Author: Torrey Nommesen

Torrey Nommesen

Worst case scenario

It may be counter intuitive, but thinking of the worst thing that can happen makes you happier person.

This touches on Stoic philosophy, which has been my guiding worldview for a good 10 years or so now. If you do a search for “Memento Mori” there is a big rabbit hole of helpful applied philosophy that I suggest you go down. For now, let just me illustrate this single semi-Stoic idea that I believe will help you deal with difficult situations, relieve stress, and make you a happier person.

If you are constantly thinking of the worst thing that could happen, it actually leds to a very positive outlook on life. Here’s why: There are two outcomes:

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Video games

I am almost 50 and I still love playing video games. I am currently using Stadia as my main game playing platform. They are not a huge part of my life, however one of my current side gigs is tutoring a student to help him build his own video game.

Some of my favorite games that I have played and have been addicted to over the years.

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Ten ideas a day

I write 10 ideas every day. Well, that’s a lie. My record in one year is 174 and I average a little less than every other day. But it’s been a habit of mine since 2014. It’s a brain exercise. It helps exercise my brain.

You can hire me to write 10 ideas for you for $5 on Fiverr. I’ve had some success with it. All but one of my customers was really impressed. One of them created an art show based on a list they bought from me. One of them was so happy she tipped me 200%.

It was really useful in coming up with topics to blog about for this Blogging from A to Z April Challenge for example.

If someone asks “have any ideas?” I usually say – “gimme a minute. I’ll come up with 10.” because I know from experience that I can. I use it as a form of fan mail. I write about how I admire them and write them 10 ideas. Sometimes they respond and once or twice it’s become a continuing conversation.

Sprezzatura

Sprezzatura is studied carelessness in your art or the way you dress. It’s a word from the 1500s that means “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it.” It’s what a lot of artists strive for when making art or thier fashion.

I struggle with how much I should show process and how much I should conceal. I’m the kind of person who really enjoys trying to take things apart and see how things work. I can sometimes enjoy looking into the process of an artist more than I enjoy the looking at the final finished project.

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Religion vs philosophy

The battle between philosophy and religion – many philosophers throughout the ages have been hung up on this issue. Some doubt that this conflict even exists.

Thales of Miletus is the father of philosophy. He thought the gods were in everything and so everything was in a sense alive, and thus filled with the spirit of (the) god(s). He thought that by understanding the fundamental properties of nature, you would get closer to god(s).

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Quantum physics in everyday life

Quantum physics is really hard to comprehend. They say if you think you understand it, then you don’t. Something about how light is both a particle and a wave? Schrodinger’s cat is both alive and dead? Crazy stuff. I think I understand, but I guess that means I don’t, so I’m not going to even try for this article. But without scientists understanding it, a whole bunch of stuff that you use on a daily basis would not exist.

Toasters

Let’s start with toasters. You know that little wire that heats up red? Everything, no matter what it’s made of – if it doesn’t blow up or disintegrate when heating – will go through the same colors as it heats up. That was the thing that started it all. Scientist were like “WTF? Why is it always the same temperature for the same color no matter what it’s made of?” Max Planck solved this problem and so invented quantum theory.

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Postmodernism and the Potato

I got a strange degree in college. It was called Conceptual and Information Art. When I started, it used to be called Conceptual Design and Information Arts, but the student body voted to change it so it was CIA because we were a bunch of pranksters. The name stuck and it’s now called Digital Media Arts & Emerging Technologies (Conceptual Information Arts). It’s an alphabet soup that means the intersection of art, science, technology and culture. It is where I met and fell in love with postmodernism.

What is postmodernism? Well! There are volumes of intellectual discourse on the subject. Check out this definition:

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The Ocean

I love the ocean. I grew up in a house that overlooked the beach. A sleepy little California west-coast surfer town that has since become a place of multi-million dollar mansions. But as a kid, it wasn’t so fancy. It was a place where all the dirty-faced neighborhood kids would get together and run down to the beach to play. Time has smoothed out the edges and made it even that town even more idyllic that it probably was. The effect is that when I think of home, I think of the beach and swimming in the Pacific Ocean.

Watching the sunset on the beach with a friend on Christmas

For a large part of young adult my life, I lived near the beach would rarely go. Just knowing it was there was enough. I could always tell the cardinal directions because the beach was in the West. Even today, when traveling to a place with a beach on the East, or when living in a foreign country, I need think imagine that beach in California to orient myself in the world.

Now page

Derek Sivers has this concept of a now page. He’s a cool guy and has a lot to say and you should Google him. He gives a great explanation of what a now page is on his about nownownow.com page, but it’s basically this:

You know how most pages have an about page? That’s all find and good, but it tells you what the person or company has done, but not what they are doing now. The now page does this. It’s like what you would say when catching up on a friend you haven’t seen in a year.

Here’s mine. I think you should make one too. When you do, comment below. And tell Derek about it (find his email in the link above). He likes to hear from people.