{"id":14843,"date":"2025-12-16T10:52:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T10:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/?p=14843"},"modified":"2025-12-16T10:52:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T10:52:08","slug":"start-here-2025jan-snapshot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/2025\/12\/16\/start-here-2025jan-snapshot\/","title":{"rendered":"start here 2025jan snapshot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The following was what my start here<\/a> page looked like in jan2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My current recommended starting order for new visitors:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The library ethos<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. We were voyagers<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Are you serious?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Most People<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. it\u2019s just math<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. the world is big<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. greatness is deviance<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. pave the desire paths<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. word magic<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    (2024dec23) Everything below this section is sort of a \u2018big ball of mud\u2019 of hyperlinks (h\/t laputan.org<\/a>), which\u2026 is something that I don\u2019t want to get rid of all at once, because it is<\/em> full of useful material. But if I wanted to make it more reader-friendly, it would take me an annoyingly long time to sift through, tease apart and reorganize everything artfully. So I\u2019ma set it aside (push it down, really) and \u2018start from scratch\u2019 up here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This blog has been through many seasons of care and neglect. Periodically I have phases where I feel inspired to tidy everything up, but I\u2019ve never really been able to follow through on that all the way to completion. If you scroll down you\u2019ll find some clues of that. But here\u2019s where I\u2019m currently at right now. I want this blog to be useful to me, first and foremost. I\u2019m currently thinking of conceptualizing it as a set of \u2018proto-books\u2019 that are all overlapping and scattered together. A few weeks ago I switched up my categories to acknowledge this. They are, 1heartsong, 2copes, 3wordmagic, and 4dominoes. There\u2019s also memoirs<\/a>, reviews<\/a>, and unsorted<\/a>. There was also another category originally titled 1desirepaths, but there weren\u2019t that many posts, and I\u2019ve since switched to using \/desire-paths\/<\/strong><\/a> as the anchor post, linking out to other posts in that cluster. \/knowable\/<\/strong><\/a> is similar, and may also lose its category status. Actually you know what, yes, let\u2019s kill it. I might kill the heartsong category next. Done. The relevant posts instead are now \/heartsong\/<\/a><\/strong>, \/copes<\/strong><\/a>, \/word-magic\/<\/strong><\/a> and \/dominoes\/<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I don\u2019t know if these are the right names for the categories. But I do feel like, within these categories, I should be able to create more cohesive reader experiences\u2013 again, with the most important reader being myself. I know from experience working on my last two books (Friendly Ambitious Nerd<\/a> and Introspect<\/a>) that the act of putting together a book is actually quite a relief, because it creates a \u2018home\u2019 for information to live in, and be comfortable in. It can create spaces for new information to enter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I think that\u2019s the quality that I currently most want in my blog, and in my life, really. I\u2019ve been in the \u2018magic junkyard\u2019 era for years now, maybe decades, where I just kept collecting more stuff. And I take pride in being a pretty good collector of stuff. Maybe too much pride. Because now there\u2019s so much junk it\u2019s hard to really\u2026 relax and enjoy the space. So that\u2019s my 2025 goal for visakanv.com\/blog\/ \u2013 to create a relaxing, enjoyable home for all this information I\u2019ve collected and remixed and authored. I think an obvious first step is to create an \u2018anchor\u2019 post for each of those categories or proto-books. I\u2019ll update this page when I have them\u2026 done. Is there an obvious second step? It would be to\u2026 improve the reader experience of each of those anchor posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2731<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Most shared: <\/strong>Communities<\/a>, Solve for distribution<\/a>, Letter to a young songwriter<\/a>, Being smart vs Being kind<\/a>, The library ethos<\/a>, relationships<\/a>, one must imagine Sisyphus LOL-ing<\/a>, how to ask for help<\/a>, Most People<\/a>, good reply game<\/a>, unlearning coercion<\/a>, pay it forward<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Most visited:<\/strong> relationships<\/a>, The library ethos<\/a>, do 100 things<\/a>, Communities<\/a>, good reply game<\/a>, Most People<\/a>, my influences<\/a>, make friends<\/a>, solve problems<\/a>, how to ask for help<\/a>, my talking points<\/a>, seek excellent peers<\/a>, constructive ADHD<\/a>, how to de-escalate tense situations<\/a>, do whatever makes your heart sing<\/a>, \u2018Mean Girls\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2731<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019m planning to update Friendly Ambitious Nerd to a \u201cMark II\u201d version. That\u2019s