Empty Minds & Dialogs
The Creative Mind as a Blank Canvas, FCPX Skillshare Learning Path, AppleScript Dialogs, AI Browsing with Arc, a Faster Dock
Hey guys, here’s some things that stood out from my previous week:
On Creativity
I read THIS ARTICLE which discusses the relationship between creativity and physical exercise. This was interesting for me to read because it offers a different perspective on the common practice of “taking a walk to get some ideas.” There is a reason why this approach is popular, of course. I do believe that distancing myself from whatever I am doing often leads to more ideas. Here’s a highlight that stood out to me:
In order to think in a directed way about a particular task, we have to not be thinking about a thousand other things. Such non-task-relevant thoughts must be actively inhibited. When we’re being creative, however, we want to come up with surprising, unexpected, even off-the-wall ideas and connections.
But there’s more, according to the article by doing physical exercise, we can “empty” our mind and leave it as if it was a blank canvas.
When we enter a highly creative state, we’re not accessing some alternate reality, some higher plane “out there.” Rather, we’re glimpsing the inner richness of our own minds. We don’t need to add anything; in fact, our task is to subtract—to find ways to temporarily loosen the grip of the judging… Note that low- and moderate-intensity exercise does not generate this disinhibiting effect.
Oh… so it’s mainly about high-intensity exercise—which is something I don’t do a lot. But still, it’s a good read. Related to the topic of physical activity and creativity I wonder if there might also be a connection between creativity, clearing our mind, and “breathwork.”
On FCPX
Do you use FCPX? A while back I made a short class on how to automate screenshots. I recently found out that I’m featured in a Skillshare learning path! Learning paths are a collection of classes recommended by Skillshare for students who want to become proficient in a specific topic. I’m really excited to be featured! So far, I have a few other classes available on cursive, journaling, photography, and this one related to FCPX Automation using AppleScript. I’ve been thinking what my next Skillshare class should be about. Any suggestions are welcome!
On Applescript
This week, I’ve been focusing on learning more about creating workflows in Alfred. I’ve been working on a Chat GPT/Open Router workflow and encountered some difficulties with AppleScript dialog creation. Just when I was about to loose my mind, I came across THIS PAGE in my Google search results. It is great to find that you can create AppleScript dialogs that do not time out. I really enjoy the interaction with LLMs through dialogs, as I’ve set it all up on ToolVox AI. However, complex shortcuts can be slow in performance on Mac (it’s much better on iOS), which is a major drawback. I’m thrilled to be working on this project using Alfred and I’m looking forward to sharing it soon. Still got lots of debugging to do.
On Arc
Last week, Arc launched a new iOS App called Arc Search. It is a new concept for an iOS browser that uses AI to browse the web on your behalf. They also released THIS VIDEO to explain the idea and discuss their future plans. While it is interesting, I personally have some reservations. Although I am usually excited about AI and automation tools, I currently have all the AI features turned off on my Arc browser. There are certain tasks that I prefer to do manually, especially when it comes to selecting sources of knowledge or information. I still don’t fully trust AI’s judgment in this area.
On a Faster Dock
This past week I found that you can customize the speed of the animation for hiding/unhiding your dock! Check THIS LINK. It’s a simple modification that makes a big difference on how I perceive the snapiness of my system. With this and by modifying my key repeat with THIS Key Repeat Tester , I can now rest assured that I’m saving precious milliseconds everyday :)
On Cinema
Playground (2021). I had this one in my waiting list for a while and WOW. Amazing acting, amazing use of cinema language, beautifully shot, insightful, complex. I can’t say enough good things of this film. I loved it. Synopsis: When Nora witnesses Abel being bullied by other kids, she rushes to protect him by warning their father. But Abel forces her to remain silent. Caught in a conflict of loyalty, Nora will ultimately try to find her place, torn between children’s and adult’s worlds.
Asteroid City (2023). Got a bit lost on the plot, but the films of Wes Anderson are always a visual composition delight. Pretty good. Synopsis: In an American desert town circa 1955, the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
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