Welcome to Verstreuen—meaning “to scatter”—where I unpack the ideas I’ve collected this week in my 🗃️ Zettelkasten, “note box,” personal knowledge management system. Here, I’ll share the highlights, insights, and stories I find interesting—and think you will too!

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🗃️ This Week’s Highlights

This week's notes come from 22 new additions to the Zettelkasten—definitely quality over quantity this week. here’s the three that stood out most to share with you:

🟨 The Power of Tending to Your Garden

🟦 Tools as Portals of Possibility

🟥 Truth-Seeking in a World of AI Slop

I stumbled across Fashion Neurosis by Bella Freud (yes that Freud lol) on a random YouTube recommendation not really knowing what to expect, but it has quickly became a favorite. It’s a refreshing departure from the polished, surface-level conversations typical of the fashion industry. Instead, it feels like eavesdropping on a therapy session, with designers unpacking their thoughts on life, creativity, and resilience. It’s less about fabric and runway trends and more about navigating the personal landscapes of ambition, fear, and purpose.

During Owens’ conversation, his reflection on the importance of “tending to your garden” stood out. For him, his work is his garden — a place of focus and refuge. In this context, a garden isn’t simply a physical space; it’s a metaphor for the things we nurture, protect, and grow. Our projects, relationships, and personal growth are the soil we cultivate.

But what happens when you try to tend too many gardens at once?

Lately, I’ve realized I’ve planted a lot of metaphorical gardens. Personal projects, side hustles, hobbies, even ambitions I picked up on a whim — each one seemed like a worthy seed at the time. The problem is, no garden thrives without attention. Some days, I find myself racing between plots, watering one before another wilts, but never giving any of them the care they really need.

Instead of flourishing, they languish.

It’s easy to forget that not every garden is meant to last forever. Some were experiments, others brought joy for a season, and a few were simply distractions in disguise. Letting go of the gardens that no longer serve me has been as important as tending the ones that still do. There’s a kind of clarity in accepting that you can’t grow everything at once.

There’s also a certain humility in tending to your garden. It’s about getting over yourself — releasing the illusion of control over the world’s chaos and redirecting your energy toward what’s within reach.

The world is crazy, but we all have things to grow and protect. What’s your garden? And how might you cultivate it this week? And perhaps — are there any gardens you’re ready to let go of?

**🗃️**

At first glance, this statement may seem overly academic. But distilled down, it offers a powerful insight: every outcome has two causes. There’s the primary cause — the driving force — and the instrumental cause, the tool that makes it happen.

Think of a chisel. In the hands of a sculptor, it’s more than a piece of steel — it becomes an extension of their creativity. The artistry isn’t in the tool itself, but in how it’s used. Tools don’t merely perform tasks; they shape how we engage with the world and expand our sense of what’s possible.

Every tool opens new doors. A camera shifts how we see the world. A programming language redefines how we solve problems. The tools we choose influence not just what we create, but how we think. Some tools spark curiosity and creativity. Others drive efficiency.

However, tools can also limit us. Relying too heavily on familiar tools can create tunnel vision. The saying “When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail” illustrates this well. Using the wrong tool — or defaulting to one simply because it’s available — can constrain our thinking.

The key is not just expanding your toolkit, but cultivating awareness of how and why you use each tool. Are you applying it out of habit, or because it’s the most effective choice? This intentionality allows you to adapt, solve problems creatively, and avoid the trap of one-size-fits-all thinking.

Tools are more than instruments — they’re invitations to explore and create. How we wield them shapes our perception of what’s possible, expanding our imagination and unlocking new opportunities.

A practical way I’ve been fostering this mindset is to regularly try new tools, methods, and seek out unique perspectives. Whether it’s experimenting with a new app, picking up an unfamiliar skill, or engaging with someone from a different field, these choices broaden my problem-solving abilities and have enhanced my creativity.

**🗃️**

It’s tempting to surround ourselves with affirming beliefs. After all, certainty is comfortable. But the problem with avoiding inconvenient truths is that reality remains unchanged, whether we acknowledge it or not.

Social media, with its hyper-personalized algorithms, worsens this tendency. Our feeds are designed to reinforce our existing perspectives. The more we engage with certain content, the more similar material we see. If you spend hours watching fart videos, your FYP will undoubtedly serve you more of the same. This creates echo chambers that amplify our beliefs and silence opposing views.

But a new problem is emerging: AI-generated content. Unlike traditional media, which requires human effort to produce, AI can generate endless streams of engaging but shallow material. Designed to keep us scrolling, this “AI slop” reinforces our biases by flooding us with perspectives that mirror our own. It’s easy to mistake this constant validation for truth.

Ironically, Sam Altman, the person who kicked off and is leading this wave of technological change, also reminds us of the importance of truth-seeking. As he points out, the line between self-belief and self-delusion is dangerously thin.

The good news? Truth-seeking is a skill, and like any skill, it can be practiced. One simple step is to diversify your information sources. Challenge yourself to explore perspectives that differ from your own, not defensively, but with curiosity.

Truth-seeking doesn’t mean abandoning your beliefs — it means refining them. In a world full of noise, the ability to distinguish signal from distraction is the real skill.

**🗃️**

Closing Thoughts

This week’s notes all point toward the quiet power of discernment — the choice to tend to what matters, to shape with intention, and to seek truth even when it’s inconvenient.

A garden thrives not because every seed was worth planting, but because some were allowed to grow while others were let go. Tools, too, are only as valuable as our understanding of when and how to use them. And truth? It rarely arrives without effort. In a world eager to offer easy answers, clarity comes from the harder work of asking better questions.

But the more we learn, the clearer these choices become. Understanding reveals how things fit — which gardens deserve our care, which tools will serve us best, and which truths stand up to honest scrutiny. Knowledge isn’t just power; it’s perspective.

And with perspective, we don’t just see more — we see what matters.

Thanks for reading Verstreuen

Thanks for taking the time to explore and reflect on my notes with me. If any ideas particularly resonated or challenged you, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

👋 Until next week.

-GH

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