Iteration #002

Written By Susannah Alene

PATIENCE AND PROGRESS

As I’ve been going through this new season and adjusting to a different rhythm of life, I’ve had to remind myself over and over of the bigger picture. It's like taking side quests in a video game, exploring trails and meeting new characters along the way.

For this Iteration, I was planning to talk about the latest advancements in AI and some takeaways from the NVIDIA conference last month, but honestly I don’t think I have anything new or interesting to add.


What I do know is, sometimes redirections are crucial for growth, and side quests are often the best part. For the past 3 weeks I’ve been working at a coffee shop. While it’s not something I was expecting, this also isn’t a season I’d skip to get “back to the main plot.” With less at stake, I feel myself getting into healthier rhythms of work-life balance, and having the space to process all the life that’s happened in the past year.

"Don’t try. It’s there…”

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of trying not to try. There’s this quote by Charles Buckowski:

“We work too hard. We try too hard.
Don’t work. Don’t try. It’s there,
staring right at you, aching to
kick out of the closed womb.”

I kept this quote on a 3x5 card at my desk through my Junior and Senior year of college, and it’s still one that I think about often. The idea, of course, isn’t to avoid putting in the effort when the work requires it- but not to force anything. The best work I’ve made has always come from a right perspective on my role in the process.  

The key difference is mindset. Trying not to let my hands shake when I’m putting someone’s latte on their table is pretty much a guarantee that I’ll spill a little. Overthinking whether or not someone likes me is a surefire way to come across as insecure. Trying too hard to sound professional in a job interview just makes me hyperaware of all the times I say something wrong.

For all of these situations (that have definitely not happened to me in the past week 👀) it always results in exactly the thing I was so afraid of. It’s very survivable to make mistakes! But it’s better to just slow down, take a deep breath and focus on the next right step moving forward. Remember, it’s all just a season, one part of a much bigger picture.

Trend Observations:

A cocktail of skepticism, fear, and just a splash of excitement is on the menu for April. Things have been changing quickly around here.

Until recently, computer science pretty consistently followed what’s called Moore’s law -computer chips have been exponentially getting faster and smaller over the last 50 years. But there’s been debates lately about whether or not that law applies anymore. In place of Moore’s law, we’re starting to see AI (through graphics cards) introduce accelerated computing to the consumer market.

During the NVIDIA conference last month, their CEO Jensen Huang said that “acceleration is the best way to reclaim power and achieve sustainability and Net Zero.”

An interesting quote because while it’s a common idea, this is not the best way to achieve sustainabilty. The best way is to increase efficiency and decrease use, to create the same level of output for less energy. Unfortunately that’s rarely what happens. Check out the Jevons paradox to learn more. This is also called the rebound effect and it’s been a huge topic of discussion around sustainability for years now

Thanks for reading this second Iteration. It’s nice to get ideas out in the world, and it’s even nicer that there are people who want them!


I started this newsletter as a curated resource for those ideas I run across that are just too good not to share.

Image References
- A video of my fish tank
- Notions from Habitat - Ira Grünberger / Connected Archives
- Kitchen Counter Poetry - Ira Grünberger / Connected Archives
- Sojourn - by José Cuevas / Connected Archives
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, GTC 2023 Keynote
Susannah Alene
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