As much as change is in focus these days, certain old-fashioned tools like writing have stood the test of time. Turning mystery into simple explanations is my goal when I write.
Ages ago, midst the wintry holidays of 2019, I realized how valuable writing is to me. Something was missing. Lawyering wasn’t stimulating enough.
I started putting “pen to paper” in my free time.
What internal drive did I satisfy? Curiosity; fascination; wonder; awe. A cluster of feelings that are consistent with rationality. Unlike others, e.g. impatience & anger.
Four “laws” emerged as I typed ideas away, sunny day after rainy day. My writing had to be interesting, original, true, and concise.
Otherwise? It. Got. Cut.
Almost three years under my own license after a year’s worth under supervising attorneys’ licenses. That is my law practice experience.
The “fact work” was intense. It included leading over a hundred interviews with industry participants, a handful of executive-level depositions as first chair and a dozen or so as supporting second chair. Then there were all those memos!
I felt at ease when doing research, analysis, and writing with just about any topic (e.g. microeconomics). For anything I want to understand, I have a lot to learn. And I will eventually.
Fast forward from December 2019 to the spring of 2021. Looking at all the pages I recognized a theme: Knowledge. What is it? How do we get it? When do we lose it? I’d been fascinated by these questions, but hadn’t realized.
We’re the only species with the power to radically alter our environment. We do this with knowledge, the product of our creative intelligence. Other species have self-awareness (basic object recognition), consciousness (like our mammal pets), as well as memory and some kind of ideation (such as chimpanzees and dolphins).
But it’s humans who have the power in the first place to become stewards of the environment. I’m determined to understand what this ability is and how it works.
I travelled to some countries in Latin America and I’ve been living in Mexico for a few years. I have citizenship here and write as a freelancer to pay bills. I have also experimented with prediction markets.
About a year back I discovered narrative design and video game development. I read a job post for a survival horror game writer, and while I don’t play those games, I knew instantly that I wanted to make games. I’ve been networking with other game developers and learning as much as I can. I made a few demos, got feedback, and now I’m finally exiting the early design stage and coding in Godot.
My game is called Street Attorney. It’s about a law student who stumbles upon a fascist plot. Fight with the people you love. Save the republic.
I’m still working on Lodestar but I don’t have a discovery yet. It’s a little depressing but I love it so I keep going.