Welcome back to the 1st Law Newsletter.

Yes, there was a long hiatus between newsletters, but the only thing that matters is that I never quit. You may have to wait awhile for a new post, but there will always be a new post. I will never retire from this personal blog. This is my exit strategy.

Deterministic people

Determinism is when a certain input will always result in the same outcome. My computer always types an ‘a when i press the a-key. If my computer typed a different letter every time I pressed ‘a’, that would be absolutely useless. We want that trait for computers… but not in daily life and conversation. Humans should not be deterministic. Don’t always have the same output for every input. This will make you the most boring person to talk to or hang out with. The first time meeting you, it’s okay. People might feel like you have rehearsed you answers before, because you likely have. The mechanical reactions and neural pathways that make you act have been ingrained years before. But the more you talk, the longer you spend with someone, the more obvious and predictable you will become.

Being predictable is sometimes a good trait in humans, perhaps for raising children, or maintaining a long term relationship. If you woke up one day and changed everything about how you act, how you talk, your daily routine… your kids/ partner/ those closest to you will be uncomfortable. They may ask “who are you and what have you done with my partner?” But on the other hand, if you are too predictable, you will bore them and they ma look for stimulus elsewhere. There is a fine line between comfort and novelty in relationships

Pattern interrupts are important. To keep you sane and to keep life interesting. Embrace the randomness of life. Walk a route you usually don’t take. Stay up until 3am when you have to be up for work in a few hours, or wake up at 5am and go for a dark run. Take a solo trip on the weekend. Go to a new bar and drink on your own. Walk to work when you usually run. Switch up your workout routine. Read a book that you think you will hate. Try that restaurant you have walked by 100 times and never gone into. Climb a tree. Instead of asking someone “whats up” like you have done a thousand times, ask them about the last time they cried. Do something to break the routine. Novelty is how we grow. No wise person got to be that way by living a repetitive life.

Having faith

I have a tendency to worry about little things that are not in my control. To alleviate this stress, I sometimes entrust the outcome to a higher power. God, if you will. This helps me accept that it is out of my control. I can accept this feeling of helplessness only if I believe that something more intelligent and powerful than myself is in control. Thus, I put my faith in God. 

If it works out how I wanted it to, great. If it does not work out how I wanted, I need to trust that it is part of a larger plan and that I am being protected form something unseen. This also implies believing in fate… but I don’t like the idea of blind fate. I think that we need to have some individual agency and work hard to achieve our goals. I believe more so that God has favorites. These favorites are chosen simply based on those who choose to be good, honest, and hardworking people. If you try your best and strive to be good, then you can believe in fate. Whatever happens was meant to happen. 

Quote to go

Thanks for reading!

Lucas