Brain Food: Slop
FS | BRAIN FOOD
Sept 20th, 2026 - #699 - read online - Free Version
Welcome to Brain Food, your weekly signal in a world full of noise.
Tiny Thoughts
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It’s never been easier to learn what works. And it’s never been harder to stand out.
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The Golden Rule of AI: Don’t use AI to save yourself time by wasting someone else’s.
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If your boss doesn't understand the value you bring, then you've got a problem and it's not your boss.
Insights
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Anais Nin:
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.”
(Also relates to the P.S. this week).
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George Leonard in Mastery:
“The courage of a master is measured by his willingness to surrender.”
***
Peyton Manning on preparation:
“If you really want to be a game changer, become a master observer. Just the willingness to stop and look at things that no one else has even bothered to look at enables game changers to identify real points of meaning. The simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted can be a source of great power and creativity. ... We learn when we observe, we pick up on clues, we figure things out. That is what preparation is all about.”
The Knowledge Project
Shopify founder and CEO Tobi Lütke joined me to discuss AI agents, better decision-making, and the future of work.
He explains how he uses an AI council to examine his hardest decisions and why taste, judgment, and responsibility become more valuable as AI becomes more capable.
We go inside Shopify’s work with River, an AI colleague with memory, personality, and permission to challenge the CEO. We also explore how to choose between several good options, why the best long-term decisions often lack immediate feedback, and why building something that lasts requires pruning and rebuilding.
Tobi also shares how he cultivates intuition, the affirmations he uses to change his own behavior, and why his kids must add “yet” when they say they can’t do something.
Listen and Learn (YouTube | Spotify | Apple | Transcript/Web)
+ Members also get the extended (re: nerdier) edit of this episode.
Etcetera
- A "Slop Grenade" is when you let AI produce the work and pass it on without adding any value (including checking it). Someone else has to wade through it, catch the mistakes, and clean up the mess. You save time and look productive but someone else pays for it.
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Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week.
— Shane Parrish
P.S. Courage.
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