Issue #99 | Subscribe

Where ideas keep flowing. Generated using Midjourney v5.2.

Last Wednesday, August 23rd, was a historic moment for the world.

ISRO landed Chandrayaan-3 on the moon's south pole, a challenging and never-explored terrain.

Seeing the live feed of the Vikram lander touching down safely on the moon's surface made me teary-eyed and proud of all the people who have worked tirelessly to make this happen.

But what intrigued me the most was the mindset of scientists not only at ISRO but all over the world.

A mind tuned to see setbacks only as a failed experiment, not a complete disaster.

When ISRO's last moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, failed to land a rover on the moon, it was a shattering moment.

All the years of hard work and dreams crumbled away in a few seconds of software failure.

However, this didn't scratch the resilience of the scientists at ISRO.

They only saw this as a failed experiment, learned everything they could from it and built a superior landing system and multiple backup plans for Chandrayaan-3, ultimately making it a success.

Our lives, too, are full of setbacks and scenarios that don't go according to plan.

Instead of interpreting these wrong turns as permanent roadblocks, what if we start seeing them only as a failed experiment?

A chance to gather data on what went well and what didn't, recalibrate our efforts and give it another shot.

The next attempt might also fail, but with the proper adjustments and a resilient mindset, we will solve the problem one way or the other.

Take some time this weekend to think about this.

The video I've featured at the end of this newsletter also discusses how we can have this experimentation mindset towards learning and how it can significantly improve our learning experience.

Your biggest problems are one right adjustment away from being solved. Start thinking like a scientist.

Now, onto the rest of this newsletter issue and this week's recommendations:

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Your Next Read

Greenlights

Peak into the exhilarating life of Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey with this delightful autobiography. This one has plenty of life lessons sprinkled throughout the book.

Biographies

Apps & Services

Anytype

E2E encrypted and offline-first Notion alternative

Think of Notion or Craft, blended with Obsidian and gifted with speed and privacy. That's Anytype. Login with a randomly generated strong encryption key, and you're set. Available on all major platforms and is free to use.
Catchup

Stay in touch with your friends

Amidst the busyness at work and a bazillion other things to do in life, we often lose touch with our good friends. This app helps you see when you last checked in with someone and gives you timely reminders to get in touch. Available on iOS and is free for basic use.
MonAi

Easily track and categorise your spending

There are plenty of expense trackers in the market, but what sets MonAi apart is its dictation mode and AI-based categorisation. Tap on the mic and say where you spent money and how much, and MonAi will do the rest. Available on iOS and is free to use.

Handy Shortcut

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]

Make the selected task a subtask of the task above it in the macOS Reminders app.
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Interesting Reads

100 Little Ideas

14 min read

A comprehensive list of excellent and mind-bending frameworks, mental models and more packed with real-world examples. You might want to pull out your notes app for this one.
In 8 Hours You Could Be In . . .

4 min read

I've not been on long drives much, but this brief article made me want to plan a road trip in the coming weeks. Funny how we would readily spend 8–10 hours doing nothing or binge-watching TV shows but not exploring the world.
Experiences Won’t Make You Happier Than Possessions

10 min read

I've been on the "choose experiences over material possessions" boat for the last few years, but this article exposed me to a new way of looking at my regularly used possessions and how they add joy to our lives.
Don’t Forget to Swim Now and Then

7 min read

This is a beautiful reminder of why we should take a break from our modern world and connect with our primal roots occasionally.

Videos

Mark Rober talks about how he has made learning more fun with a trick called The Super Mario Effect.

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