015: In Practice | 6–12 April
Australian EV sales hit a record, wisdom as performance not theory, Louis Theroux as conduit to the mainstream, and why AI just makes vagueness more expensive
Coming back from three days off technology is always a readjustment. First order of business: thesis. But the weekend had the good stuff — Saturday at the Indigiscapes Eco Markets with Adele and my sister Lou, lying down for ages admiring a 400-year-old tree (the only reason it survived 19th-century timber felling was that lightning got to it first, leaving it deformed and somehow magnificent). My cousin Lea and her family arrived that afternoon to stay for the week. Tane came for the quarry, and on Sunday, we headed to Brisbane Stoics together to learn and discuss concepts on The Art of Living (see the Philosophy section). Later, a group of us watched one of my BFFs, Renata, perform her first DJ set (as DJ RJ) after completing the QUIVR course in Brisbane (see the Music section). A full, good week.
Here are Lou, LC, and Adele admiring the tree (one for my foot fetish fans!) and debating AI use.
A thread running through this week: the gap between theory and practice. Knowing things isn’t the same as living them — whether you’re talking about Stoic philosophy, AI tools, learning a new creative skill, or what we’re doing with the things Louis Theroux puts in front of us. The question isn’t what you understand. It’s what you actually do with it.
Here’s what I’ve been reading and listening to:
🚗 ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Good news:
Electric vehicle sales in March reached an all-time high in Australia, reaching a record number of 15,839 and a record share of 14.5 per cent – nearly double the share in the same month last year – as consumers searched out EVs amid the global fuel crisis…
In comparison, in March last year, EVs accounted for only 7.5% of total new car sales.
The best-selling EVs in March 2026 were:
Tesla Model Y
BYD Sealion 7
Zeekr 7X
Tesla Model 3
Geely EX5
Kia EV5 (EV3 is #12)
BYD Atto 2 (Atto 1 is #9 and 3 is #11)
🎙️ MEDIA
Video from 2019 for SBS The Feed, where Mark Fennel asked Louis Theroux how he approaches interviewing people with problematic views
This is something I have been thinking about for the past few years with Louis’ work. Is it just platforming horrible people?
We sometimes forget that not everyone knows the same things we do. For example, many didn’t know of the Manosphere before Louis’ latest documentary.
After discussion and reflection, Tane and I have agreed that Louis serves as a conduit to help the mainstream learn about and engage with these niche topics. It’s not up to him what happens with this information, as it’s now out in the ether, but it’s up to the rest of us who have seen it to do something constructive with this knowledge - new to some, not to others.
♫ MUSIC
Angine de Poitrine - Full Performance (Live on KEXP) - an independent Seattle radio station
Let’s start with some totally unusual music - thanks to my mate Adam for suggesting this experimental (microtonal) math rock band from Quebec.
Don’t let the weird vocal thing or outfits put you off, it’s exceptional music in a pretty boring world where a lot of writers use the same 6 producers, and we’re on the cusp of “let’s create music with AI” chaos.
Usually, they say not to read the comments online, but do yourself a favour and check them out while you are listening.
Rick Beato from Everything Music talks about them.
If you like Primus, Frank Zappa, Devo, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, bass-heavy, loops, musicians with a heap of pedals, a new (?!) instrument combining a bass and guitar, and math rock, this is for you.
From the comments:
The microtonal Guitar/Bass is a one of a kind made by a Luthier from Alma city (in Quebec) named Raphaël Le Breton. Angine de poitrine is a medical condition, “Angina pectoris” in English (chest pain or discomfort that occurs when a part of your heart doesn’t get enough blood and oxygen). Also they describe their style as “Dada Pythago-Cubist Mantra-Rock”
Charles Cornell explains what microtonal music is and how it can “trick” your brain: it roots you somewhere with music/notes that your brain can understand, while there are additional notes split up into additional musical steps.
Imogen Heap - I AM ___
Imogen has always been YEARS ahead of everyone else. READ about the song.
