Tom Nicholas

Almost There! | The Friday Update

Added 2021-11-26 16:27:10 +0000 UTC

Welcome back to another edition of the Friday Update, here seen in its rare actually-published-on-a-Friday form.

Before we get going, I wanted to remind you that I recently published a call-out for the November 2021 Patreon Exclusive Q&A. If you’d like to submit a question then either add it to the comments to that post or to this one!

What have I been up to this week?

In last week’s Friday Update, I wrote that I had got to the point in my writing process where I had a really clear idea of the structure of the video. I’m going to have to learn not to tempt fate like that because, on Tuesday, I began to really question my plans. There was one section in the video that I began to question; while it definitely added something to the video, it felt like it slowed the pace of it down. It added context to the discussion of the metaverse and platform capitalism but perhaps could have been a bit boring for anyone but the most dedicated viewer.

Conundrums like this are always really difficult. The section in question elaborated on the ways in which capitalism has changed over the centuries and how those changes often occur at times of economic crisis. It’s something that really interests me and I’d taken a lot of time writing and polishing it. I also had a really fun idea for how I was going to film that section. Nevertheless, in the end, I decided that there was no way to avoid killing that particular darling. It was a bit of a depressing afternoon reflecting on the wasted time; however, once I’d become used to the idea that section wouldn’t be there, it helped propel me into writing further sections of the video.

There’s still a bit more to write. As always seems to happen, I started the process of writing this video thinking that it was going to be a quick and easy project but it has grown into something pretty ambitious. I really think it’s going to be worth the wait though. Assuming some of the props I’ve ordered don’t take too long to arrive, I’m hoping that I might be able to get some of it filmed next week!

And outside of work?

There’s not a huge amount to report in terms of extracurricular activities this week. This is partly because it’s only been a few days since I last wrote one of these updates. It’s also partly because I had a positive rapid COVID test and so had to self-isolate for 24 hours while I waited for results of my PCR (a more accurate test that we use in the UK if we get a positiv result from the rapid ones we can do at home) to come back. Annoyingly, it was the night me and my partner had set aside to go out to the cinema—that’ll have to wait for another week. I’d definitely appreciate any recommendations for stuff to watch when we do get to go!

While I won’t bore you with any running chat this week—I did manage to get a photo of the rabbit that lives at the local running track on Tuesday!

What have I been reading/watching/listening to?

I’m currently at the point of writing where I don’t have much time for reading. However, I have started to listen to the audiobook of David Graeber and David Wengrow’s new book The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity. As with all of Graeber’s work, it’s academically ambitious yet also really charmingly and wittily written.

If you enjoyed my video about the history of nation-states then you’ll certainly find it interesting as it discusses at great length the historiography of early “civilisations” and the reasons why people might have wanted to (or not) submit themselves to the authorities of states. I’m not very far into it just yet, but I’ll let you know when I’ve got further and have more thoughts!