Kelly Crow, of the Wall Street Journal, reports that the artist, Maurizio Cattelan, taped a banana to a wall with duct tape at an Art Basel exhibition in Miami. When Cattelan debuted the art, he ripped it off the wall and ate it. Justin Sun paid $6.2M for that banana. (link to WSJ article)I believe Cattelan makes an ironic statement with his piece — the commoditization of the art market. It’s no different than the urinal piece often credited to Duchamp. John Cage wrote a piece called “4’33” which is 4 minutes and 33 seconds of total silence. The culture decided that these pieces — all of them — are significant — 6.2M significant. I see the irony though. A banana and duct tape has to cost ~$10. It’s absurd that someone would pay so much for something that costs so little — it’s because the culture decided that the banana on the wall is valuable. The piece itself is a critique of the absurdity of the art market. And the art market, in the end, paid an absurd price for it. How much do we allow the collective culture to inform our valuation of things?

From “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: And Other Clinical Tales” by Dr. Oliver Sacks.“We have, each of us, a life -story, an inner narrative whose continuity, whose sense, is our lives. It might be said that each of us constructs and lives a ‘narrative,’ and that this narrative is us, our identities.To be ourselves we must have ourselves — possess, if need be re-possess, our life-stories. We must ‘recollect’ ourselves, recollect the inner drama, the narrative, of ourselves. A man needs such a narrative, a continuous inner narrative, to maintain his identity, his self.” A person — human — needs a narrative. I have a narrative about myself just as complicated and as beautiful as the one you have about yourself. That’s sonder. That’s life. However —Imagine you are forced to live your life constantly reinventing who you are. You are forced to do this through a mechanism of nature — you are unable to retain for any length of time your knowledge of yourself. You think of anything and create fantastical stories hoping that the story you come up with will be the one. The truth never arrives for you. There are people who live life the way I described. They live with a mental constraint that prevents them from holding on to themselves. In spite of the constraint, they keep on keeping on.More and more I believe — we can tolerate so much if we have the ability to choose.

I’ve noticed something from two medical doctor visits — both docs are not great at closure. Closure — the end of something, the final song, the button, the trash can ending, the big finale. I know, “law of small numbers, n=2, give people a break.” I get it. But I also wonder, How much thought is put into how service providers close?I work with service providers as part of my day job. I often share best practices about closing deals, ending customer interactions, etc. The best practices are to give people something to walk away with — a win, an outcome, something to help them believe they were positively productive. Of all the places where being positively productive could be a net benefit, and specific to these two wonderful people, why not the exam room?

Thinking of yesterday’s post; I wonder what I obsess about.I obsess over how humans make decisions. I am curious what factors go into a decision. For instance, why use “can” to start a question when you mean “will”? Is the intent to make a “lighter’ ask? I am curious what value people derive from their decisions. For instance, leaving the news on all day — what’s the value in consuming 24/7 news? Is it a need to feel informed? And, what would the cost of not leaving on the news be? I am curious about how people think about other people’s decisions. For instance, the decision to vote for someone of the opposite political party. Is that voter evil, misguided, thoughtful? And, what value is derived from the judgment? I am curious about these things because I question the value of certainty. Knowing that our perception of the world is delayed, and words can mean so many things to so many people, and knowing that history can be remembered 100 different ways — what’s truly certain? I come back to the idea I write most often: the only thing that’s certain is that life is uncertain. And, it’s the marriage between that paradox and human decision making that I find so beautiful, absurd, and — mostly harmless.

Interesting tiny thought from Shane Parrish’s Brain Food newsletter:The lazy lose to the average. The average lose to the focused.The focused lose to the obsessed.Which leaves me to wonder, what are you most obsessed about?

The BBC reports that cheese theft is on the rise. (Read article)The industry’s response to organized crime cheese theft is fascinating. I had no idea this was a thing. Now, many in the industry are fighting back, however. Italy’s Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium – the cheesemakers behind the world’s most stolen cheese – have said that the black market for that variety is “robust”. This is partly down to the fact that it is hugely valuable, generating global sales of almost £3bn a year – and so they have come up with a unique way of protecting it.In 2022, the consortium began introducing tracking chips, no larger than a grain of rice, as part of the label embedded in the hard rind of the cheese. This helps to reduce thefts, but also means counterfeit Parmigiano Reggiano can be identified, as each tiny chip contains a unique digital ID that can authenticate the cheese.HT to Tyler Cowen’s Saturday Assorted Links email.

If I hold out my hand in front of you, you see my palm. I observe 4 knuckles. What’s obvious to me, is not obvious to you. Better to remain curious than fixed.

I don’t have an update to make — I still believe my original thoughts (posted below, original). In fact, given what I’ve experienced, I believe more than what we do is not about us, it’s those we seek to serve. Be the change you want to see in the world. Then, let others take your torch and spread your vision; this is a legacy.  Being proud of yourself requires you to see the impact of your work. To do this, you are required to think about how you’d like the world to change after you’re gone; this is deep.In my life, I’ve struggled to see my impact on the people I’ve touched. I never felt the need to think so deeply about my actions; I was wrong. I did not accept compliments, appreciation, and other forms of recognition well. As a result, I never truly felt fulfilled, happy, in my work, and my life. I changed my life.  As a leader, I was encouraged to rethink my role in the lives that were in my charge; I needed a new perspective.  - I accepted the responsibility I had to lead and support the humans in my care.- I created a vision of the world I wanted to create. I also communicated that vision to the team.- I did my best to act with intention. I shared what I was going to do and why before I did. Finally,- I allowed those I care about to support me, tell me I am wrong, and share the journey with me.Admittedly, I felt uncomfortable when asked about what my legacy would be in my last role. I still feel uneasy when asked. But my mind changed when I realized that it’s not about me.  Legacy is not about you. It’s about the people you support. It’s about bringing these people around something bigger than themselves. It’s about being the one to carry the torch. It’s about being comfortable to hand the torch to someone else when the time is right. Legacy is the culture we create for the people we love, care and support. Leave a legacy.

How many more new and wonderful things could you be doing but are not because you are focusing on something that doesn’t matter?“In one corner of the parking garage near my office, car satellite radio doesn’t work.This is clearly broken, but it’s also not a problem. Certainly not a problem worth anyone’s attention when there are so many other problems to be addressed.Problems, by definition, can be fixed. But they might not be worth the focus and effort.Letting these go is important, because it frees us up to work on the things that most people don’t think are problems that are worth fixing.” - Broken (and not worth fixing) by Seth GodinWhat opportunities do you miss out on because of your perfectionism?

BucksDucksCoyotePeopleDogsTypes of grassesTreesBushesBerries (edible)Berries (inedible)Cracked black walnut shellsWhole black walnuts (they have green shells)Whole acornsAcorn topsLeavesMarshRiverPondsBirdsScatCarcassesCloudsSunAtmosphereAssorted bushesYoung humansOlder humansHandsFeetWhat’s right in front of youWhat you noticeLots to see when you stop and notice.