Welcome to The Noncanonical Newsletter
Writing, deep tech, the energy crisis, re-imagining capitalism, and meditation
Hi, I’m Katherine 👋. Welcome to the first issue of Noncanonical.
Doing the Thing
Writing, perfectionism, small goals
The impetus for this newsletter came about after months and months of wrangling with my thesis. I’m a PhD student in particle physics. A requirement for graduation is publishing a roughly 100 page document describing all the work you’ve done in the past ~4 years, and then defending that document in a 2 hour public forum against a committee of experts in your field. They literally call one of the committee members your ‘opponent.’
I have always struggled with writing (and even speaking). I mean the kind of writing where you have to wrestle with many complex, interconnected concepts and put them in a nice order so they are half-way intelligible to other human beings. Free-form stream-of-consciousness writing on the other hand, I have always adored.
You now may want to ask, ‘if you hate writing so much, why start a regular newsletter?’ which is a legitimate question. Two pieces of advice led me here:
#1 Start a thesis-writing journal where you can dump all of your anxieties, random ideas, as well as pump yourself up with your accomplishments: word counts, figures made, etc. each time you sit down to write
#2 Start with an insanely small, achievable goal of 30 minutes of writing every single weekday. Build up confidence from there.
Idea #1 was easy enough - I sure had plenty of uncomfortable feelings to let out. And journaling at least got me writing something even if it had nothing to do with physics.
Idea #2 has been revolutionary. I broke the goal up into even smaller goals. I started writing with a timer using the pomodoro technique. I currently write in 10 minute sessions, with 5 minute breaks between. I’m not ashamed to admit I started with writing in 5 minute sessions and 10 minute breaks between.
What I’ve gained by sticking to this schedule over the past 7 working days:
3 new pages
1 new plot
A stronger outline - meaning a more cohesive story that threads all the pieces together
A sense of self respect for following through with something
Momentum to keep going
Not only am I amazed at what I’ve been able to produce, I’m also amazed at what I’ve learned about myself in the process. I have struggled with perfectionism all of my life. I used to believe it made me a hard worker, and thus it was what gave me value as a human. But I have learned that perfectionism is a vice that looks like a virtue. Perfectionism comes from shame. It’s a fear that is deeply rooted in an obsession with how other people see you. In other words, perfectionism is self-obsession run riot—a seemingly benign narcissism that in reality has many victims, mostly yourself.
I am amazed by the power of sticking to a small, achievable goal. I’m tempted to say I will ratchet up my time to an hour, but I’ve learned to stop thinking like that. I’m taking each moment as it comes and treating myself kindly which means humble aspirations—I’m admitting to you and to myself that I’m not a superhero, I’m not perfect.
These two practices have made me come to enjoy writing. Although I still begin each writing session facing scary feelings, the only way out seems to be through. In future issues, I’ll let you know what tools I’ve used to deal with those feelings (Hint: check out bullet #3 in Doing below).
Reading
Interesting articles, blog posts, and newsletters
CERN drafts plans to idle accelerators due to Europe’s energy crunch
“CERN, which straddles the French-Swiss border, is one of France’s largest electricity consumers. At peak operation, it consumes nearly 200 megawatts of power, a third as much as the nearby city of Geneva.”
The Independent also reports on how the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine has effected the LHC
Apple introduces iPhone 14 with Emergency SOS via satellite
Mark Hibben discusses why this is revolutionary and what it means for the future ‘era of true connectivity’
Investors love quantum computing. Experts fear a bubble
Billions of dollars are being poured into quantum computing start-ups, but quantum computing has a long, long, long path to profitability (we are talking decades). Is there a looming investing bubble?
Watching & Listening
Videos, podcasts, and interviews
The Adam Buxton Podcast - Ep.185 Mariana Mazzucato
Interview with Mariana Mazzucato on her book Mission Economy and how capitalism can be reimagined to solve the massive crises the world is facing. This interview was so engaging that I bought a membership to Audible to listen to the audiobook version. Also I find Adam Buxton so effortlessly funny. Love his jingles and how he starts every episode walking his dog, Rose.
Nordic Deep Tech Podcast - Ep.1 Discovering Exponential Hope
New podcast about deep tech in the Nordics—a topic I’ll be covering in this newsletter. So what is deep tech? Check out the latest episode to hear Antti Vasara’s answer: “Any technology or solution that is building on cutting edge science [...] not a better mousetrap, but rather a huge leap forward.” Great discussion on how we can translate science to business to solve the world’s most pressing problems.
Doing
Because at some point you have to Do the Thing
Introduction to Quantum Computing with IBM | Online | Application Deadline: Sep 23rd
“Taught by quantum researchers at MIT and UC Berkeley, this award-winning course offers students an accessible, yet challenging, introduction to the field of quantum computing, covering topics on quantum mechanics, quantum information and computation, and quantum hardware.”
European Research and Innovation Days | Online | Sep 28–29th 💡
“Bringing together policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs and citizens to debate and shape the future of research and innovation in Europe and beyond”
I’ve just started a 1 month free trial of the Waking Up app. Definitely worth checking out if you want a gentle introduction to meditation. Nuggets of meditation theory and techniques in 10 minute audio recordings.
Any thoughts? I’d love to hear them.
I'm a PhD student in particle physics. I write about writing, science, tech, academia, and industry. If you want to follow along, consider subscribing. You’ll get a newsletter to your inbox every other Tuesday. I share what I'm up to with my thesis and a curated list of things I’m reading, watching, listening to, and doing. Every now and then I post longer form write-ups about various topics.