Three Australian bands with new music include:
Parcels - Ifyoucall (Live)
The Remotes
Pre-order their upcoming album, Ready For It
(released on 21 April!)
Royel Otis - Sweet Hallelujah
New song from the Aussie duo just before their Coachella set on the weekend.
Wrapping up the music section is the playlist from DJ RJ’s set after her QUIVR course in Brisbane over the past month.
“Heaven is a Place on Earth” Belinda Carlisle - additional song!
Here’s a photo of the whole crew:
(Bill, Tane, LC, Roushini, Renata, Will, Tracey, Adam, Elissa, and Kim)
🏛️ PHILOSOPHY
Sunday was the monthly Brisbane Stoics meetup, and Tane came with me. This month’s meetup was hosted by Travis, who runs the Brisbane Social Geeks meetups. The topic was The Art of Living - exploring eudaimonia: well-being, flourishing, and happiness through living virtuously and in accordance with one’s true nature.
We discussed the need to focus on our own internal state — what we can control — rather than on external factors. When we live in alignment with our values, we are internally consistent and rational, free from conflicting beliefs and emotions. This, in turn, leads us to live in harmony with Nature as a whole and society at large. Tending to the internal state is, in effect, therapy for the soul.
There are five different types of arts:
Productive: where you make a product, e.g., a baker making sourdough
Acquisitive: obtaining and not constructing something, e.g., a photographer capturing the sunset
Performative: presenting a performance correctly, e.g., an actor delivering their role
Theoretical: knowing for the sake of knowing, e.g., observing and understanding astronomy
Stochastics: hitting a target or a goal, e.g., an archer aiming for the bullseye
Wisdom — the art of living, the thing that guarantees eudaimonia — is performative, like dancing. You have to practise it.
We also discussed how these might overlap, and I gave an example of creating content for my newsletter (something I’ve been reflecting on for a while), which generated a good discussion. One of the guys mentioned later that life is about creating things for others and not just the self. I've been thinking about where and how to post to reach more of a mainstream audience — not everyone wants long-form text (or even audio), as I'm finding!
Theory, readings, and knowledge alone aren’t enough. Experience and practice are needed. This can be mantras, journalling prompts, activities, and micro-rituals. Rate your performance and then improve. After all, exercises translate doctrine into actions and behaviour, which can then transform character. Remember, the quote from Edition 10? “You are perfect just as you are, and you could use a little improvement” - Shunryu Suzuki.
Tane and I have been discussing these concepts lately, too. When certain people in the public eye seem to have a lot of knowledge but lack the experience or practical application, they feel inauthentic, because it hasn’t become lived knowledge.
Another topic of conversation was how we can respond to wars beyond our control. There was quite a bit of discussion about this between a few people. The questioner wanted guidance on the how or the what. Someone mentioned they need to find it beyond the readings and meetings, and in practice. Tane talked about using emotions and feelings to interpret an action psychologically. Later, I talked about the overwhelm with ALL the information from ALL the wars from ALL the people and linked it to Dunbar’s number - around 150 is the cognitive limit for stable interpersonal relationships. When linked with social media and the plethora of people and brands to connect with and stay informed about, this leads to overwhelm. We need to make more considered decisions about what and who we put time and energy into.
🗳️ POLITICS
Great advert from independent Michelle Milthorpe’s team, in which she talks about how her father’s death was preventable — a direct result of not having enough GPs and nurses. Many rural areas also need mental health services and a hospital. Very short and sharp.
⌛ PRODUCTIVITY
Here is a non-productivity productivity post from Joan Westernberg: Why I Quit “The Strive”
This one’s for anyone who feels like rest doesn’t count because it’s not producing thoughts, content, progress, or anything towards the BIG GOALS. This is not the way we should be living, team. We need to stop treating rest, fun, and connection as wasteful because they can’t be measured - including myself. We are allowed to enjoy things that cannot be measured just because we like them. If you can’t do this, “then The Strive still owns you. You’ve handed your peace of mind to a system that will never give you permission to stop.”
