Previnder
@previnder.com
Founder discuit.org. Open-source maintainer. Works with Go, JS/TS, and Linux (btw). Interested in philosophy and history.
Writes at previnder.com.
Writes at previnder.com.
If people can predict you, they'll take you for granted.
November 11, 2025 at 6:02 PM
If people can predict you, they'll take you for granted.
If you can think of yourself not merely as this self limited by this body, but as part of the human race, as part of life, then your own inevitable death wouldn’t appear so tragic.
November 11, 2025 at 5:09 PM
If you can think of yourself not merely as this self limited by this body, but as part of the human race, as part of life, then your own inevitable death wouldn’t appear so tragic.
When I really think about it, at bottom, there's very little I want for myself.
November 8, 2025 at 7:21 PM
When I really think about it, at bottom, there's very little I want for myself.
Everything that needs to be said is not already said.
November 8, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Everything that needs to be said is not already said.
Reading too many books, watching too many videos, reading too many articles, etc. Some amount of information consumption is absolutely critical, but taken too far this is time that could rather be spent doing and practicing and creating and contemplating.
November 4, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Reading too many books, watching too many videos, reading too many articles, etc. Some amount of information consumption is absolutely critical, but taken too far this is time that could rather be spent doing and practicing and creating and contemplating.
Pretend that you have more than enough time—after all, you might.
November 4, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Pretend that you have more than enough time—after all, you might.
“Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.”
— Heraclitus
— Heraclitus
October 24, 2025 at 10:23 PM
“Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.”
— Heraclitus
— Heraclitus
Motivation provided by alluring images of possible distant futures is great at the beginning of a pursuit, but it's not nearly enough to sustain that pursuit once it’s begun.
October 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Motivation provided by alluring images of possible distant futures is great at the beginning of a pursuit, but it's not nearly enough to sustain that pursuit once it’s begun.
Yesterday’s tasks remain for today.
October 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Yesterday’s tasks remain for today.
Nothing baffles me more than the fact that people just seem to go about their lives everyday with no apparent consciousness of the sheer incomprehensible mystery that is existence.
October 23, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Nothing baffles me more than the fact that people just seem to go about their lives everyday with no apparent consciousness of the sheer incomprehensible mystery that is existence.
Listen to the silence in between the notes and you’ll hear the music better.
October 20, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Listen to the silence in between the notes and you’ll hear the music better.
In the place that anxiety now occupies in the atmosphere of your mind, you could have curiosity instead—curiosity, specifically, about what might happen.
October 19, 2025 at 3:38 PM
In the place that anxiety now occupies in the atmosphere of your mind, you could have curiosity instead—curiosity, specifically, about what might happen.
Derek Parfit on the effect that understanding the fact that there’s no unique and unchanging self—the lack of a sort of serial number to us that remains fixed in time—had on his outlook on life in general (quote from his book “Reasons and Persons”).
October 17, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Derek Parfit on the effect that understanding the fact that there’s no unique and unchanging self—the lack of a sort of serial number to us that remains fixed in time—had on his outlook on life in general (quote from his book “Reasons and Persons”).
The slower I start the day the better it seems to go.
October 17, 2025 at 6:15 PM
The slower I start the day the better it seems to go.
Isaac Asimov was one of the most prolific writers in history. Most people know him from the Foundation series, I Robot, and other works of science fiction, but he wrote more than 500 books in his lifetime.
Here’s how he, in his own words, was able to be so prolific.
Here’s how he, in his own words, was able to be so prolific.
October 14, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Isaac Asimov was one of the most prolific writers in history. Most people know him from the Foundation series, I Robot, and other works of science fiction, but he wrote more than 500 books in his lifetime.
Here’s how he, in his own words, was able to be so prolific.
Here’s how he, in his own words, was able to be so prolific.
Nihilism and addiction go hand in hand, because if nothing really matters, hedonism becomes very attractive. Conversely, acquiring a sense of meaning is necessary for overcoming addiction.
October 14, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Nihilism and addiction go hand in hand, because if nothing really matters, hedonism becomes very attractive. Conversely, acquiring a sense of meaning is necessary for overcoming addiction.
How free I feel when I remember that I am my own person. In solitude I prosper. But to be in solitude amidst the crowd, there is perhaps nothing greater a person can aspire to than this.
October 12, 2025 at 6:54 PM
How free I feel when I remember that I am my own person. In solitude I prosper. But to be in solitude amidst the crowd, there is perhaps nothing greater a person can aspire to than this.
People overestimate what can be done in a day and underestimate what can be done in a decade.
October 5, 2025 at 6:54 PM
People overestimate what can be done in a day and underestimate what can be done in a decade.
The goal is not the most money, not the most power, not the most fame, not the most pleasure, and not even the most love. Of course, to be penniless, powerless, friendless, unknown, and unloved are all terrible things, no matter what some enlightened guru would have you believe.
October 5, 2025 at 10:12 AM
The goal is not the most money, not the most power, not the most fame, not the most pleasure, and not even the most love. Of course, to be penniless, powerless, friendless, unknown, and unloved are all terrible things, no matter what some enlightened guru would have you believe.
The bad news is that I'm an idiot. The good news is that so is everyone else. Compared to the Absolute, we are all so very stupid.
October 4, 2025 at 1:35 PM
The bad news is that I'm an idiot. The good news is that so is everyone else. Compared to the Absolute, we are all so very stupid.
People undervalue how good it feels to be good at something. Not in terms of the approval or praise of others, nor in terms of any silent feelings of superiority, but in terms of the simple pleasure of executing the steps flawlessly, it is underrated.
October 3, 2025 at 1:50 PM
People undervalue how good it feels to be good at something. Not in terms of the approval or praise of others, nor in terms of any silent feelings of superiority, but in terms of the simple pleasure of executing the steps flawlessly, it is underrated.
A little bit of nihilism can make it easier to get through the day sometimes.
October 2, 2025 at 9:13 AM
A little bit of nihilism can make it easier to get through the day sometimes.
Sometimes I don't like to continue reading or learning when I don't understand some of the details of the material—I like to linger and try to understand every detail before moving on—but this is often a sub-optimal strategy, because one can fill in those gaps later.
September 30, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Sometimes I don't like to continue reading or learning when I don't understand some of the details of the material—I like to linger and try to understand every detail before moving on—but this is often a sub-optimal strategy, because one can fill in those gaps later.
Here’s something I want to get better at: writing readable, clear, and good-enough text at close to the speed that people normally speak. I’m not even sure if this is something that just anyone can learn how to do.
Posting more on social media and blogging are probably great ways to practice it.
Posting more on social media and blogging are probably great ways to practice it.
September 27, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Here’s something I want to get better at: writing readable, clear, and good-enough text at close to the speed that people normally speak. I’m not even sure if this is something that just anyone can learn how to do.
Posting more on social media and blogging are probably great ways to practice it.
Posting more on social media and blogging are probably great ways to practice it.
Crazy to think that in 2 more years the iPhone would be 20 years old.
September 16, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Crazy to think that in 2 more years the iPhone would be 20 years old.