Five on Friday: Why Ethics Is Hard, the Greatest Catastrophe Ever, and What Is True?
Issue III
Every Friday I send an email with five pieces of content. These are things I’ve found insightful, inspiring… or just interesting.
If you want to receive Monday’s Disciple Notes email but not this one, simply unsubscribe below.
Here are five things from my week I thought were worth passing on.
Today at a Glance
Quote: Why being ethical is hard
Tweet: RIP to Jon Reyes
Article: The greatest catastrophe ever
Podcast: What is true?
Bonus: Next-level note taking
One Quote
“Intentions don’t matter. Actions do. That’s why being ethical is hard.”
– Naval Ravikant
I recently heard ethics described as the outward behaviors that reveal your inner moral principles. That rings true to me.
Having high ideals is easy. Being highly ethical is hard.
One Tweet
This week’s tweet is just for fun. I saw this when it was posted last month. Kudos to Jon Reyes for not deleting it and taking the ratio like a champ.
If you want a good laugh, click through and read the replies.
One Article
The Black Death: The Greatest Catastrophe Ever - Ole Benedictow
We’re approaching the two-year mark of the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19. It feels like we’ve been dealing with the pandemic much longer than that.
Here’s some perspective though: Did you know the Black Death lasted for over 300 years (from 1348 to 1654) and was made up of over 30 waves of plague?
The article above gives fascinating insights into the plague. Did you know outbreaks were more deadly in rural areas than urban centers? Or that warmer seasons were more dangerous than winter months?
Give a read to learn other interesting details about the greatest catastrophe ever.
One Podcast
What Is True? - Waking Up With Sam Harris #62
Apple Podcasts / Spotify / YouTube
These days Jordan Peterson is a household name. But when Sam Harris had him on for this conversation back in 2018 he was just entering the public conscious.
Harris intended to discuss the role archetypes, mythology and lore play in modern society and the way Peterson connects those things with traditional religion. Given Harris’ prominence as a spokesman for materialistic atheism it would have been an interesting conversation. They never got there.
Instead they spent two hours arguing over how to answer the question, “What is true?” At times this discussion gets frustrating but it’s mainly because both men are trying to answer the question from radically different worldviews.
One of my favorite podcast episodes from the past few years.
One Bonus
I like podcasts but have often wished I could bookmark or take notes while listening. Now there’s an app that makes it possible.
If you want to go next level with your podcast listening, check out the Momento Podcast app for Android. (Airr is a similar app for IOS.)
I like how Momento lets me insert bookmarks in an episode. But even better it creates a text note of the clip. I have it integrated with Evernote and Readwise which makes my podcast notetaking seamless.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Personal Note
I’m currently dealing with an achilles injury. That means trail running is off the table for at least six weeks. I miss it.
Running is one of my favorite ways to unplug. I don’t wear earbuds or listen to music when I run. I enter what I call the Monastery of the Mind, a place that’s hard to find in our modern world full of noise.
While running is out, extended walks are still an option. I think I’ll go for one now. See you next week!
Thanks for reading and if you like Five on Friday, please share it with others who might enjoy it too.
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I'm sorry about the injury Andrew. I prayed for your mom last week. Hope she is better. I recently listened to make ticker tape parades great again, by Peter Thiel; definitely a fun listen.