issue # 34
issue # 34
talking points for life, being demanding and supportive, ben percifield down the linguistic relativity rabbit hole
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Mood
Cool things curated in our universe
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A great speech by Zhang Yiming, the ex-CEO of Bytedance
A two part speech (part one and two) delivered in March 2021 that gives a rare look inside the mind of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of this generation. It reads more like a meditation retreat sermon than a stereotypical tech CEO.
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Talking points for life
Every week I find pockets of wonderfulness online that make me remember why I love the internet so much. Talking Points for Life is a library of ready-to-use messages for challenging social situations.
(Curated in conversations).
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Good questions
A great list of interesting questions by Tim Ferriss to help you stress-test the boundaries of your reality and discover that most limitations are socially reinforced rules you can choose to break at any time:
What if I did the opposite for 48 hours?
What if I could only subtract to solve problems?
Could it be that everything is fine and complete as is?
What would this look like if it were easy?
(Curated in good questions).
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On being both demanding and supportive
From Ravi Gupta, the former CFO of Instacart: Most people think of demanding and supportive as opposite ends of a spectrum. You can either be tough or you can be nice. But the best leaders don’t choose. They are both highly demanding and highly supportive. They push you to new heights and they also have your back.
(Curated in leadership).
Curator spotlight: Ben Percifield
Rabbit hole: Linguistic Relativity
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Why is Linguistic Relativity Interesting?
Linguistic relativity is the idea that languages shape how we think; that different languages give rise to different ways of thinking. I do believe that that language is the bottleneck through which perception is understood and shared. As someone who can speak two languages, and has worked as a translator, I find the idea of linguistic relativity extremely compelling.
Translation is the act of changing the words on either side but surviving the meaning on the inside. Translation is never a 1:1 direct act, but one that parses words through cultural, social, and other lenses. I am interested in better understanding how we perceive the world, how we express our thoughts and feelings, and how we interact with the culture we live in. The strong form of the argument says that language determines thoughts. The weak form says that language influences thoughts.
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A podcast worth listening to on the topic?
Radiolab Colors, two cool moments: @ 50 mins, the evolution of language to describe colors: Someone studied languages & the emergence of colors: Red always comes first, blue is always at the end. @ 1:00:50 - We can only notice/perceive the colors we have the words for - Namibian tribe example: they can’t see blue because they don’t have a word for it.
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Things worth reading and watching on the topic?
This is how your language affects your thoughts: Good overview on linguistic relativity.
Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch. It’s the perfect book for understanding how the internet is changing the English language, why that’s a good thing, and what our online interactions reveal about who we are.
Love bombing, gaslighting, and the problem with pathologising dating talk. On the hyperbolic nature of internet language: “I understand why people take refuge in hyperbole to make their pain legible.”
Let's have a bouba: meaningless words still have meaning. If you don’t know about bouba vs kiki now you do!
Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell, Chapter 7 / page 77 on this pdf: In Korean culture & language, enormous attention is paid to the relative standing of any two in a conversation: called power distance. In the example of Korean Airlines flight 801, the first officer doesn't tell the captain what he thinks is wrong, because the captain is superior to him.
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Youtube Channels worth following on the topic?
Nativlang has some incredible linguistics videos, including: “Does language shape how we think? Linguistic relativity & linguistic determinism -- Linguistics 101”, and: “Does time work differently in different languages? - Hopi Time”.
✨ Bonus
We shared our vision for the future of startupy at Betaworks' Tools for Thinking Camp. If you want to watch, our segment starts at 1:24:08.
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