Hi,

Welcome back to the Procrastilearning Newsletter. This week's edition is actually related to the name for once. Enjoy.

John Cleese's inspiration for creativity

I recently listened to the audiobook version of John Cleese's Creativity. It's only an hour-long and read by Cleese himself. It's the best example of a book you should probably not bother buying as, at that length, you're likely to feel ripped off. But it is highly enjoyable and makes for a great library borrow.

Being a comedy icon, I was curious to hear what Cleese had to say. It turns out much of his thoughts on creativity are based around the 1960s work of Berkley psychology professor Donald MacKinnon.

MacKinnon's most famous study was about trying to find the differences between architects who were creative and those who weren't. Having applied the scientific method and all that, he found two key things:

1. Creative individuals in the study had a sense of play

2. These creative individuals also deferred decisions to the last moment

When I heard this, obviously I just interpreted this as creative architects are massive procrastinators.

Putting off decisions until the last moment just in case some new information comes in? That’s a classic reason many people have for procrastinating over a decision.

And what do procrastinators do when procrastinating? They muck about. They play. Just like these so-called creatives.

If this is what creative architects are like, they probably get maybe one building done every decade.

(If you want to know more, you can listen to a 1964 lecture by MacKinnon on the creative personality here.)

All this goes to say, if you are procrastinating on something, and you're getting frustrated, don't be too down on yourself.

Just reframe it as "Hey! I'm being creative!" - maybe you'll stop feeling shame and actually get on with what you were wanting to get done in the first place.

Cat litter made out of tofu

This week, I learned about the existence of tofu cat litter and its rising popularity.

If you don't own a cat, you may not really think about it, but cats tend to poo every day. And if they poo in your house, you need to get rid of it. Being neater than dogs, they often poo in a litter box, their version of a toilet. The litter used in these boxes can be made out of anything, but it should be absorbent for one, and ideally not smell. I probably didn't need to tell you all this, but I just did.

Traditionally, cat litter has been made out of clay. But in the 21st century, everybody is seeking more ecological alternatives, since clay requires mining and it's not bio-degradable.

Take a moment and just imagine you work in a clay mine. And imagine knowing that the majority of your quarry will be used to absorb cat piss and then thrown away. Now that's a living.

This new tofu version of cat litter is made from soy pulp which apparently falls apart very easily in water. It's ultimately this convenience, not the non-clay reasons, that it's becoming more popular - it's ideal for flushing down the toilet instead of binning, and allows you to be a bit lazier.

Am I the only person worried about cat-owners clogging up our sewers with tofu? There are already problems with people throwing wet wipes and used oil down there, and now we're throwing down vegan delights? Yes, people are worried about it. So whether it's actually better than clay is arguable.

For me, all this learning about cat litter has made me appreciate the simplicity we had with our late dog Kika. She would simply bark at us to open the front door and go poo in the garden. Great. Although I didn't appreciate how she often urinated on the sofa.

But ultimately, the reason I'm writing here about this tofu cat litter trend is that that is what I read about today when I was procrastinating about writing this newsletter. Is it creative? I don't know, but I - and you - have now learnt something we didn't know before, and that, my friend, is procrastilearning. You're welcome.

Interview of the week

In this very brief clip, Mel B of the Spice Girls is asked two questions about girl power by Eric Andre. I feel like these questions should have come up earlier in the mid-90s.

That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading and your time. Have you thought about buying Christmas presents yet?

Adam

Adam Zulawski
Procrastilearning.com / More stuff

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