going to be quite a heavy undertaking. In the meantime, one of the things I thought of doing was to assemble as many of the constituent blogposts in one place as possible. So here they are. Some links may be broken, I\u2019ll fix them eventually\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Friendly Ambitious Nerd<\/strong>:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I had to publish the book and stew on it for several years before I really came to \u201csee the statue in the marble\u201d. FAN is a seed of an operating system for healthy deviance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    focus<\/a>, attention sovereignty<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Friendship is shared understanding<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Helm of the Arse Gods<\/a>,\u00a0kids in shitty social graphs<\/a>,\u00a0being a misfit<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Make friends<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0practice good reply game<\/a>,\u00a0seek excellent peers<\/a>,\u00a0everybody loves to make a great introduction<\/a>,\u00a0persuasion<\/a>,\u00a0accumulating social capital<\/a>,\u00a0small talk<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. How to be more optimistic<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. How to ask for help<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. Develop genuine confidence<\/a>,\u00a0imposter syndrome<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    6. communities<\/a>,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    7. assholes<\/a>,\u00a0never be gleeful about violence<\/a>,\u00a0when i block people<\/a>,\u00a0sinister connotations<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    8. the apocalypse test<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    9. parents, peers and other benevolent plagues<\/a>,\u00a0Most People<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    10. pay it forward<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    11. perspective<\/a>\u00a0(feels kinda weak)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      FA: encourage your friends<\/a>, how to DM your heroes<\/a>, cold emails<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Ambition<\/strong> \u2013 giving as much of a shit<\/strong> as possible<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. Are you serious?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. articulating a vision<\/a>,\u00a0articulate your vectors<\/a>,\u00a0joke about outcomes you want<\/a>,\u00a0think in dominos<\/a>,\u00a0fumbling the bag<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. optimize for survival<\/a>,\u00a04 kinds of luck<\/a>,\u00a0play long games<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      4. ambition is not about prestige<\/a>,\u00a0the prestige trap<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      5. tell it slant<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 on obliqueness<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      6. you are already monarch of your life<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      7. plans are worthless, planning is priceless<\/a>.\u00a0XAB method<\/a>,\u00a0soften the ground<\/a>,\u00a0mvp model of personal dev<\/a>,\u00a0projects require collaboration<\/a>,\u00a0project management<\/a>,\u00a0problems are solvable<\/a>,\u00a0mario castle problems<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      8. elitism<\/a>, the ratatouille rule<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      9. don\u2019t jump<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 the folly of the plunge (2016)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      10. shame<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 status regulation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      11. self-promotion<\/a>,\u00a0the world is unkind to the tacky<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      12. struggle porn<\/a>\u00a0\/ hustle culture<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      13. good vs great<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      14. sitcom living<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      15. status quo soldiers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        AN: info architecture<\/a>\u2026 infostructure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Nerds are people whose behavior<\/strong> is driven by curiosity<\/strong> (asking questions, making lists)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        1. pursue your curiosities<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0taste is the beating heart of all creative value<\/a>,\u00a0everything is a remix<\/a>,\u00a0creativity is just connecting\/remixing things<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. take notes<\/a>,\u00a0constructive ADHD<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        3. models<\/a>, \u2018systems thinking<\/a>\u2018<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        4. \u2018jetpacks<\/a>\u2018 should solve information overload<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        5. narrow utilitarianism<\/a>\u00a0(failure mode),\u00a0advanced stupid<\/a>,\u00a0learned catastrophizing<\/a>,\u00a0courage deficit<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        6. the utility of art<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        7. mindfucks<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 ideas that expanded my mind<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        8. bottlenecks<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        9. humility is honesty in the face of reality<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          FN: talking to people makes you a better writer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          scenes<\/strong>: scenius<\/a>, jane jacobs<\/a>, talent is clueless and scared<\/a>, erasmus<\/a>, the losev problem<\/a>, greatness is deviance<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Introspect<\/strong>? Self-sense beating yourself up is egotistic<\/a> (merge? moral failing fallacy<\/a>), do you know what you want?