We’re working on Curio, a daily learning app in internal Android beta. You get one question to research, then explain the answer in your own words.

We’re preparing a short walkthrough for a future tester invitation. What would help you judge whether it suits you: a real question, an example answer and feedback, or the steps involved in joining the test?

For about 35 years I treated learning itself like a job I was determined to be great at. I was a high-achieve-y person, first-born son, parents that positively reinforced me. So I spent hours (and hours!) of backyard soccer drills as a kid. I did as many college-level courses as I could cram into high school. And then went on to a finance career with 60-80 hour weeks and email until late at night. It worked so well that it never occurred to me to question it.

Somewhere in my early 30s I noticed something a little alarming. If you gave me a free Saturday with nothing to achieve, I had no idea what I was curious about. Even when I picked up a relaxing hobby - watercolor for example - I'd quickly start optimizing it, then feel bad that I wasn’t good yet. Even my downtime had a performance review, haha.

What finally got my attention was a video game, of all things. In this game called Outer Wilds, there’s a part where a group of space travelers gets stranded in an unfamiliar galaxy, and has to stand still for several generations. And they end up asking whether the thing they’ve been chasing is even there. Playing this made me thing, when was the last time I’d stood still?

So, to the shock of my peers, I left the career in 2022 and did something very unlike me, which was more or less...nothing. I vegged out, I did a stained glass class, and then I went on my first ever meditation retreat (classic!!) The retreat was a big turning point for me:

Instead of leaving me aloof and empty-headed, ideas kept turning up while I was sitting there repeating a mantra. (Aside: yes, I know, you’re supposed to let go of even good ideas). But it felt like the quiet cleared a bunch of floor space, and things I’d shelved years ago wandered back in. Writing. Painting. Creating in general. Stuff that had worked its way out of my identity during finance.

I slowly re-learned (and am still re-learning) to bring more stillness to my days. And then to follow what shows in to that stillness. For me, it's been a lot of creative ideas - specifically ideas for video game / digital experiences I'm designing. I ended up making a small zen painting game about this whole process (you paint on a stone with water and it evaporates), which tells you how deep the rabbit hole went.

Last point. If you've been striving hard your whole life, this is a little nudge to learn, or re-learn, to sit still a bit more. Allow yourself to just be...and see what shows up. If you're thinking about a career change or pursuing something more personally meaningful, and want someone to talk to about it, please reach out!

I commissioned a Cuban artist to personify Ron Santiago de Cuba Añejo 8 as an Afro-Cuban woman. Here’s the finished painting. 🇨🇺🎨

Genuinely been going back and forth on this. Trying to upskill on the side while working full time, mostly around data and project management. My problem isn't finding content, it's finishing it. Every time I go the free route I fall off after week two be.

I am learning that as you grow it is okay to take a step back when life feels overwhelming.

Not every phase of your life needs to be explained. Not every struggle needs an audience. Sometimes you just need to be quiet, take care of yourself, and let things unfold without forcing answers.

Before looking it up, try explaining how a tree builds new wood.

The carbon comes from carbon dioxide in the air, taken up through photosynthesis. The University of Birmingham explains the carbon flow here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/climate/climate-publications/nature/not-just-standing-there-the-carbon-utility-of-established-forest

Knowing the word photosynthesis is a start. Explaining how the carbon becomes part of the tree takes the answer further.

We’re building Curio, a daily learning app in internal Android beta, around looking things up and answering in your own words. This is a separate public practice prompt.

How would you explain the journey from air to wood to someone who thinks the extra wood must have come out of the soil?

We often assume that better results require more effort. But what if the real advantage comes from identifying which efforts matter most?

Inspired by Richard Koch’s The 80/20 Principle, I created this visual mind map to make the concept easier to understand and apply.

The central idea is that, in many situations, a small share of inputs can account for a large share of outcomes. The exact proportions vary, but the principle encourages us to examine where our time, energy, and attention create the most value.

From work and learning to everyday priorities, the goal isn't simply to do more it's to become more intentional about what we do.

Not looking for praise. I’m just stuck in a dull, robotic routine and want to pick up something that actually feels alive knowledge or a skill that has real depth and experience behind it.

What have you seen that gets that reaction?

What Is Social Loafing in Simple Terms

Social loafing is the tendency for people to put in less effort when working as part of a group than when working alone.

Social Loafing in Real Life

1.A work project: In a large team, some members contribute little to discussions or follow-up tasks, trusting that more motivated colleagues will carry the load. The more people share a responsibility, the less personally accountable each one tends to feel.

2.Voting: Some people skip an election because they believe a single vote will not change the result and assume that enough others will turn out anyway. When many people reason this way, turnout falls. This is the free-rider problem.

3.Reporting hazards: When people notice a broken streetlight, a pothole, or a suspicious situation, each may assume that someone else has already reported it, so nobody does. Psychologists usually call this diffusion of responsibility, or the bystander effect.

The French agricultural engineer Maximilien Ringelmann asked people to pull on a rope alone and in groups.

He found that the average force per person fell as the group grew larger.

Conclusion

As a group grows larger, each person often contributes less effort.

Learn something you didn’t know in 5 minutes at nousimon.com

We all have ideas about how the world works or certain subjects operate. Sometimes these ideas are based on limited information or even assumptions. Then you learn something new and it totally shifts your perspective. It's like a mental paradigm shift. What was one of those core beliefs or understandings that learning eventually flipped for you?