Blaize Horner Reich

Publicly immersed in business technology and project management research. Neverending quest to understand and teach. Privately political. Radical 60s roots.

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

Just made a donation to Charter Challenge for Fair Voting https://t.co/SLV1AXiUng
Join me! We need a new voting system!!

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

We’re in a tough spot now in BC and it’s time to change the voting system. https://t.co/piJdROJBmx

[James Lucas @JamesLucasIT]

If you liked this thread, please share the post below and follow me for more content: @JamesLucasIT

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

This is a good thought for most decisions we have to make.
"It's more advantageous to structure decisions to be easily reversible than to take too much time trying to make the perfect choice.​"

— @shaneparrish

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

Here’s a great idea from @FastCompany - perhaps to accompany a dry January?
I’ve got to get back to the 3 blessings practice - so easy and fulfilling
https://t.co/QXYri2MqbP

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

interesting concept - surface area- to explain feeling stretched and out of control. see below. I used this idea, unwittingly, during Covid.

A Tiny Thought worth reading in the @farnamstreet weekly Newsletter. Read it here: https://t.co/UREiP4Fmfr

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

A pretty interesting take on the concept of “less is more”

[Shane Parrish @shaneparrish]

A different take on what makes us feel so busy, stressed, and anxious.

---

As a rule, the larger your surface area, the more energy you have to expend maintaining it. Of course, when most of us think of surface area, we think of a the area of a rectangle or how much grass we have to mow. But there is a surface area of life, and most of us never realize how much it consumes.

If you have one house, you have a relatively small surface area to maintain (depending on the age and size of the house, of course). If you buy another one, your surface area expands. But it doesn't expand linearly - it expands slightly above that. It's all the same work plus more.

Friends are another type of surface area. You have a finite amount of time to spend with friends before you die. The more friends you have, the less time you can spend with each one individually.

Wealth is another form of surface area. The more money you have, the more you have to keep track of different types of assets and investments.

When your surface area expands too much, you hire people to help you scale. Assistants, property managers, family offices, etc. They're scaling you - but they're also scaling the surface area of responsibility. This, of course, only masks the rapidly expanding surface area by abstracting it.

Beliefs are another type of surface area.

The thing about surface area is that the more you have, the more you have to defend and maintain. The larger your surface area, the more you are burdened with mentally and physically.

If you think in terms of surface area, it's easy to see why we are so anxious, stressed, and constantly behind. We feel like we need more time, but what we're really craving is more focus on things that are important. What we need is a smaller surface area.

Surface area becomes part of your identity. She's the 'busy person' with her hand in every project. He's the guy with four houses.

Competition can drive expansion. Most people want a bigger house to compete with someone else who has a nicer house. We are animals, after all. On a group level, this causes great benefits. On an individual level, it can cause unhappiness.

Most of the really happy people I know have a relatively small surface area. I know billionaires with two houses. Most of my close friends only have 4-5 close friends - everyone else is a friend in the loose sense of the word. Most of the productive people I know at work are focused on one or two things, not 5.

The way to maximize your enjoyment in life is to keep your surface area small. It's a lot of work but if the happiest people I know are any indication, it's a lot less work to keep it small than to maintain it when it's large.

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

On giving Tuesday, my response is to support strengthening democracy, trying to get a new voting system in Canada.
Springtide and @fairvotingbc have brought a charter challenge case to the Ontario Superior Court. Donations are doubled for the appeal. https://t.co/rVN4Hvc4Hy

[Trung Phan @TrungTPhan]

When Antoni Gaudí died in 1926, less than 1/4th of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona was done.

The Basilica is still in the works and a major obstacle in the past 97 years was technology.

Gaudí based his late-1800s designs on nature (tree roots, cave arches).

We needed computing advances in the 1990s to prove his models could be built.

These tools including aeronautical engineering and computer-assisted design (CAD) software.

The project is always delayed but there’s no shortage of funds now to get it done (with ~4m visitors and $20m+ a year in donations).

Below is a video rendering of the completed structure, which Spanish builders hope to finish by 2026 (a century after his death; he devoted the last 40 years of his life to the masterpiece)

“The straight line belongs to man, the curve belongs to God,” the iconic Catalan architect once remarked. “There are no straight lines or sharp corners in nature. Therefore buildings must have no straight lines or corners.”

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

@nathaliejacoby1 Yes

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

@ShouldHaveCat 26

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

Great article from @FastCompany explaining AI in use in Shopify , how it will help entrepreneurs accelerate insight and action and impact creatives.
“” https://t.co/DiGPAI3ki6

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

#WowManabu Such a great exhibition at the @AudainArtMuseum in Whistler. Manabu Ikeda‘s work is intricate, inspirational, amazing! Go see it! Don’t miss it.

[Stand.earth @standearth]

Indigenous leaders, celebrities & scientists are urging @jjhorgan & @bcndp to take urgent action to protect the last old growth forests in B.C.

Join @MarkRuffalo, @MargaretAtwood, Grand Chief Stewart Philip, David Suzuki and raise your voice.

RT & sign: https://t.co/6LSLlvPzZR

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

Beautiful evening at the ⁦@AudainArtMuseum⁩ tonight- the art work by Manabu Ikeda was spectacular, a solo exhibition not to be missed! The meal by chef Koji Chiba was exquisite. Bravo!

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

I signed up to volunteer to support a national citizens assembly to investigate options for the voting system in Canada. Three MPs, one from each of the 3 big parties have sponsored a bill in parliament. We need change!

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

Interesting posts this week from Farnam Street.
“You will never be happy unless your expectations are exceeded. If you think the world owes you something, you’re going to end up disappointed. ..."

A Tiny Thought in this week's @farnamstreet newsletter https://t.co/0qqBWKq8BJ

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

We are in a climate emergency and a cap on oil and gas emissions is Canada’s best shot at tackling rising carbon pollution.
Call your MP and tell them to #CapPolluters:
https://t.co/1Q4FUK7ove #EmissionsCap #cdnpoli
https://t.co/PecNjcL7OY

[Leadnow @leadnowca]

📢 Today, hundreds of us are taking the demand for a bold #EmissionsCap to the doors of MPs across Canada! We must hold oil and gas companies accountable for their carbon pollution.

Take part in the day of action by calling your MP: https://t.co/FZg1npP9kI #CapPolluters #cdnpoli

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

Good news about a recent vote in the commons to examine the electoral system in Canada.

https://t.co/TLVqq6cxk4

[Daniel Blaikie @Daniel_Blaikie]

FPTP promises 100% of power w/ less than 40% of the vote. This was true for both the Trudeau and Harper majority gov'ts. I asked the PM about a National Citizens' Assembly before their convention. He wouldn’t answer then, but wasted no time shooting down the proposal on Sunday.

[Blaize Horner Reich @ProfessorBlaize]

@SFU @SFUBeedie Congrats Shafik!! We’ll deserved.