I pay close attention to my information diet which consists of a lot of daily, weekly, and monthly intake. Some electronic, some print. I still need a lot of print since I can’t read long articles on my computer screen without hurting my eyes.

For the past few weeks I’ve been debating whether to add The Economist to my weekly subscription list. So far I’ve read the Economist from time to time when I see it around. Recently they have covered some of the biggest stories far better than other outlets. Plus, as I try to get up to speed on international happenings and stay on top of the jaw-dropping effects of globalization, The Economist does international news as good as anyone.

The $129 annual subscription cost is nominal, for me it’s a question of time. I take each new “information committment” seriously. Let’s say I spend 30 minutes each week reading the Economist. This means I will spend 28 hours a year, not insignificant. As part of my tried and true philosophy – “for every new committment you take on, drop one of equal committment” – I need to think about what I will drop to make those 28 hours become available. First, I have unsubscribed from 20 RSS feeds that simply weren’t getting the job done. Even if I only spend seconds skimming through those posts, that adds up over time. Second, I have stopped reading Fortune. Third, I have more or less stopped reading the San Francisco Chronicle (except local sports scores). Finally, I expect that while I will be a returning captain for the basketball team this winter I will have less administrative work than I did last year thus freeing up add’l time.

So with that, I welcome the Economist to my information diet, whose inspirational mission is “to take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstrucing our progress.”

In Under the Banner of Heaven the main subject, Ron Lafferty, was diagnosed by one doctor with narcissistic personality disorder. NPD is distinguished by “a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy…indicated by five (or more) of the following:

• has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
• is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
• believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
• requires excessive admiration
• has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
• is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
• lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
• is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
• shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

“It has been estimated that 1 percent of the American population is afflicted with it…To a noteworthy degree narcissists fuel the cultural, spiritual, and economic engines of Western society. Many successful people are narcissistic, it’s especially prevalent among accomplished businessmen, attorneys, physicians, and academics. Such people have a sense of vast self-importance and believe they’re smarter and better than anybody else. They’re willing to work incredible hours to provide confirmation to support their grandiose ideas…On the other hand, it really impairs their ability for intimacy and closeness because they lack empathy, and can’t understand the importance of other people’s life experiences.”

A few things really stood out for me after reading this. First, it made think of Siebel co-founder Pat House’s remarks at the Stanford conference I went to in February. She came across as pretty egotistical and narcissistic and initially I was turned off. But thinking about it more, I think the excerpt above is right: most really successful people I know are narcissistic. As for myself, I think I exhibit some of the “symptoms” listed above. And one of my big character weaknesses is my reluctance for intimacy and closeness. Some kids my age say I have a shell.

I’d be interested in hearing from others who may exhibit certain narcissistic characteristics but do not hide behind it but rather embrace the fact that they’re part of the 1%.

What is it about our culture’s obsession with memories? The creation of, storage of, and sharing of memories seems to be a timeless need. But when does the process of creating and storing the perfect memory/moment become greater than the memory itself? In other words, when does the posing for the camera in front of a tourist attraction become more important than enjoying the attraction itself? Do we rely on material memories like pictures or videos more than we used to because our memory/mental bandwidth is overloaded with other things?

Other than a group of people laughing together, which is one of the highest forms of social bonding, I would posit that next on the list is the joint recollection of memories. Sentences that start off “Remember when…” usually result in everyone involved re-living a shared experience, and shared experiences are the key to enduring relationships. And enduring relationships are at the core of innate human desire.

So, for my entrepreneur friends out there, think about our culture’s obsession over memories, and in this age of stimuli overload, think about how we can help the rest of the world create, store, and share memories.
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A confluence of observations/thoughts prompted this post:

• Cameras in cell phones have made the taking pictures omnipresent.
• I recently heard an entrepreneur pitch a group of angels on a wedding photography business and he concluded by saying: “A bride’s parents will pay top dollar for reliable wedding photos, because after all, in the end all you have are the photographs.”
• The song “Graduation” by Vitamin C on my iPod during my workout today whose lyrics is all about remembering the high school days.