The Art of Not Problem Solving

Wrote this a year ago, was too scared to let many people see it then. Still scared now, but sharing anyway in the hopes that somebody out there enjoys it✨

tinyletter.com/mayli/letters/… so wild looking back at the date stamp of feb 21, 2020, which is one year and an entirely different reality ago

it’s 1am and i’m up because something is bothering me

i heard this app is good for ranting, so here’s a rant

it’s about anti-racism, inclusion, equity, and the gaps between:

- intellectualizing and embodying
- thinking and doing
- intention and impact

BIG gaps i know a lot of people began a learning journey about this topic this past summer. great. better late than never. welcome.

here’s the thing: there’s a big gap between *intellectualizing* something and *embodying* it

People who work in education or ed-related things👋

Some AMAZING content creators from Khan Academy are available for hire, expertise in:
- Social Studies
- ELA and literacy
- DEI
Content creation, curricula design, literacy implementation, and learning design

DM me for intros! On the social studies side – definitely reach out if any of the following resonates: diverse and inclusive history offerings, education policy and equity, writing and innovative learning in the social studies

Help spread the word! thank you

Also noticed people in New York feel this way about people in California

I’m so grateful I have a partially Dutch (most direct) partially Indonesian (least direct) upbringing to help me straddle all these worlds

https://twitter.com/femkesvs/status/1300539412678406145

Interestingly: the Dutch are the tallest people in the world on average, and Indonesians are the shortest people in the world on average 🤔

I look at portfolios and then vet difficult-to-teach aspects of the person, work with recruiting partners to do the same

I’m not “most” hiring managers but at least one counterpoint

https://twitter.com/seanlinehan/status/1299852889511178240

It's also good to maintain the perspective that people are making mental calculations about the support they'll need to provide for somebody against the ambient dysfunction that exists inside the org… and that's real

fruit here is amazing good night

re: bon apetit

me confused why ppl revere an institution dominated by people from the least-rich lineage of culinary tradition on the planet? why do you think they had to come get sugar chocolate spices… even potatoes from the rest of the planet? go to the originators want: mystery science theater format for cooking videos. like Uncle Roger but international, with three aunties / uncles / grandparents as the commentators

does this exist yet?

As soon as I saw who the caller was, I knew.

They told me the news: she’s gone. My godmother, hero, homie, passed away yesterday.

💔

Gonna be hazy with grief brain for a while. Hoping to share her stories with you one day. Wish me luck as I embark on this writing project. Thank you so much for your thoughtful messages. I know it takes real effort to write something in these situations and you all are making me feel so supported in a way I never expected😭i really mean this thank you 💗

You know how everything feels like it's falling apart? Here are some words and history to put to that feeling…

What a sad story of greed. And we're living in it.

the-american-interest.com/2014/06/15/the… “The plutocrats have also developed novel ideological self-conceptions. Many see themselves as “the deserving winners of a tough worldwide competition” and regard efforts to make them to pay for public goods as little more than organized theft.”

I am literally crying 😭😭😭

https://twitter.com/jennyyangtv/status/1286131803246350336

https://twitter.com/djstylus/status/1286638676441784321?s=21

https://t.co/zxhW0FqUig

hi twitter i drew an avocado okay well it’s half an avocado
i was sad and then i remembered
that the whole reason i wound up in a creative field is because i used to do creative stuff to cope when i was sad

it's 5:37pm here, the week was rough beyond belief, so I'm two glasses of sparkling rosé in and it's DRUNK PROGRAMMING TIME tw: alcohol

happy weekend everyoneeeeeee 🍷

Hi, I'm sharing a section I cut from my latest newsletter. I was feeling shy about sharing… but maybe it will help others, so here go some of my naked feelings 😮 (thread)

interesting to see people be protective of their positions regardless of their impact

When I was asked to be VP, I told my manager that I'd do it if it was the most helpful I could be to the organization. If as a VP I was causing harm, I preferred not to do it. fyi in leadership your strengths are amplified but so are your flaws, unless you design your team and processes to account for them. self-awareness is crucial in order to do a good job. if you have ego shit in the way you're definitely gonna cause damage

threads of words i learned tonight

1. jacquerie 2. baize

Another PSA, in case anyone wants a gentle reminder

We each get to choose who inspires us. And we each have a choice in who we amplify or pay attention to.

(IMO it's more fun when we don't all choose the same people) If you're willing to share: who are some currently lesser known people who inspire you? … especially those who might never make it into mainstream or even niche fame, but have had a profound impact on your life? Multiple answers super welcome 💖

Bad system design:

1. label or punish people who bluntly bring up issues, particularly with organizations or leadership

2. act clueless when issues arise because “you hadn’t heard anything”

This is the status quo. It’s a system designed to prevent itself from receiving data.

https://twitter.com/ariel_n/status/1277102312784228352

“nothing came up in the exit interviews”

who do you think feels safe leaving things on record with HR? and who does not?

ah yes, the same people who think police are going to protect them! that’s who

Well put.

I've been holding in my frustration about this and yesterday I just couldn't anymore. I wish it did not take the entire world to stand up in protest and countless staff pushing over years before corporate executives pay attention to such fundamental issues.

https://twitter.com/ekp/status/1270729891625832448

So many of the staff behind the scenes has spent years getting taken less seriously or paid less or reprimanded for putting energy into these efforts

and people wonder why so many products remain rooted in extractive practices and "diversity" numbers don't move

HR people and managers: even without the data systems fixed, spell your team’s names correctly in your Google Docs or whatever.

Unsure how? If you’re on a Mac just hold down the key and you’ll get options with accents, labeled with numbers so you can keep hands on keyboard

https://twitter.com/jessdelgrande/status/1270564851790819328

Oh and like – if you have text search in your software? Please support these characters – and don't eliminate search results just because of a difference between ñ and n or an é and an e…

(@Traktor I don't know if you fixed this, but it's kind of hellish for us)

i made chili crisp thanks goes to @jessiechar for encouraging me to make it from scratch when i was sad i couldn’t buy any here

I am livid not only about this

But also the godawful history of colonial abuse resulting from the entire rubber industry taking off in the first damn place. People and countries destroyed for the rubber and now you puncture perfectly good tires

So many layers of wrong

https://twitter.com/MotherJones/status/1270059322806923264

historytoday.com/archive/contra…