What I'm Doing Now

Baxter Blackwood
Feb 12, 2024
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Last updated: November 26, 2024, from warm and sunny Austin, Texas.

My Own College

Right now, I’m in my own college. My parents are paying for my rent and food—for now. In most of my waking hours, I’m just learning. It feels crazy. But I think it’s how things are going to be in the future as more and more kids start to question college.

"Instead of asking what books you should read, ask what ideas you should understand." — Naval Ravikant

The curiosity curriculum I’ve made for myself is centered around 3 things:

  1. Studying The Bible. I’m not a believer, but I have realized that Western civilization—including America and the university system—is built upon Christianity and the Church. I’m still very skeptical of this Jesus guy but am very interested in the stories and ideas of this book. I also know it’ll help me understand all of the other classics. I’m also aware that at some point I might be struck beyond the intellect, and I’m open to that.

  2. Studying creativity. I’m reading The Artist’s Way over the next few months to help express myself better, to learn how to tap into my intuition, and to listen to the Muse.

  3. Studying the history of technology. I’ve always wondered how technology impacts our perceptions and consciousness, but it took me a while to find the right books. I spend most of my time thinking about this stuff. Right now, I’m reading from the following cluster of books:

  • Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan

  • The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan

  • Technics and Civilization by Lewis Mumford

  • Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

  • Orality and Literacy by Walter Ong

  • The Gutenberg Galaxy by Marshall McLuhan

  • The Global Village by Marshall McLuhan

If you’ve read any of these and want to chat, please reach out to me by email at baxblackwood@icloud.com. I’d love to meet you and talk about ideas :)

P.S. Thanks to Derek Sivers for inspiring this page.