Things I'd like to blog about (part I)

Everything I write on this blog starts with a line written in my notebook, but very few ever get written or published. Probably less than 10% of the ideas are typed up, and less than 5% actually published. For the idea to get published it must 1. hold my interest for at least a few days, and 2. I must be able to express thoughts in at least a moderately coherent fashion. The writings that meet these two criteria are the ones you see on this blog.

Below are some of the most recent ideas I had for blog posts. There is a lot more where this came from, so you can expect more posts like this in the future. If you have a blog, by all means please steal any of these ideas. (And if you don't have a blog, shame on you.) If there are any that you would particularly like me to elaborate upon, let me know. I won't promise to write a full post on any of these, but if there is enough interest, I will be more likely to do so.

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The mysteries of consciousness: How can gray goo have conscious experience? How does feeling come over the hump from neurons firing?

If Facebook and Twitter are the new TV, that means you should avoid them. (However, to everyone who knows me's disbelief, I am seriously considering resurrecting my Facebook account.)

A good question to ask anyone: "What don't you know, but wish you did?"

Since discovering how to play audio faster (I am typically playing podcasts at 1.7x speed), it seems my comprehension has actually improved. Why might this be, and how can I test it?

I want to get to the point that nothing I post on this blog feels like a risk. I think many bloggers do too much to try to please their audience. That is fine if you operate your blog like a business, but it means taking a very conservative (i.e., boring) approach to keep readers content.

The virtues of carrying a notebook everywhere (or as I call it, "notebooking"): I would rank it up there with self-tracking and blogging as worthwhile things to do.

Music is deeply personal and important to people, but at the same time it is incredibly boring to hear about other people's music preferences. Why is that?

How should advice be given: 1. plant the seed and then get the hell out of the way, or 2. plant the seed and keep watering until that sucker grows?

Why don't retail stores (particularly Wal-Mart) generate revenue by allowing companies to put advertisements around the store?

The deadweight loss of lawyers: Would we be better off if economic systems relied on reputation rather than formal rules?

Most problems are not problems of reality but problems of perception. Related: If you place a material value on health, love, and happiness, you will realize you are much wealthier than you ever imagined.