(2023-03-15) Yu Sparkly People And How To Find Them

Anson Yu: sparkly people and how to find them. I am constantly delighted by the people I get to spend time around. I attribute it to judgement exercised over time

There’s an intangible quality in some people that just makes them magnetic.

Friends and I call it the “sparkle”. They reliably shine in every context. It’s a joie de vivre mixed in with a dedication to craft, lightly encased in wit. Chances are, they’ll become the best in their field (and have fun doing it). You just want to be around them. They have a good vibe. (bright-eyed and bushy-tailed)

Treasure Hunt Clues

From Afar

Ability to make value-neutral observations - Can they hold something in the space between judgement and apathy?

Hype adjacent

Normalized kindness -

Consistency of creativity - Do they make things?

Within first conversation

Refusal to accept messy explanations... they’ll ask clarifying questions

Ability to teach things at varying levels - They also don’t give messy explanations

Relationship with useful vices

ability to package blobby ambitions into understandable reference frames

Relationship with recommendations - Have they actually engaged with the things pass along?

Callback ability - This is shorthand for their ability to contextualize new information quickly. How big is their mental RAM? This may look like someone’s propensity to make connections/references in conversation. (associative)

Interest in history of their field of expertise

Default peace - This one I’m stealing from John Keats. In his selected letters, he highlights a willingness to make peace with ambiguity.