Hello!
I've got a real problem. Life is full of stressful nonsense, and I have, over many years, built a life that is specifically organized around the stressful nonsense. The stressful nonsense and I are, at this point, in a long-term relationship.
And then, periodically, I will go on vacation, and I’m just not very good at them.
On my most recent vacation, I made myself some deals. I would not scroll on my phone. I would try not to even look at my phone before noon, unless it’s to play an audiobook or something. And I stuck to this, and that’s fine, but it did not make me good at vacation.
I don’t actually know if this is something that’s going to resonate with anyone else, but my self-image is so tied to creation that in times when I’m not making things, I feel almost immediate ennui. It’s bad enough that, some Sunday mornings, I won’t really be able to enjoy my day until I post something insightful or clever somewhere. I wrote about this in my book. One of my characters says to another, “You will always struggle with not feeling productive until you accept that your own joy can be something you produce.”
It’s wild to write something in your own book that is one of the most quoted lines from the book and still be unable to internalize it. I think ultimately the line is correct. The problem is not that I don’t believe the sentiment; it’s that I cannot accept that my own joy is something I produce. I don’t even know how to produce my own joy.
You will hardly believe what helped me most on this vacation. It was a very dense philosophy book. The kind of book written by a philosopher for philosophers, which meant I could easily spend half an hour ruminating on a single page. I wasn’t producing joy, precisely, but I did feel as if I was simultaneously working a hard problem and learning something useful. That’s a feeling I like!
I think some people can get something out of simply relaxing, and maybe I will get there someday, but for now, this is the best I’ve done.
Hank
You can always email us at [email protected]
This Week in Stuff
A man named Jerry has dedicated his life to making a map of an imaginary place. (YouTube)
The Berlin Zoo has a new baby pygmy hippo named after a German bread roll. (Instagram)
The creator of benches made from plastic bottle caps and a teen dedicated to inspiring a love for reading are teaming up for TogetherTuesday. (Instagram)
What would happen if you clicked the first link on every Wikipedia article? (YouTube)
A cat unexpectedly stole the show during a ballet production of Romeo and Juliet. (Instagram)
John shared the cover of his new book, Hollywood, Ending! You can pre-order your copy now. (hollywoodendingbook.com)
Please send us stuff you think we should feature to [email protected]
Just over one-third of the world’s assessed fish stocks are overexploited
Hannah Ritchie and Pablo Arriagada
How much of the world’s fish stocks are overfished? Fisheries scientists often answer this question with a specific metric: the “maximum sustainable yield” — this is the largest catch that can be taken from a fish stock without depleting it to the point that future catches decline.
When a stock is fished at a rate above this level, it is considered overfished.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimates that just over one-third of the world’s assessed fish stocks are overfished. As the chart shows, this has increased from around 10% in the mid-1970s.
Getting high-quality global estimates of this metric is difficult; many regions have formal assessments of fish stocks and catch rates, but many fish stocks across Africa, Asia, and South America are not assessed rigorously. To get global estimates, the UN FAO combines these formal assessments with expert opinion and extrapolations based on available national and regional data.
The FAO’s report — The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 — provides more detailed breakdowns of which species are overfished.
Our World in Data is a UK-based non-profit organization that publishes research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems. You can find more of their data insights here. Want to receive even more Data Insights like this from Our World in Data directly in your inbox every few days? Sign up for their newsletter!
This Week at Complexly
Is the best pan non-stick? Ceramic? Aluminum? Stainless steel? Cast iron? Here's what science tells us.
Of the five mammals native to Christmas Island, only one is left – the Christmas Island flying fox. The other four have gone extinct, along with several reptile species. And the weird thing is, the birds of Christmas Island are the cause… or, at least, their poop is.
Some Games to Play!
4×3 (by Hank Green)
Spellcheck (by Answer in Progress)
This Gubbins postcard was made by Malvina. Send yours to [email protected]
If you post your results on social media, we’d love it if you post a link for folks to subscribe to “We’re Here” (https://werehere.beehiiv.com/subscribe)
No Effort Is Wasted
Last week, Hank defended the idea of doing things badly and quoted Wyna Liu, who said, “No effort is wasted.” Thank you to everyone who shared their experience of trying a new thing with us!
