Matt Lakeman

History, Travel & Thought-provoking Ideas

Author

Nik Newcamp
January 08, 2025

Another writer who’s part of the ‘extended Slate Star Codex universe’ (we’ll feature Scott Alexander soon!), Matt Lakeman is one of the most engaging writers on the internet - and pretty eccentric!

BIO
Why Matt Lakeman?

I don’t actually know much about him. (maybe it’s better that way?) He’s probably best known as a ‘travel writer’ - and if you’re interested in travel to some of the world’s lesser visited locations - Matt Lakeman has probably been there and written about it.

But travel is only part of his repertoire. He writes frequently about literature and culture and I’ve shared his ‘experiments’ - or challenges - tons of times. They’re fun (but quite odd)!

You can find his writing - in his trademark blunt style - on his website.

Topics: History, Travel, Society, Book/Film analysis

3 ESSAYS TO GET YOU STARTED
1 - Thoughts on Meaning and Writing

Lakeman’s ideas on what’s important or ‘meaningful’ and an ode to writing as a form of learning (and remembering).

“When I revisit the essay, I don’t just recapture the information, but the process of discovering it. I remember writing particular sentences, how I found the relevant knowledge online, and the compositional decisions I made to put each sentence in its particular place.”

A quite bizarre history of seal hunters on an uber-remote island in the 18th century (seriously) and a parable of sorts about what life - or at least your time - is worth. 

“I wouldn’t want to live on an island in the middle of nowhere with four other men for 1.5 years to bludgeon and skin seals all day because I value my life and time too much. There are too many other interesting, beneficial, fulfilling things I could be doing with my time.”

Matt Lakeman has done a bunch of personal ‘experiments’ - here’s a fun one. 

“Why Am I Doing This? No real reason. I’m just curious to see if I have the willpower to succeed and how I’ll feel.” 

As far as blogs go, a new Matt Lakeman travel post is as close to a ‘stop everything and read’ event. He shares a mix of overview, history and his personal experiences. This one - on his experience in Guinea - is one of my favorites (but they’re all fascinating).

WHAT IS WORTH CHECKING THIS WEEK?

Some of our favourite things we found on the internet this week:

SUGGESTION BOX

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Let us know how you found Matt Lakeman’s writing & see you next week! 🙂