RockneCAST

In this episode, we'll cover the first Judgment set forth in The Creative, the first chapter in the ancient book of wisdom, the I Ching.

The Judgment

"The Creative works sublime success, furthering through perseverance."

This episode addresses those words.

The translator, Richard Wilhelm, concluded his introduction with: "May the same joy in pure wisdom be the part of those read the translation as was mine while I worked on it."

The Book of Changes is just that: pure joy. Similarly, may you experience the joy in listening to this podcast as I had in producing this episode.

Just finished "The Explorer's Gene" by Alex Hutchinson. Hutchinson is a classic polymath, holding a PhD in Physics and masters in journalism. He is also an accomplishing runner and adept, having written NY Times best selling book called "Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance."

The Explorer's Gene is about the power of exploring the unknown, breaking routines, and embracing the risks and rewards of exploration. In this episode, we cover how:

1. Hutchinson differs from James Clear, identifying the virtues and vices of too much routine, especially when it comes at the expense of exploration;

2. Novelty seeking;

3. Nassim Taleb and small bet/big reward exploration;

4. Traveling like a flaneur;

5. Exploration of the unknown versus exploitation of the known.

Just had a dream about wolves. So I thought I'd do a podcast on wolves. In this episode, we explore "wolf energy" through books, legends, and Wheels of Time, the hit Amazon fantasy series.

We'll also cover former NBA coach Phil Jackson, his wolf pack quote, Rudyard Kipling, and the Old Norse word for wolf.

Carl Jung and Robert Bly also make an appearance.

I finish with two books that I want to read Beowulf and Prose Edda.

Embrace your wolf energy.

I finally finished Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. First published in 1990, it has now become a classic in the field of positive psychology. You're probably aware of the punchline of the book: flow is the Goldilocks zone between excessive stress and anxiety and boredom. It involves optimal difficulty suited to a skill set. But the book is more than the punchline. It covers flow in all aspects of life and more importantly, how to "flow". Csikszentmihalyi also identifies the perils of not being into the flow and the purpose of flow.

I loved this book. I am glad that I finally read it. It should be on everyone's bookshelf. I'll probably read it again.

This episode covers just two small vignettes and lessons from the Taoist scholar Chuang Tzu.

Get into the flow!!

Two words, "Don't Judge". Could an entire philosophy arise from two words? This episode explores the connection between Andy Reid's success and those two words.

I thought about those words after rereading Shannon Lee book about her father's philosophy in her book, Be Water, My Friend. She outlined the Parable of the Empty Cup, a story that Lee frequently used to illustrate the power of keeping an open mind and being open to the unexpected.

As I read that parable, two words came to mind, "Don't Judge", a two word philosophy that Andy Reid uses to guide his approach to coaching and teaching. This episode explores the synchronistic philosophy connecting these two amazing men.

Just finished Iron John - A Book about Men by Robert Bly. It's book for men of all ages. Every man and woman should read it. Men need to read it to uncover what it means to be a man. Women need to read it to understand the men in their lives: fathers, sons, brothers, and spouses.

Bly explores Deep Masculinity through legend of Iron John, a story from the Brothers Grimm. In this episode, I share how I learned about Robert Bly, and why I read it. I also share a passage on Law to Legends.

This is the book that you have to read and reread. I... Absolutely... Loved... It!!

Bly has left us countless and timeless pieces of wisdom and a whole host of authors to explore.

This should be on every man's shelf.

Just in Chicago for a week, and I learned about the Ginger and Turmeric Latte at the Oud's Coffee House. In this episode I cover the health benefits of ginger and turmeric. I explore why antioxidants are so important and the perils of oxidative stress. Finally, I will tell you how to make a Ginger and Turmeric Lattes!

This entire episode is about "The!" , the downside of excessive simplicity. Instead, we should strive for Goldilocks Complexity, the minimal number of steps to achieve a particular result.

I started thinking about this topic after reading Ben Guttman's excellent book Simply Put - Why Clear Messages Win and How to Design Them. I loved this book. It is right up there with James Clear's book Atomic Habits.

But... simplicity has a downside. In this episode, I explore optimal simplicity, identify too much simplicity and too much complexity.

Goldilocks Complexity.

This is a quadratic formula: y=−ax2+bx

In this episode, I explore The Brutalist, Iowa Football Coach Kirk Ferentz, Bears Coach Ben Johnson, and simplicity optimization.

If you think about it, nearly our entirely education is predicated about discerning what's true and what's false. I started thinking about this with the uptick in "conspiracy theories" and their relation to the pending release of JFK, RFK and MLK files. As I have followed those stories, the question arose:

Does this even really matter to me?

We need to marshal our energies to focus our true/false journeys. We only have so much time, energy and resources.

This episode is about an approach to focus and optimate our true/false journeys.

I know it sounds boring, but for whatever reason, this question fascinates me. In fact, I think its key to become the best version of you.

Did Jeffrey Epstein die by murder or suicide? In this episode, I argue that we should use Bayesian statistics to frame the debate. Indeed, we should use this approach to frame most "conspiracy theories". Most such theories are derided as compelling storytellers weaving half truths to fit their narrative.

Bayes offers a more analytical approach.

1. Make an educated guess about the probability of an event occurring. The likelihood of Epstein dying by suicide.

2. Identify authenticated clues that support that hypothesis.

3. Assess the odds of each clue happening independently, i.e. jail cameras not working, hyoid bone being broken, both guards falling asleep.

4. Then calculate odds of those happening together.

5. Perform calculation and then update original probability estimate based upon the probability those clues happening.

Using Bayes with a "little" help from Grok, I identify the odds of murder versus suicide.

I also identify ways that you should attack this analysis and not just my use of Grok.

This approach should be used more frequently as we try to resolve debates surrounding "conspiracies". I don't even really like that word. We're really trying to assess whether Event x was caused by y or z.