Hey everyone,

You may have noticed I didn't send an email last Sunday. I was without wifi for most of the week visiting family and didn't quite make it back in time to write something up. That said, I think a break is nice sometimes, and it gave me the chance to switch email providers (from Substack to ConvertKit). So, you may have to tweak some settings if this email is ending up in spam--it's now coming from a new address. Let's get to this week's idea!

Scott Adams and Specific Knowledge 🧠

I wrote a few weeks back about Navalmanack, and recently I've been pondering another idea from the book: specific knowledge.

Naval says you want to find and build specific knowledge. But what is it? In a sentence, it's a confluence of skills that make an activity look like work to others but feels like play to you. Here's a few quotes from the book that I think sum up the idea:

Once I learned about this pattern I began to see it everywhere. I've found a lot of notable people operate at the intersection of a few different skills or interests.

The most prominent example I know is Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, because he talks about specific knowledge as a reason for his success. Here's Adams:

So Dilbert exists at the nexus of drawing, comedy, writing and Adams' knowledge of the business world. I'd be willing to bet that, for the most part, creating Dilbert looked like work to others but felt like play to Adams.

The reason I've been thinking about specific knowledge is because I've been trying to figure out what my specific knowledge is. What feels like play to me but looks like work to others? How would you answer that question?

Pete's Picks ✅

1. What I'm Reading: I'm listening to the audiobook of Know My Name by Chanel Miller, the woman at the center of the infamous 2015 Stanford rape case. It's a harrowing account but also beautifully written. I've listened to 40% of it today, if that's any indication.
2. What I'm Watching: The food space on YouTube is pretty crowded, but I found Ethan Chlebowski's channel last week and have enjoyed watching his stuff. What I like about Ethan is that he produces great-looking videos but also makes the recipes feel accessible, which isn't always the case with these fancy food content creators.
3. What I'm Listening To: I'm always on the hunt for a true crime podcast, and this week I found The Fall Line, which focuses exclusively on crimes in the southeast. I recommend Season 9, about an unsolved murder in Nashville.

Tweet of the Week 🐦

Article of the Week ✍️

​My 2020 in Review​

In this article, I evaluate how I did with my yearly goals and also talk about ups, downs and favorites from 2020.

Cheers,

Peter