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The man who agrees with every one and has no opinion of his own is like a horse who with a bridle is driven in every direction.
— Tibetan Proverb
Last week, I found myself reflecting on our two-week journey through the Helambu and Pikey Peak treks in Nepal. Today, I want to focus on a few learnings from that trip. I italicize "learnings" because what I really mean are reminders—things we already knew but had been buried beneath the distractions of daily life.
Time
The biggest realization for me was the stark difference in how we perceive time compared to the locals. As my girlfriend put it: "When I have a free 30 minutes, I’m always thinking about how many tasks I can squeeze in." I’m the same—I constantly try to optimize every bit of time, even when it comes to leisure activities.
In the mountain tea houses of Nepal, we spent hours simply sitting around the stove, warming up. We often brought distractions—a book, a card game—but more often than not, we just sat there, sometimes chatting, but mostly just waiting as time passed.
For the locals, this is everyday life. Mornings are active, but doing nothing in the afternoon seems completely normal. Time stretches indefinitely. And I have to admit—it felt good. I knew that once I returned to my usual routine, my productivity-driven mind would reclaim every gap in my schedule, but for a while, experiencing stillness was a refreshing change.
Rapid Fire
Living simply: Another great reminder—very little is actually necessary to live well. We’re used to having so many things, activities, distractions, and we take them for granted. But locals live with the basics—food, shelter, community—and still enjoy life.
Smartphones: If locals had a smartphone, they had TikTok. Many didn’t have running water, yet they were as up-to-date with internet trends as any westerner with an iPhone. Fascinating and unsettling at the same time.
Time in nature: We spent entire days outdoors, and it felt amazing. We often forget how powerful nature is. In Japan, doctors can prescribe time in nature like medicine. When things aren’t going well—physically or mentally—it should be one of our first instincts.
Adventures: I loved this trip because it had been a while since I’d had a real adventure. Sure, we live far from home, but we hadn’t traveled—we took a plane, a taxi, and arrived at our Airbnb in Sri Lanka. Living abroad is an adventure in itself, but it doesn’t compare to true travel.
Westerners vs. Easterners: Tenpa Sicho, the guide we met at Pikey Base Camp, shared stories about his Western clients. His main observation? Westerners often approached the mountains with a rushed, conqueror mindset—focused on summiting rather than respecting the journey. Ego, he said, was their biggest obstacle, sometimes leading to dangerous situations (for them or the group). But after days or weeks in the mountains, many began to shift toward an Eastern mindset, embracing the mountain way of life.
That’s what this trip taught me—or rather, reminded me. I hadn’t gone expecting insights, but I’m glad these came back with me. Hopefully, they won’t be buried too quickly!
— James
Tools & Websites
Notion Mail has completely replaced my Gmail accounts (which I used for 10 years). It's nearly perfect, and the Notion team will soon add any missing features. If you're interested, I wrote a complete guide about it.
Numbeo is a helpful website that shows average prices for everyday items like groceries, rent, and gym memberships based on location. It's especially useful if you're planning to move to a new city.
PELATA is a collection of playful, heirloom-quality wooden games and instruments, created to celebrate Finnish Design Shop's 20th anniversary in 2024. They've made a beautiful website to showcase these wooden games ↓
James’ Library
Article | Some problems in life get better when we eliminate the worst parts. Others improve when we push the best parts even further. The difference? Weak-link vs. strong-link problems. Weak-link problems—like food safety or car engines—depend on fixing the weakest elements. A single bad ingredient can ruin a meal, and one faulty part can break a machine. Strong-link problems—like music or scientific breakthroughs—are driven by the best contributions, while the bad ones don’t really matter. In this brilliant essay, Adam Mastroianni makes the case for why science is a strong-link problem that's wrongly treated as a weak-link one. Here’s the crazy thing: most people treat science like it’s a weak-link problem. Peer reviewing publications and grant proposals, for example, is a massive weak-link intervention. We spend ~15,000 collective years of effort every year trying to prevent bad research from being published. We force scientists to spend huge chunks of time filling out grant applications—most of which will be unsuccessful—because we want to make sure we aren’t wasting our money. |
Article | I also very much enjoyed Adam Mastroianni's latest, more personal issue, where he explores why it's so difficult to be ourselves in a world that has always rewarded those who follow the rules. Here’s an example. Cassava is tasty, nutritious, and easy to grow, but it is also unfortunately full of cyanide. Thousands of years ago, humans developed a lengthy process that renders the root edible, which involves scraping, grating, washing, boiling, waiting, and baking. It’s a huge pain in the ass and it takes several days, but if you skip any of the steps, you get poisoned and maybe die. Of course, the generations of humans who came up with these techniques had no idea why they worked, and once they perfected the process, the subsequent generations would also have no idea why they were necessary. The knowledge of cassava processing only survived—and indeed, humans themselves only survived—because of conformity, tradition, and superstition. The mavericks who were like, “You guys are dummies, I’m gonna eat my cassava right away” all perished from the Earth. The people who passed their genes down to us were the ones who were like, “Yes of course I’ll do a bunch of pointless and annoying tasks just because the elders say so and it’s what we’ve always done.” We are the sons and daughters of sheeple. |
…Aesthetic Corner…
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Liam Wang is a Vancouver-based artist who creates stunning oil paintings, mostly of street and city life scenes. He manages to create atmospheres that are both foggy and vibrant—I really dig his work.
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Tread is Gozney's most portable pizza oven. The build quality seems really sturdy despite its light 13.5kg weight. For €499, you can enjoy homemade pizzas while camping in nature.
Sustainable Living
This House in Shirasagi by Buttondesign rethinks urban living by merging a small sweets shop with a private home. Instead of shutting out its surroundings, the design embraces the openness of a nearby parking lot, treating it like an extended park. A semi-subterranean layout creates a quiet retreat, while large windows keep the space connected to the outside, making the home feel both sheltered and welcoming.
Sustainability here isn’t just about materials—it’s about longevity and adaptability. Built with exposed concrete foundations and a wooden frame, the house balances durability with a warm, natural aesthetic. The open floor plan allows for future modifications, ensuring the space can evolve with the owner's needs. Plus, by incorporating community elements like a shared entry and planned cooking workshops, the home naturally encourages local interaction, adding social sustainability to its design.
This project proves that a home doesn’t have to be isolated to feel personal. By designing a space that embraces its surroundings rather than fighting them, the House in Shirasagi becomes a model for thoughtful urban living. It’s compact yet open, minimal yet rich in experience—showing that sustainability isn’t just about efficiency, but about creating places that grow with their environment.
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