Decisions, Copyright, and Earphones
Insights On Decision Making, Copyright and Ai Music Generation, a New App for Ai and Automation, New Favorite Earphones
Hi everyone! I'm getting ready for a big trip, so let me fly through this one. Here’s a few things that stood out from my previous week.
On Decision Making
This past week, I read THIS ARTICLE about decision-making. Like many articles in my Readwise inbox, I'm not sure how it got there, but it was quite insightful.
The idea of sorting choices into "reversible" and "irreversible" categories was eye-opening. I personally don't stress much about decisions since I rarely make choices in my daily life that I can't fix. I think I've even made some big life moves casually, so I'm not usually the kind of guy frozen by indecision. Well... when I first read the article, this was my thinking. But now, as I review it, I see that perhaps perfectionism is also a form indecisiveness: the inability to decide when something is complete. By constantly seeking an impossible standard—especially on creative projects—I often find myself avoiding making the final call to see whatever I'm working on as complete and move forward.
Yep... that's something I still need to work on.
It's comforting to know that most actions are reversible (even creative ones). I can always update, improve, or try new approaches when things don't work out. I do agree with the text in that making a good-enough choice now usually works better than waiting for the perfect decision later.
Key Takeaways:
If you can easily undo a decision, make it quickly - waiting too long is often riskier than deciding fast
For big, hard-to-reverse decisions, take your time and gather information - but don't wait forever for perfect certainty
Acting with 70% certainty and adjusting later works better than waiting for 90% certainty
Some Highlights:
"Make reversible decisions as soon as possible and make irreversible decisions as late as possible."
"A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week."
"Reversible decisions are not an excuse to act recklessly or be ill-informed, but rather an acknowledgement that imperfect decisions are ok."
On AI and Copyright
If you have ever played around with music generation using AI, and if you have ever thought of using it for content you publicly share, then this video I watched last week may be of interest to you. It talks about copyright and how this topic is now approaching a new level of complexity with AI music. There are lots of gray areas and it's a bit worrying where all of this is going.
This is one of those topics that I think are quite important for anyone sharing content online. The whole thing has always been confusing to me, and now I think it’s about to get much worse.
On AI and Automation
It's been a few months since I heard about this app called Inbox AI, but just recently I've started to look into it. I've just become part of the Beta testing (through TestFlight) and I'm trying to figure out what I can do with this, or if I can incorporate it into my workflow. It seems to be a pretty powerful app!
I currently do lots of automation with SuperWhisper. With SW, it's all been about finding ways to connect voice commands with Keyboard Maestro and keeping fingers crossed hoping an update from SW doesn't break it all. Inbox AI, on the other hand, is an AI app created with automation at its core, so I think this can be a more robust solution for this kind of tasks. It's more complex to set up for sure, and I've had a few frustrating moments, but it seems promising. If it all goes well, I may do a review of the app sometime in the following weeks, after I've tested it more thoroughly.
On Earphones
To pack lighter for this trip I'm about to take, I was looking for a way to replace my big over-the-ear headphones with something smaller. I needed good sound quality for video editing on the go. I usually enjoy using my AirPods Pro, but the Bluetooth lag introduced is just not good for this kind of work.
After a lot of research, browsing online forums, and reading extensively, I ended up purchasing the Etymotic ER3XR. I’ve been testing for a few days and they're amazing. I did not know that I would enjoy these so much after being used to wireless for such a long time.
For most of my YouTube videos, I use a teleprompter to keep me on track with what I say. It saves m a lot of time since I struggle with speaking to the camera. On this trip, however, I will not be taking any teleprompter with me so I am thinking about using these earphones as some TV hosts or presenters do when listening to instructions with an earpiece. This experiment may not work, but if it does, it could be a more portable solution than the teleprompter.
In any case, I'm loving my ER3XR and highly recommend them.
On Cinema
A Real Pain (2024). A brilliant character-study kind of film. It felt so honest and personal. Probably my favorite work with Jesse Eisenberg. Synopsis: Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
Girls Will Be Girls (2024). Surprisingly good! A coming of age that presents a story we've heard many times with a very fresh perspective. Synopsis: In a strict boarding school nestled in the Himalayas, 16-year-old Mira discovers desire and romance. But her sexual, rebellious awakening is disrupted by her mother who never got to come of age herself.
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