🤯Unknown Unknowns #125 - Taste Setting

I’ve talked about finding taste, refining taste, and expressing taste.  I had the opportunity to express my taste in a new way in December.

I’ve been climbing for over ten years (finding taste).  I’ve experimented with different approaches and techniques (refining taste).  And I have my own unique style that I’ve developed over time (expressing taste).

I recently had a chance to express my taste in a new way - my climbing gym had a setting seminar.  I could create routes that other people can climb!

In the seminar, the teachers let us work and then gave feedback on what we did.  They gave some constraints, but we were free to explore at first and then they worked with us to improve the routes.

My approach was to set a problem that I would enjoy climbing  I visualized an interesting route along my assigned wall and I pictured what body positions I wanted the climber to have at each point.  I then added holds that would force the climber into those positions.

I enjoyed climbing my problems and other people said they did as well, so I’ll say that my strategy worked.  I think my taste gave me the capacity to be a setter but the art of setting has its own sense of taste.  Since the taste of climbing and setting are related, I could set a decent route, but I would have to further develop my setting taste if I wanted to be a professional setter.

It was really fun to express my taste in a new way.  Seeing other people have fun on my routes was also meaningful.   

First draft of my first route (the white holds):

Final version of my first route (the white holds):

Climbing the first route:

The blank canvas for my second route:

First draft of my second route (the blue holds):

Final version of my second route (the blue holds):

Climbing the second route:

---

🔍 Discoveries:

1️⃣ I probably share something from

Paul Millerd

at least every month.  He writes about the difference between the default path and the pathless path.  I’m happy to tell you that his book is now free!  The Pathless Path tells Paul’s exploration of work and life through his own story.  It’s not a bunch of hacks or get-rich-quick schemes or spiritual bypass. Instead, it’s a deep dive into self discovery and constant reinvention.

🔗 The Pathless Path

2️⃣ Luca DellAnna talks about the need for “super clarity”:

not just enough so that you can be understood but clear enough so that you cannot be misunderstood.

Just because you think you’re clear, doesn’t mean the listener can understand you.

🔗 Superclarity

---

💬 Quote of the Week:

"Money is like gas during a road trip. You don't want to run out of gas on your road trip, but you're not doing a tour of gas stations." - Tim O'Reilly

---

You can find more of my writing at chr.iswong.com.

Questions, suggestions, complaints?  Email me at [email protected].  

Feedback welcome.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with a friend or two.  And feel free to send anything you find interesting to me!

Leaving you in peace,

Chris