Happy Sunday Friends!

This week I’ve been focused a lot on blending my favorite things: Cyber, productivity, and personal development with the evolutionary leaps in technology and application of it. I will, from time to time, change it up like this as this is the predominance of my world and thought. The read will be a bit more formal and academic.

Here is 1 quote I’m musing, 2 Ideas, 3 of my favorite things from the week, and 1 question. If you find it useful or interesting, please feel free to forward this along to some friends or others!

One Quote I’m Musing

“Some things are rushing into existence, others out of it. Some of what now exists is already gone. Change and flux constantly remake the world, just as the incessant progression of time remakes eternity. We find ourselves in a river. Which of the things around us should we value when none of them can offer a firm foothold?”

-Marcus Aurelius

Embracing Transformation in the Age of Technological Evolution

As we travel along the ever-accelerating pace of technological change, I like to pause and reflect on how these advancements shape not just our tools, but also ourselves. From the earliest stone tablets to the advent of paper, and now the digital revolution with computers and artificial intelligence, each technological leap required humanity to adapt, to evolve, and transform. The wisdom of the Stoics and modern science offers timeless guidance.

Homeostasis vs Allostasis

The historical (150 years or so) prevailing scientific model was that the world norm was Homeostasis. Or a resistance to disorder and equilibrium regardless of external or internal changes, returning to the same point after any of those changes.

Order, Chaos/Disorder, Return to Order.

More recently scientists like LM Romero, S Libretti, and DS Ramsay have brought forth the Allostasis model as the real norm. Maintaining stability through change.

Sounds the same, right?

Kind of, but not really.

Allostasis gives us Order, Chaos/Disorder, NEW Order. This new order takes into account what the old norm was, what the foreign influence of chaos/disorder was, and finds a new order and stability by adaptation.

On Adaptation

Emphasizing the importance of adapting to the circumstances we face, while maintaining a steadfast commitment to our core values. While we may not control external changes, we always have the power to shape our responses and evolve in the process. In that small moment between stimulus and reaction, we define who we are and who we will be. This pull from the Stoics is remarkably applicable to our modern relationship with technology.

From Stone Tablets to Digital Screens

Adaptation through Learning: The transition from stone tablets to paper was a significant shift in how we recorded and shared knowledge. This evolution demanded a new set of skills (learning to write with ink, preserving papyrus (eventually paper), then mastering the printing press). Each of these changes required individuals and societies to transform their approach to learning and communication. Today, as we move from paper to digital screens, the challenge remains the same: How do we adapt our skills, habits, and mindsets to harness the potential of new technologies? How do we retain the best of what was and minimize the worst of what will be?

The Digital Revolution and the Self

Transformation through Mastery: The advent of computers and then the internet reshaped every facet of our lives, from how we work to how we interact. This transformation is not just external. It is an internal evolution. Just as the Stoics practiced self-discipline to master their thoughts and emotions, we must cultivate digital literacy and our approach to pervasive technological adoption. To include mindfulness on how we use digital tools to enhance rather than detract from our well-being, to improve rather than destroy the tapestry of our societies and interactions across them.

Technology and the Evolution of Warfare

Adapting to New Realities: The history of warfare illustrates technological advancement continually reshapes the character of conflict, which then shifts its nature. From the introduction of firearms to invention of aircraft to the rise of cyber warfare, each new technology has forced military strategists to rethink their tactics and adapt their strategies.

These are examples of self-transformation on a national scale—where nations must evolve their defensive and offensive capabilities in response to changing threats. As individuals, we must adapt our thinking to the new realities of a period where conflicts are waged in digital arenas, requiring a blend of technical expertise and strategic foresight.

An Approach to Technological Transformation

How can navigate the ongoing technological transformation?

Embrace Change with a Steady Mind: Accept that technological change is inevitable, and instead of joining the nihilistic party who resisting it, or the denial party who pretends it isn’t happening, approach it with curiosity and a willingness to learn. Epictetus will tell us to focus on what we can control—our skills, our mindset, and our response to new challenges.

Practice Digital Discipline: As we adopt new technologies, it’s essential to maintain self-discipline in their use. This means ensuring that technology serves our goals rather than undermines them. We should treat changes and life like throwing a ball back and forth. We don’t have the agency or control over how the ball is thrown to us, nor should we overly concern ourselves with it. Catch the ball, don’t drop it, and then throw it back. Then again. Then again. On and on.

Seek Continuous Self-Improvement: Just as the Stoics believed in the constant pursuit of virtue, we should strive for continuous self-improvement in our relationship with technology. This could mean learning new digital skills, staying informed about emerging trends both used for the benefit and those used to the detriment of our fellow human beings, and reflecting on how technology impacts our lives.

Find the opportunities and nudge ourselves enough to take the minimum viable actions to move forward.

Evolving with Technology

This won’t be our last move from one technological era to the next, remember that evolution is not just about adapting to new tools, but about transforming ourselves in the process.

-e

Two Ideas From Me

You are in a system. You may be able to change the system you’re in, but you’re in one. Developing a sense of agency from within the system you find yourself in and then how well you work within it is what will make you great.
Change isn’t something that happens to you. It’s something that’s simply happening. When you stop taking it personally and start having a conversation with it, you can find the opportunities.

Three Favorite Things From Others

“I speak of a tragic optimism, that is, an optimism in the face of tragedy and in view of the human potential which at its best always allows for: 1) turning suffering into a human achievement and accomplishment; 2) deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better; and 3) deriving from life’s transitoriness an incentive to take responsible action.” | Viktor Frankl - The Case for a Tragic Optimism
- I find this interesting in its opposite take from the “growth” mindset. These Viktor experienced tragedy with a capitol T. In these instances, we have to get through them, then reflect many months or years down the road. The achievement, as he says, is to muster the ability to keep going.
“In a society that glorifies grinding, short-term gains and pushing to extremes, it takes guts to rest.” | Brad Stulberg
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” | Buckminster Fuller

One Question

Who in your life are the “vital few” of the Pareto Principle? When was the last time you talked to them?

Have a wonderful week,

I’ll see you Sunday.
-e