Society’s Broken Taste Buds, Classics Club, and Intuition

Baxter's Blend #6

Helloooo everyone,

Greetings from Austin!

For the past two weeks, I’ve been battling with writing a long-form essay. I’m working with so many solid ideas, but I still have no clue how the pieces piece together.

My mentor

Paul Millerd

told me that I just need more time. He said that one piece took him two years to write. So for now, I’ll just surrender and let it marinate like a crockpot of chili.

Society’s Taste Buds Are Broken

Something I started using this week is Substack Notes. It’s awesome. It’s kind of like Twitter, but I was surprised that people actually engaged with my stuff.¹

Here was one of those ideas:

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Social Media Boundaries

This week, I read a recent interview with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. He talked about how there’s increasing evidence that social media is harming children’s self-esteem.

One thing that stuck out to me: on average, adolescents spend 4.8 hours a day on social media, including Youtube. This is not total screen time, either.

Source

As Murthy said, there need to be strict boundaries with technology:

“One last thing I’d recommend: if your child is already on social media, consider creating tech-free zones in their days to protect sleep, in-person interaction, and physical activity. One of the things I worry about with children is that social media use is robbing them of those critical areas that they need for healthy development.”

This applies not just to children but every adult across the world. We need to protect our presence more.

Something I feel very strongly about is that I will never install Instagram, Snapchat, or Tik Tok on my phone ever again.

As I wrote in a long-form Tweet last weekend on this:

“Lest you think I'm a hypocrite who is shunning all social media by using a social media platform itself, I'm not. I like Twitter and Substack in tiny doses because they support my goals and ambitions of writing online. I'm amazed at all the smart people who are out there outline who love ideas.

As for those who create short-form video content, I commend them and support them. But to watch their stuff, I'll only consume it from my computer.

Sadly though, most people aren't using media to find jobs, make friends, and propel their careers. Often times it's a substitute for socializing with real people and is all too easy to be abused.”

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Classics Club

Over the past few months, I’ve only been reading the classics. Walden, the Odyssey, and Brave New World. Wow. Let me tell you something: while the newest book is from 1932, I feel more wise and connected to the world than ever before. These books are disproportionately great but barely read.

Milan Kundera once wrote that “books were the emblems of a secret brotherhood.” Whenever I see someone reading a Penguin Classic, I have this compulsion to go up to them because they’re in on the secret. They know.

On this note, the Muse moved me to create something cool on Canva:

I’m not sure if this will be a podcast, an in-person intellectual club, neither, or both. But all I can say is that I especially enjoy the company of rigorous thinkers who prize the classics—like my friend

Jeff Sullivan

. One of my favorite parts of my week is chatting with him at the gym about what we’re reading. Another is an online book club for the Odyssey that I’ve been a part of.

Still, it would be sweet to have my own thing. I really just want to meet more people who are tasteful with their information consumption. I want to share time and space with like-minded people who also want to go to war with ideas.

If your favorite book is Atomic Habits, then this club or my writing isn’t for you and you should definitely unsubscribe. But if you do resonate with what I’m saying and have any feedback, let me know in the comments :)

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Go Without a Pilot

Speaking of the Odyssey, there’s yet another fabulous passage that I wanted to share with you. In yesterday’s book club, two of us had it highlighted:

“Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, born for exploits,

let no lack of pilot at the helm concern you, no,

just step your mast and spread your white sail wide—

sit back and the North Wind will speed you on your way.”

It’s kind of like the banner that hangs in my gym in Austin:

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See you next week,

—Baxter

P.S. Have a friend who’d find this interesting? Send it their way:

1. This may have been because

Sherry Ning

reposted it. I’m honored to have made it into her tasteful consciousness :)