<\/a> (currently titled \/introspect\/, should change this) fault<\/a>, boredom<\/a>, adulthood<\/a>, insecurity projection<\/a>, identity<\/a>, depression<\/a>, earn self-respect<\/a>, narcissism<\/a>, better place<\/a>, exhaustion funnels<\/a>, unlearning coercion<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Culture<\/strong> \u2013 I want to do more work here, this is what I want Voltaic Verses<\/a> (visakanv.substack.com) to focus on<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          school<\/a>, safe spaces<\/a>, baby abandonment<\/a>, smartphones<\/a>, screentime<\/a>, fame<\/a>, fashion<\/a>, civilization is potty training<\/a>, real life is already dystopian<\/a>, religion<\/a>, mean girls<\/a>, fuckability<\/a>, pissbabies<\/a>, Cultural appropriation<\/a>, cultural cosplay<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          masculinity<\/a> \u2013 merge menworld<\/a>, cowardly men<\/a>, mansplaining<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          memoirs\/about me?<\/strong> busker<\/a>, blinders<\/a>, giftedness<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \u2731<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The following is a leftover remnant of one of the previous times I tried to sort my blog:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          pedestalization<\/a>, take deep breaths<\/a>, talking for writers<\/a>, Influences<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          heat death<\/a>, sisyphus<\/a>, ayylmao,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Potentially promising but unfinished: hyperthreading<\/a>, smartphones<\/a>, jetpacks<\/a> (information overload), information superhighway<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Things that should be essays: projects require collaboration, status regulation, obliqueness, monarch life\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \u2731<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          (2023jan4) magicbeans:<\/strong> I\u2019ve spent many years writing, blogging, note-taking, etc and over time I\u2019ve found it necessary to come up with good, memorable phrases that I can use as reference points. \u201cgood phrases\u201d or \u201cmemorable phrases\u201d is a bit too generic, but magicbeans is quite a bit better. It\u2019s not perfect \u2013 a truly great phrase would be one that nobody else uses. It\u2019s a bit more complicated than this but I won\u2019t get into that right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Advanced Stupid<\/a> \u2014 do100things<\/a> \u2014 joke about outcomes you want<\/a> \u2014 status quo soldiers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          to be updated<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          teasers, riffs, seedphrases<\/strong>: poaster trajectory \u2013 switchboarding \u2013 ayylmao chaos surfing \u2013 focus on \u2013 Mario castle problems<\/a> \u2013 make yourself comfortable<\/a> \u2013 overpreemptive (thread<\/a>) \u2013 uncommonly confident, humility\u2026 more\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \u2731<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          changelog:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          2025jan15: just funny\u2013 I found a wordvomit from jan2013 (0033<\/a>) where I talked about wanting to redo my blog, and how even then I had been wanting to do it for a very long time. Well, we\u2019re doing it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          2025jan14: i\u2019ve made so much progress in the past few days, particularly with the anchor posts of heartsong, desire paths, wordmagic, knowable, copes, dominoes. looking forward to improving the reader experience of each, and basically paving the desire paths. i no longer feel embarrassed by the state of things here, though there\u2019s still a long way to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          2023May02: Wow, I\u2019m so glad that I did this. It\u2019s going to save me so much time as I continue to piece things together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          2023Jan18: This blog has been weighing on me somewhat. In part, it feels like a historical record, and that\u2019s\u2026 good? But it also feels clunky and tedious. The sitemap is too complicated. I think it\u2019s time I did a fresh \u201cresearch review\u201d of the posts that I reference and revisit most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          The following was what my start here page looked like in jan2025 My current recommended starting order for new visitors: (2024dec23) Everything below this section is sort of a \u2018big ball of mud\u2019 of hyperlinks (h\/t laputan.org), which\u2026 is something that I don\u2019t want to get rid of all at once,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5gxNz-3Rp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14843"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14844,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14843\/revisions\/14844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}