It's rare that I can justify an entire day to reading. Being on the mend from my cold, and not being in a state to be efficient at much else, I was somewhat able to justify taking the time to read Kauffman's A World Beyond Physics just about end-to-end. Although at many moments along the way I felt guilty about all the other things that I was "supposed" to be doing.
Nonetheless, the timing of this read was brilliant. I've always been fascinated by evolution and emergence and the broader application of these concepts. I read Kauffman's 1996 work, At Home in the Universe, and this latest (2019) work attempts to add the missing piece in his theory of the emergence of life as we know it.
I realise that reading helps me cope with a distinct loneliness I feel. In continuously advancing toward the vision of reelyActive (my startup) I get further and further away from what might be considered the normal or established context. In other words, in order to be able to push forward, I adjust my context (my normal) to enable the adjacent possible, with each step distancing myself from what others consider normal.
I don't recall feeling this, at least not this pronounced, during Startical 1.0. I suspect that those cumulative steps have put me in a curious position: I'm more excited than ever because I can envisage a wonderful and non-obvious future, yet lonelier than ever because there are few with whom I can truly share this vision.
Reading authors who push the boundaries on topics aligned with my own interests helps me to feel less alone. In this read, I often had to put the book down and just let my mind wander to imagine how much is left to explore. Interestingly, the conclusions and epilogue seemed very obvious and natural to me. Rather than being a let-down, it bolsters my confidence that a brilliant, accomplished scientist finds himself too having to state to readers what must seem very obvious and natural to him.