Table of Interests

A simple list of everything that currently interests me.
These topics are frequently explored in my writing and my newsletter.

• Art - A human creation intended for appreciation as beauty or for emotional power.
• • ‍Culinary - A form of edible art created through the preparation and presentation of food.‍
  • Dance - A form of movement art created though intentional movement, usually (but not always) to music and often (though not always) rhythmically
  • Event Production - A form of experiential art created through inviting people to a space filled with other forms of art.
  • Music - A form of auditory art created through rhythm, melody, and harmony
  • Poetry - A form of written art created through meaning, sound, meter, and rhythm (I am particularly fond of haikus)
  • Sculpture - A form of physical art created by carving, modeling, welding, or otherwise manipulating hard materials (such as marble, stone, metal, or plastic). Typically found in 3 dimensions.
  • Storytelling - A form of spoken art created through narrative mechanics, character development, improvisation, theatrics, and often, embellishment.
• Biomimicry - Drawing inspiration from biological processes to inform design, engineering, and invention.
• Business - An organization that exchanges value (typically goods or services) for value (typically money).
• • Customer / user experience (CX / UX) - Experience design (reference under Design) applied to customers or users of a product, service, or technology
  • Entrepreneurship - The enterprise of starting, validating, managing, scaling, and assuming the risks of a business.
  • • Lean Methodology - Maximizing value while minimizing waste.
    • Management - The act, practice, or skill of achieving a purpose.
    • Theory of Constraints - Manageable systems are limited in achieving big picture goals by a small number of limiting constraints.
• Cha Dao - Literally "The Way of Tea". A lineage of ceremonial tea service (I study under Wu De of the Global Tea Hut).
• Design - To intentionally create with an express purpose in mind.
• • Experience design - Weaving human psychology, technology, space, and art forms to craft an intended experiential outcome.
  • Game design - Combining game mechanics, narrative, and aesthetics to create entertaining, educational, exerting, or experimental experiences.
• Education - The study, action, or process of imparting knowledge or skills. Related to Learning (see below).
• • Childhood education - Educational programs, strategies, and content geared toward children at their appropriate developmental stage. Typically delivered in a "school" context.
  • Adult education - Educational programs, strategies, and content geared toward adults (usually refers to >21 years old). Can be oriented to life skills (i.e. finance or relations), physical skills (i.e. music or exercise), or knowledge (i.e. second language or art history).
• Expansiveness - A state related to high spirits, generosity, euphoria, richness, abundance, interconnectedness, or magnificence.
• Flow state - Optimal state of consciousness where we feel and perform our best.
• Food - Physical material used to nourish, sustain, and delight the human palette.
• • Cooking - The skill and practice of preparing food. Related to Culinary Art (see above).
  • Growing - The skill and practice of cultivating edible plants and fungi.
  • Husbandry - The skill and practice of cultivating domesticated animals for food.
  • Hunting - The skill and practice of killing and processing undomesticated animals for food.
• Games - A physical or mental competition conducted according to rules that can be won.
• • Board game - A game of strategy played on a board.
  • • Cooperative board game - A board game where all players are on one team and win or lose together.
• Ineffable - That which cannot be expressed in words.
• Language - A mechanism to transmit connection and meaning.
• Leadership - The act, practice, skill, and art of inspiring action in others.
• Learning - Acquiring discrete facts or skills. Related to Education (see above) and Understanding (see below).
• Meaning - An introspection on significance or implication.
• Meditation - A state of heightened contemplation, reflection, or spiritual awareness.
• Mindfulness - The practice of maintaining nonjudgmental awareness.
• Nature - physical, non-human landscapes that are minimally developed or entirely undeveloped.
• • Camping - Establishing temporary residence in nature.
  • Hiking - Moving through nature - see under Physical movement (below).
  • Trail running - Moving quickly with minimal gear through nature.
• Open mind-heart - The (often elusive) quality of being simultaneously completely open-hearted and open-minded.
• • Open-heartedness - An expression of unconditional love, kindness, and honesty.
  • Open-mindedness - An expression of being open to ideas and opinions that are new or not one's own.
• Philosophy - The study of aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, and logic.
• • Aesthetics - The study of beauty and artistic experiences.
  • Epistemology - The study of the nature of knowledge (especially as it relates to limits and validity).
  • Ethics - The study of morality and the principles of right conduct and character.
  • Metaphysics - The study of the fundamental nature of reality.
  • Logic - The study of the principles of reasoning and valid inference.
• Physical movement - Energy expended through skeletal muscles.
• • Athletics - Exercise, sports, or games requiring proprioceptive prowess. I enjoy doing, not watching, athletics.
  • Dance - See Art above.
  • Hiking - Moving through non-human and minimally developed landscapes.
  • Yoga - A system of physical postures and breathing techniques.
• Play - An altered state of exploration, connection, joy, and discovery.
• Science - A shared system of knowledge that can be studied, discussed, and revised over time. Often includes observation, identification, description, investigation (usually experimental), theorization, and explanation.
• • *Interdisciplinary science - Interweaving two or more siloed disciplines to advance fundamental understanding. Frankly, all of the delineations noted below are reductive and the vast majority of science that interests me is interdisciplinary.
  • Biological Science - A branch of science that includes living organisms
  • • Cognitive science - The study of perception, thinking, and learning.
    • Neuroscience - The study of nerves and nervous tissue, especially as it relates to behavior and learning.
    • Nutrition science - The study of nutrition, diet, and food as it relates to health and wellness.
    • Sleep science - The study of why and how organisms sleep.
  • Social Science - A branch of science that includes society and human behavior
  • • Economics - The study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
    • • Behavioral economics - The study of effects of psychological, cognitive, emotional, cultural, and social effects on economic decisions.
      • Game theory - The analysis of conflicting interests in terms of gains and losses among opposing players. Often a mathematically rigorous approach.
    • Psychology - The study of mind and behavior, typically from an experiential or observed lens.
• Space-creation - The skill and practice of crafting spaces aligned with a particular purpose.
• • Architecture - The art, science, and practice of designing and building structures (especially habitable ones).
  • Feng shui - A traditional Chinese practice that harmonizes individuals with their environment.
• Spirituality - A relationship to the sacred. See article on Life.
• Stories - A fundamental unit of human meaning.
• Systems - A complex whole comprised of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements.
• Tea - A plant and a way of life. See Cha Dao above.
• Thriving - Peak expression of physiological, psychological, and relational health. See Master Plan.
• Tools - An object or concept used in performing an operation or achieve an objective.
• • Data - Factual information, often quantifiable, used for reasoning, discussion, or calculation.
• Understanding - Synthesizing Learning (see above) into one's mental models and worldview.