adam | Adam Fuller

The Biggest Bluff

Notes and excerpts from the book, The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win, by Maria Konnikova

This book opened my eyes to the interesting connections between poker and psychology, human behavior and strategic learning. My big takeaway is that learning poker can be a great way to learn about yourself.

Learning opportunity

How to design better systems for lifelong learning, in a COVID-19 world

As with many aspects of our lives, COVID-19 accelerated trends in education that have been building for years. The obvious example is the wholesale shift to online learning platforms; however the impacts don’t stop there.

The pandemic exposes flaws to traditional systems and how we think about how we learn. While the new landscape remains challenging, it also presents a golden opportunity to pivot and improve.

In this article I focus on improvements to three aspects of learning: 1) course structure, 2) feedback, and 3) the role of the teacher. I also list out some tactical ideas to help us get there. Here’s a quick outline of my main points:

Gaming the system

Thinking through questions, ideas and opportunities in video games

I don’t play video games, and I don’t know very much about the industry, but after listening to this episode of EconTalk: Josh Williams on Online Gaming, Blockchain, and Forte, I’m fascinated by the opportunities video games present.

I recommend listening to the episode all the way through, even if — especially if! — you’re like me and not all that into video games.

The discussion sparked a lot of questions and ideas for me that would be fascinating to work on, and also just fun to chew on as a thought exercise.

In this article, I list out 13 of my initial questions, ideas and takeaways. I’d welcome any feedback or additional perspectives to continue the conversation.

Breath

Notes and excerpts from the book, Breath by James Nestor

I highly, highly, highly, very, very, really, really, highly recommend the new book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, by James Nestor.

I finished it earlier this week and it’s the first new book I’ve read this year — new in the sense that it was just released a couple months ago.

It’s one of those jaw-dropping, underlining nearly every page, change-your-life kind of books.

Foot Fight 3

The latest from a minimalist runner’s barefoot battle to overcome posterior tibial tendonitis

I’ve been working to become a barefoot runner for almost 10 years.

It all started back in 2011 when the book Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall, convinced me that my cool cushy running shoes were doing more harm than good, and that I should instead adopt a weird minimalist running philosophy.

After years of stupid running in Converse All Stars, creepy running in Vibram FiveFingers (VFF), injury setbacks, physical therapy sessions, and a fair number of triathlons, road races and trail runs, I’m finally making some progress and getting (nearly) back to barefoot.

Now, I’m excited to share an update on the barefoot battle.