"A sign in a window"

Every Wednesday I share five things I liked and think you might like too. Here are this week’s Five Things…

1. Some midweek inspiration from Derek Sivers. — Obvious to you. Amazing to others.
    
2. A fascinating long read on a small group of people who never forget. My first instinct was that it must be like having a superpower, pretty cool! But can you imagine never forgetting anything? On reflection it sounds more like a curse. This quote stood out to me: "Memory is not about looking backwards, that is not why we have it. It’s there so that your past experiences will make you more adaptive in the here and now and in the future."
    
3. I've been listening to Note To Self's Privacy Paradox series. Which led me to the University Of Cambridge's Apply Magic Sauce personality prediction tool. As a test, I copied last week's Five Things post into the tool and it returned a scarily accurate description of my personality, and my correct age. It's disturbing to think how predictable we all are and how exploitable that makes us as we hand over so much personal data online. Advertisers must love it.
    
4. I really enjoyed Radiolab's latest podcast, Stranger in Paradise. It's the story of how a dead raccoon changed the history of Guadeloupe forever.
    
5. Following on from last week's musical recommendation. Here's another, Noveller performing No Dreams. 

That’s all for this week. If you enjoyed it, sign up to receive the next Five Things in your inbox.

A man about town taking photos of things he says #2

Here are the five things I thought were worth sharing this week: 

1. Interesting thoughts on the benefits of sharing what you do or know for free. In a hyper-competitive environment like the internet, standing out from the crowd is difficult. Sharing your expertise for free can be a great way to build a reputation or following. — “Giving My Images Away For Free” by Samuel Zeller.
    
2. One of my favourite podcasts This American Life has just finished an excellent miniseries on the 57,000 refugees living in Greece. It’s far too easy to forget there are people with hopes and dreams just like you and I behind the statistics we hear on the news. This American Life has done a great job illuminating some of these people’s lives. I highly recommend both episodes as well as the online tour of the refugee camps that accompanies the series. Really eye-opening and moving.
    
3. Another podcast recommendation, this time from Radiolab. Totally fascinating and one of my new favourite episodes. — “In this story, a dog introduces us to a strange creature that burrows beneath forests, building an underground network where deals are made and lives are saved (and lost) in a complex web of friendships, rivalries, and business relations. It’s a network that scientists are only just beginning to untangle and map, and it’s not only turning our understanding of forests upside down, it’s leading some researchers to rethink what it means to be intelligent.”
    
4. Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of music by Tim Hecker. Here are some favourites on Spotify. 
    
5. I’m really enjoying Instagram’s new Stories feature. I follow a lot of artists, musicians and photographers and many of them having been sharing behind the scenes footage and insights in to their creative process. The author and illustrator Dallas Clayton’s stories have been some of my favourites. Go follow him and while you’re at it… why not follow me?

That's all for this week. If you liked this, check out my previous Five Things posts or sign up to receive future posts straight to your inbox. Enjoy!