#46 - Notes on Puzzles, Lawns and Music
Education Coffee is a 2xweekly newsletter on people, ideas and culture.
In each edition of this newsletter, I will share some inspiring web resources that I have curated after hours of research to ensure that you have the best education coffee in your inbox. In upcoming editions, I will focus on sharing insights, notes and realizations that I gather from people, ideas, books, films and podcasts. I will continue to write about education and learning as well and hope to be more consistent with the publication of this newsletter this year. Please subscribe to this newsletter if you enjoyed reading this edition. We are now 93 subscribers strong!
1. Learning from People
I recently read an article about the English cricketer and fast bowler, James Anderson. He started playing international cricket in 2003 and and recently retired in 2024. He played the sport of cricket for 21 years. I played a lot of cricket growing up and loved fast bowling. I grew up watching him play and often imitated his action on the cricket field. Early on, I realized that fast bowling takes a heavy toll on your body. You run in at a quick pace and then suddenly slow down and turn your hand over. There is a lot of pressure on your knees and lower back. You then have to repeat this action again and again in a cricket match. Here are some statistics from James Anderson’s career from ESPN Cricinfo.
He was a master practitioner of the art of swing bowling. He was successful in England and abroad. A cricket test match lasts five days and a cricket one day match lasts one full day. He played 188 test matches and 194 one day matches. This means he played over 1000 days of cricket in his career. This is a lot of pressure on your body as a fast bowler and he sustained that pressure but also excelled in his craft. Fast bowling is an art and you need to bowl several good deliveries to a bats person before you get a wicket. Anderson was able to bowl fast and swing the bowl both ways. He took 704 test match wickets and 269 one day match wickets. He is the most successful fast bowler of all time in test match cricket. He showed me that you can achieve a lot in your career with patience, hardwork and consistency. Here is a short video with some of his best spells as a fast bowler
2. Learning from Ideas
I thought I would never be able to complete a 1000 piece puzzle. But I recently surprised myself by completing a 1000 piece puzzle. It was a puzzle about a cottage near a lake around the twilight time of the evening.
It took me several hours over a month. It was easy at the start and then got progressively harder. There were days when I wanted to give up. There were days when all the pieces were coming together. The trick was persistence and belief. Here are some lessons I learned along the way. I wanted to share these ideas and lessons with the readers of this newsletter. Completing this puzzle made me think about the puzzle pieces of my life. At the start we are scattered pieces and then over time we come together to form a large whole. The good and bad experiences make you who are. Here are some other ideas that helped me completed this puzzle:
Separate the pieces and turn them over to know what you are working it.
Develop a strong understanding of the larger map and find smaller sections you can complete easily like a house, building, car, boat, fireplace etc.
Identify and locate pieces related to these smaller sections and bring them together.
Start by connecting two pieces and go from there. Build the corner when possible.
Change how you see the pieces. Sometimes you have to turn a piece over to use it effectively.
Go away for a bit and come back with a fresh perspective.
Celebrate the small wins and appreciate the big wins.
3. Learning from Books, Websites and Blogs
I love how Jack Edwards talks about his favourite books on Youtube. I have gotten lots of great books recommendations from his channel and Goodreads page. Here is a video where he previews books from each country in Europe. Do subscribe to his channel to review 300+ videos on books from all around the world.
4. Learning from Films, Videos and Shows
In this fascinating video, Vox Media explores why we have grass lawns?
Grass lawns are so ubiquitous in the US you would assume that they're the most natural and obvious choice for what to put in our yards. But turf grass is not only not native to the US, but it takes a lot of time, money, and resources to maintain. Today, some cities are offering "cash for grass" programs and giving residents as much as $25,000 to replace their turf grass lawns with more environmentally sustainable options. But some people still like green grass lawns and enjoy maintaining them, so what should they do? In this video we go through the multitude of options that yard owners have and talk to experts to see what they have to say.
5. Learning from Podcasts and Music
The Lumineers was the first band I fell in love with in my 20’s. I got to watch them live at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto, Canada on the Brightside World Tour in 2021. The band released their second studio album Cleopatra on April 8, 2016. The black and white photo on the cover depicts silent movie star Theda Bara in the title role in the 1917 film Cleopatra. I love this album because of how all the songs are connected to the narrative of girl by the name of Cleopatra. You see how her life changes from early adulthood to later adulthood through the songs in the album including for Ophelia, Cleopatra, Sleep on the Floor, Angela. They created a video compilation of these songs titled the Ballad of Cleopatra.
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This album is beautiful because it shows you how your perception of ambition and hope changes over time in different stages of your life. Wesley Schulz talks about how a conversation with a taxi driver inspired him to create the songs in this album in the video below.
Thank you for reading this edition of #EducationCoffee. I look forward to writing weekly editions of this newsletter this year. I hope to continue to share resources that will add value to your life. You can also review the archive of Education Coffee for free at this link (45 past newsletters). You can subscribe to this newsletter for more such recommendations on people, ideas and culture.
Please do send me your thoughts and resources on any edition of this newsletter through email at abhishekashokshetty@gmail.com, Linkedin or on twitter @AbhishekShetty_. You can find my work online at https://abhishekshetty.carrd.co/. If you would like to read pieces in the future please do consider subscribing to this newsletter by clicking the button below. I love taking these discussions forward on those platforms and look forward to hearing your feedback.
Abhishek Shetty