Marlow's Musings 6/9/24
Insights, adventures and fun stuff from this week.
Audio narration by David Marlow
Are you like me with a habit of picking up books and then never quite getting around to reading all of them?
If this sounds like you, you might be unwittingly engaging in...
📚 Tsundoku
Like Ikigai, Tsundoku is a Japanese combination word.
📕 Tsun in tsundoku originates in tsumu - a word meaning ‘to pile up.’
📘 Doku, when used as a verb, means reading.
When combined, tsundoku means buying reading material and piling it up. Are you one of those people?
☕️ Hi, I’m Dave and I buy a lot of books…
I felt guilty about it until I read that there are many benefits to owning lots of books, even if you never read them. Studies have shown that owning books leads to significantly greater readership, even those you never read.
One such study found that children who grew up in homes with between 80 and 350 books showed improved academic performance.
Things like higher literacy, numeracy, and information communication technology skills as adults.
Research suggests exposure to books, boosts cognitive abilities by making reading a part of life’s routines and practices.
The presence of books alone magnifies all the benefits of reading.
Jessica Stillman, who has written on the topic, says, “All those books you haven’t read are indeed a sign of your ignorance. But if you know how ignorant you are, you’re way ahead of the vast majority of other people.”
This brings to mind something from Karl Popper, who said…
The more we learn about the world, and the deeper our learning, the more conscious, clear, and well-defined will be our knowledge of what we do not know, our knowledge of our ignorance. The main source of our ignorance lies in the fact that our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite.
Here’s to embracing our infinite ignorance! Buy those books and free yourself from guilt, even if you never read them. It’s a good thing; even science says so.
Hopefully, one of those books you buy will be mine sometime early next year.
In case you missed it…
This week, there were two Ikigai Thoughts for Today:
The first…Our Real Journey
For twenty years, I pondered this question…What would you do if you were done?
It wasn’t until I was done, at least with my corporate career, that I found my answer.
Something about this Wendell Berry poem captures the essence of what I came to realize, and because of that, I share it with you here.
The second…Small Drops
A tiny exploration of the power of small, consistent actions.
Ikiquest+
This week's Coffee Contemplation: If I Weren’t…
A literal contemplation I had while I enjoying my coffee shared in real-time.
Ikiquest+ subscribers can listen to it in audio narration or read the transcription.
If you aren’t yet an Ikiquest+ Subscriber, give it a try for free by clicking the box here.
Comment of the Week:
This week’s comment came from Scott in a conversation thread. He was relaying a comeback that a sharp-witted friend of his might say and, as an aside, wanted to quote something I said. He loves the way I expressed this idea, but frustratingly (for him), he can never remember it.
Here’s the gist…
Scott: She would say something like, ‘Oh, where’d you come up with that one, from your mind palace?’ (A Sherlock reference) David Marlow has a better phrase.
Me: Scott, that is my Thought library
Scott: That’s it! Much less pompous sounding.
Me: I need as much pomposity reduction as possible.
My Thought Library is where I keep all my thoughts, observations, story ideas, and best quotes. My memory isn’t vital enough to recall everything on the fly, so I rely on that bit of storage. The Karl Popper quote used in my musing is an example of just such a stored ‘thought.’
The great irony is that Scott can’t recall the name of his favorite memory device. Which made the conversation even more fun.
Quote I’m Pondering
This thought is from Ken Mogi…
Realizing your dream is not gaining something new
but reclaiming what was inside you from the very beginning.
Final Thoughts
About the time I first learned of Tsundoku, my family embarked on a minimalist challenge. We all committed to progressively getting rid of something every day for thirty days. Day one, 1 thing, day two, 2 things, and so on.
I converted several books to digital and got rid of many others. It forced me to think long and hard about what books I wanted around. While I got rid of over 100, I kept twice that many.
There is a fine line between imposing judgment on ourselves and ignoring inharmonious behaviors.
Ikigai is about experiencing harmony, the vital things. Stuff is not harmonious and rarely vital. The important thing is to ponder what you value. If books are higher on the value scale, have them and get rid or don't buy other things.
Regardless, cut yourself some slack once in a while.
Quest well.
David the same....I get books and may start to read and retain some tidbits of wisdom and place down or see it may not be a good book, that is rare and most of the time get at a fair value and want to have to read at some point. I am not a big spender for spending sake but like books rather than other things, not in my order of importance in life.
I think I have a 10th degree black belt in piling it up 🥋 and have room to add your book 📕... there's always room for unread books in my library!