Put more effort into doing things that you enjoy with people whose company you love. This is what human connection actually looks like.
But the biggest part, the part nobody wants to cop to is this: The Strive is a really good way to avoid sitting with your actual life. If you’re always chasing the next milestone, you don’t have to ask whether you like the way you spend your days. You don’t have to look at the possibility that catching the thing wouldn’t make you happy either. I think, for me, a lot of The Strive was... running, running from the question of whether any of it was what I wanted, or what I’d been told to want.
🤖 TECHNOLOGY & AI
Why AI CEOs Are Building Bunkers - Tristan Harris
Don’t let Chris Williamson’s clickbait title put you off - it’s more Tristan!
The only way through the AI chaos is to always remember our humaneness and not get drawn into the idea that technology is better than humans. We need each other people - start acting like it!
A beginner’s guide to using Claude
Helena di Biase walks through what Claude is and how to use it for a more effective workflow — clear and easy to follow. I’m definitely more Team Claude than Chat GPT (not that any AI is straightforwardly ethical, but that’s a conversation for another edition), and she compares the two.
She also discusses all the things Claude can do:
Projects
Memory
Research Mode (“Deep Research”)
Artifacts
File creation
Cowork
Connectors
Claude Code
Web search and visualisations
I have had Claude Pro for at least a year. I have used the first five (above) and continue to do so. I mostly use Claude for editing, brainstorming, writing drafts, and strategic thinking. I have a heap of my own content, so I always start there, but I use Claude to augment it. For example, this newsletter gives me ideas for headings and subheadings, since I’m not great at that.
After reading the article, I updated my Personal Preferences statement and downloaded the app on my desktop to use Cowork. I’ve already asked CoWork to help me organise my totally overwhelming downloads. The five minutes you spend telling Claude who you are, what you don’t want, and how you think — that’s not a preference setting. That’s articulating your intent. And the people who can do that clearly will have a significant advantage.
The features I hadn’t touched — Cowork, Connectors, Claude Code — are the ones where AI becomes more of a thinking partner that can also do things. That shift matters. And it connects to something else I’ve been sitting with. I’ll get more into the others later, and particularly want to use agents more. Maybe with other third-party apps (e.g., Notion). I’m still figuring out how deep I want to go with all of this. I’m wary of subscription creep — paying monthly fees to a growing stack of tools I half-use. But what I’m finding is that the subscriptions I already have, used properly, do more than I thought. The bottleneck isn’t access. It usually isn’t. It’s clarity.
The Most Important Ideas in AI Right Now (April 2026)
Daniel Miessler also talks about the important ideas in AI now.
Here are his five ideas:
Autonomous Component Improvement
The Transition to Intent-Based Engineering
The Move from Opacity to Transparency
The Realisation That Most Work is Scaffolding
Expertise Gets Diffused into Public Knowledge
One of his arguments is that 75 to 99% of knowledge work is overhead — maintaining tooling, workflows, templates — and that the actual hard thinking is a tiny fraction done by a tiny fraction of people, a tiny fraction of the time. AI handles the scaffolding exceptionally well. The work was never the hard part; maintaining the scaffolding was.
The new scarce skill isn’t coding or prompting — it’s being able to articulate what you actually want clearly enough that it becomes verifiable. Intent as the bottleneck. Most of us are extraordinarily vague about what we’re trying to achieve, even to ourselves. AI doesn’t fix that. It just makes the vagueness more expensive.
Which brings it back to the week that was. The antidote to vagueness isn’t a better tool. It’s knowing what actually matters to you and doing something about it. Wrapping up this week...
I’m grateful for quality social time with true friends, time with extended family, tree appreciation, friends supporting friends’ creative and philosophical expressions, Stoic conversations, lifelong learning, and the insights and people you meet along the way.