine. Find parts that fit together nicely, trim the fat, leave no wasted space.

The same thing happens on the macro scale.

Derived from the Old English Wōdnesdæg, Odin’s Day. A Norse god of complexity and contradiction, war and wisdom.

In the Romance languages, mercoledì, miércoles, and mercredi, named for Mercury. A Roman god of trade and travel.

These gods, it seems, aren’t on my side. Wednesdays have been a struggle for me. I could use a little wisdom, a lot more focus, maybe some guidance on Wednesday.

German gives us the transcendentally simple Mittwoch, which translates to “mid-week”.