Thread by @fortelabs

1/ ok guys, I have a theory and it starts with this idea:

A generation only comes into its own when its vices turn into virtues, and become the new normal

2/ This was sparked for me when I saw a tweet that the first Millennials will turn 40 in the next 1-3 years, depending on your definition. I think an underlying cause of much current turmoil is the struggle for power between M’s and way overdue Boomers

3/ So much of the success narrative today is still based on the old model: get smart, know a lot, do one thing at a time, as early as possible

4/ This model has obviously broken down for M’s, as beautifully illustrated in this article on how we became the “burnout generation” buzzfeednews.com/article/annehe…

5/ But now we have intelligent machines that can start to take over some kinds of thinking for us. This completely changes the game

6/ As we offload more and more of our thinking to technology + networks, the so-called “vices” of our generation become virtues. One by one, they’re getting redefined and reframed

7/ Procrastination became Structured Procrastination, as explained in this delightful short post by John Perry: structuredprocrastination.com

8/ Multitasking has become Slow-Motion Multitasking, as explained in this wonderful TED talk by @timhartford (great thinkers work on multiple things at once) npr.org/2019/05/10/719…

9/ ADHD becomes the ability to switch rapidly between things, and to become deeply absorbed in something if it truly interests you (a common, but much less well known symptom)

10/ Opportunism and lack of commitment become “maximizing optionality,” which makes a lot of sense in an uncertain environment where opportunity can come from anywhere, and require dropping everything

11/ Mediocrity (a la @vgr) becomes the strategic skill of deoptimizing most things, which leaves you extra capacity to take on unexpected things

12/ Poor memory is exacerbated by being able to Google things as shown in this paper, but that makes us lean on external tools that can then become superpowers ibtimes.com/google-effect-…

13/ Spending too much time on social media now sure feels like a better way to start a business than hanging up a shingle on the street corner

14/ This is the fundamental problem with what I call First Brainism (incl. spaced repetition, memory palaces, deep work, digital waldenponding, speed-reading, essentialism, paper notes fundamentalists, and trad’l education): it tells you to get really good at the old model

15/ Obviously we need both, but prioritizing the biological brian as the repository of knowledge is now the surest way to not only fall behind, but to be more and more overwhelmed and stressed out as you do so

16/ We are in the early stages of the Second Brain era, when your biological and cognitive deficiencies turn into superpowers, as along as you are willing to give up some control and learn the new way

17/ And my method is not the only or best way for everyone. The crazy threads of @visakanv, authoritative articles of @farnamstreet, and communities of practice qualify. The knowledge is stuck in our heads and we must evacuate it now!

18/ This tweetstorm is a case in point: sparked by a tweet, pulled together from half a dozen sources, with images and quotes and links, while in my pajamas on “off hours” on my iPad, with hardly a reference to Google needed