sean m obrien

BODY: Why are you running? You are no athlete. Think about it. There are forces against you. Natural forces. Do you think that sharp pain in your side is going to go away? HMMMM? It’s to late for you! Do you realize what else you could be doing? 

MIND: I want to finish a 10k on 08/31/08. 

 BODY: Sure. We’ll see about that. (evil laughter) 

jakoblodwick:

Creativity and Digitization

Years ago I heard a great quote. It was attributed to the film director Fellini (though I can’t find it anywhere on the web), and it was like: “I don’t talk about my work before creating it, because the energy goes into talking about it instead of creating it.”

For years I have wondered about the psychological basis for this phenomenon. I know it to be true; my most successful projects are ones that I just do before I explain. And I think I figured it out, or at least, I figured out an explanation that satisfies me.

In reality, there are no fundamental units of time and space, as far as we can observe. There is no equivalent of the pixel in physical reality. We can create arbitrary units, and they suffice for human needs, but at a fundamental level we’re just imposing a made-up grid on space and saying, “it’s good enough”.

Imposing a grid is a form of digitization. Digitization is the reduction of something raw and analog — something real — into an absolute, structured system. There are many benefits to digitization; primarily, it becomes much easier to transmit.

Here is the basic tradeoff of digitization: you invariably lose something. Look at the sound waves above. The top one (analog) is the real deal, the bottom (digital) is better than nothing but still not what it represents.

Any why does talking about a nascent creative project take away from the project itself? Because words are digital. The act of translating a creative idea into words is an act of digitization. If you explain an idea, you reduce a nebulous inner state of images and emotions into something you could fit on a PowerPoint slide, or explain to a corporate drone.

There is sometimes an illusion that the words are the idea — that an abstraction is the concrete — that the map is the territory. And this, dear readers, is why I think creative projects should have exactly the minimum number of people involved, and never more. I’ll take my art raw, thank you.

peterberkman:

tyman:

(via iwontallowit)

 This is absolutely true. Thank You.

05/08/08 

First run recorded with Nike+Sportband.

Wow! Reality just kicked me in the face. I have a long way to go till I am ready for a 10k. First, off the Nike+Sportband worked flawlessly. It really gave me a sense of accomplishment as I was trying to run the distance. Normally when I run I just get back to the house feeling like an old man and pass out in agony.

(If you haven’t already noticed by the chart, I am ridiculously out of shape. I remember walking the mile faster in middle school.) 

Now I can get instant feedback on my run and see how I am improving. Unfortunately the distance I normally run was a little bit shorter than I had originally thought. I have to find a 3 mile stretch that is not interrupted by crosswalks. Those little breaks really messed up my pacing. I did enjoy them though. I think I am going to walk a 10k tomorrow just to get a sense of how long it really is.