Note: only the block-quoted section below is AI-generated. Also the audio, above. Preface Without externally-imposed deadlines or peer pressure, I’m an awfully slow writer (and with them I’m an awfully stressed writer). That’s the main reason I haven’t been publishing as much as I’d like.
We’ll done, Aaron! Glad to see a post from you after quite some time. Liked (and agreed with) the piece about parenting (for which I suppose we served as a convenient example) as I also agree that childhood (and life) is determined by some mix of nature and nurture (with the former perhaps more prevalent). And while we got a middling 50% mark for parenting based on the factors described (I don’t think I was the overprotective one 😊) what about more generally the parents’ enthusiastic (and often time consuming and monetary) support for their child’s extracurricular activities which are often a very (sometimes most) important part of their growing up experiences and undoubtedly contribute to their well being (not that I’m suggesting this might apply to your or your sister’s adolescent interests 😘).
Nice post. I agree with the core point made in the essay (that even if parents have a limited ability to effect long-run outcomes, childhood still matters), but I also found it surprisingly readable.
I would envision that this method of writing would be most useful for people who are extremely busy, but who want to get their thoughts in written format for long-term perusal by others.
I'm not sure how much utility it would get in other contexts. The reality is that a lot of what draws in readers isn't merely the content of the writing, but also the idiosyncratic style and panache of the writer him/herself.
Take someone like Freddie deBoer. I love Freddie, and he's one of my favorite writers. But it's hard to deny that he has a couple of talking points that he likes to iterate over and over again. So why do I enjoy reading him? Because I like Freddie as a person. Reading his substack feels like catching up with an old friend.
We’ll done, Aaron! Glad to see a post from you after quite some time. Liked (and agreed with) the piece about parenting (for which I suppose we served as a convenient example) as I also agree that childhood (and life) is determined by some mix of nature and nurture (with the former perhaps more prevalent). And while we got a middling 50% mark for parenting based on the factors described (I don’t think I was the overprotective one 😊) what about more generally the parents’ enthusiastic (and often time consuming and monetary) support for their child’s extracurricular activities which are often a very (sometimes most) important part of their growing up experiences and undoubtedly contribute to their well being (not that I’m suggesting this might apply to your or your sister’s adolescent interests 😘).
Nice post. I agree with the core point made in the essay (that even if parents have a limited ability to effect long-run outcomes, childhood still matters), but I also found it surprisingly readable.
I would envision that this method of writing would be most useful for people who are extremely busy, but who want to get their thoughts in written format for long-term perusal by others.
I'm not sure how much utility it would get in other contexts. The reality is that a lot of what draws in readers isn't merely the content of the writing, but also the idiosyncratic style and panache of the writer him/herself.
Take someone like Freddie deBoer. I love Freddie, and he's one of my favorite writers. But it's hard to deny that he has a couple of talking points that he likes to iterate over and over again. So why do I enjoy reading him? Because I like Freddie as a person. Reading his substack feels like catching up with an old friend.