I am in a PhD program, and when I entered the program I was very bad at reading scientific papers. It would take me hours to get through a single paper and I would finish it feeling like I had learned very little. In this technological age, many of my peers and mentors suggested I put the papers into AI and have it summarize them for me to save me a lot of time - and it would have. But I really wanted to be able to read and understand papers on my own. I am now entering my fourth year and I love reading papers, something I never thought I would be able to say. I read much faster and have gotten better at being able to understand the message even in fields that aren't my expertise. This accomplishment happened very slowly, and no one cares about it but me, but nonetheless I am very proud of myself for my perseverance and effort.
The same week that I got sober 4 years ago, I started rock climbing. It is now the hobby that has introduced me to a large portion of my friends, makes me feel strong, and I’ve even won a couple of local comps. It’s not as immediately satisfying as alcohol, but it has added a thousand times more value and joy.
About two and a half years ago, I decided to give watercolor painting a try. I had seen a bunch of videos of watercolor demos on Instragram (because algorithms), and thought, "That looks like fun! I wonder if I could do that..." So I headed to the art store and bought my first pad of paper, a set of pan watercolor paints, and a basic set of brushes. I had no idea what I was doing or what I was getting into. Fast forward to now and I am all in. I have given paintings as gifts, have my own art framed and hanging on my walls, regularly make cards and postcards for people I care about, and have even sold some of my paintings at a community art show two years in a row! What I think it's taught me is 1) to let go of perfectionism (easier said than done), 2) to prioritize my creativity, and 3) that you don't have to always know where you're going...you just have to start!
I moved to a new state in the US when I started my doctoral program. I love to tap dance, so I hoped to find a new studio in my new state. But I couldn’t, so I tried aerial circus classes, specifically lyra/hoop. A) these classes have made me so physically strong in ways I haven’t been in 10+ years, but most importantly b) these classes taught me to love myself and my body, even when I’m not good at it. I’m still not great at lyra, but I have so much fun being imperfect and trying new shapes and poses. Plus, my other classmates have become some of my best friends in my new city!
Nearly a year ago I moved to a new city in a new country where I knew no one. I knew that I had to find a way to meet people, so I signed up to an improv class without any expectations.
I ended up falling in love with improv, as well as finding a wonderful community that has helped me integrate into this new city much more easily than I would have otherwise.
Before I was able to own a house I would never have guessed how much I love renovating. I watch videos and read articles, I make moodboards and sometimes hire people. Love seeing all the ways a house can be put together, and how venacular architcture intersects with greater culture. I see buildings, especially old ones, in a whole new way. We've made a lot of progress and fortunately (?) our house is such a fixer-upper that almost anything I do is an improvement.
Picked up running about a year and a half ago. Never ran without being forced to for sports/gym prior but wanted to try out something new as was just weightlifting and was getting burned out. Not only have I learned I can do hard things like casually run 5-6 miles at a time and do a half marathon. But it's taught & brought me the importance of community as well. Have a group where we meet up on Sunday and do a quick run and grab coffee after and debrief of the week prior and all get ready for the upcoming week together. Its now the day that I look forward to each week.
Early last year I decided to pick up one of those crochet kits and give it a shot just for fun, but it's now genuinely become one of my favourite hobbies and ways of making gifts for people. I had no idea how much I would love the process and the rhythm of it, or that so many people poured so much creativity into patterns, a lot even offering them for free online. It's just really cool to see how many people love making things with their hands and want to give other people that joy as well!
I used to think I don’t like to read books, every time I’d pick up a book and try reading I’d fall asleep at worst or just not process the words and have to start the page over. At some point I realized the times I tried reading was when I had to (mostly at school). So at the age of 21 I decided to try and read a book I’m actually interested in and while it took a bit I read my first book fully, it being the Odyssey! Since then I’ve been loving reading, especially on my commute to work on the bus, the extra stimuli seems to help with the falling asleep thing.
When my husband and I first started dating, he introduced me to hiking. I was completely unathletic and found the entire thing to be exhausting, miserable, and even embarrassing. Since I loved him and figured that hiking counted as exercise, I kept going. After FIVE YEARS of hating almost every hike, something clicked for me, and now I absolutely love it! I haven't gotten better at it, and I still struggle up every hill. Even so, it is now one of my favorite activities.
You made it to the end!
What’s the best vacation you’ve ever taken? Tell us about it!
Send your vacation to [email protected].
