Top all-time · #3316
Cate Hall
Personal blog · usefulfictions.substack.comwritingphilosophy
Cate Hall writes Useful Fictions, a personal blog at usefulfictions.substack.com about writing and philosophy. Since 2024, 22 different Hacker News readers have linked it 45 times, most often “Maybe you’re not trying”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-07-23, and you can follow it by feed.
all models are wrong, but some are useful. Click to read Useful Fictions, by Cate Hall, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.
Most-linked posts?
- Maybe you’re not trying4 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2025-05-28
- How to Be More Agentic4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2024-01-11
- Testosterone gave me my life back3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2025-04-30
- Are You a Jerk, or a Liar? On talking past each other3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2024-06-17
- Tying Yourself to the Mast2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2025-06-11
- Rightness Is a Prison2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2025-08-20
- Burnout is breaking a sacred pact2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2026-01-07
- The seam through the center of things2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2026-01-15
- There are nine wolves inside of you2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2024-05-13
- Are you stuck in movie logic?2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2025-06-18
What Hacker News says?
This Ted Talk from his wife is also very interesting: https://usefulfictions.substack.com/p/behold-my-ted-talk The topic is agency. Which is a word I hear often used by rarely defined or described in detail. She talks about agency as being the key to going from drug addict to CEO of a successful organization, and the specific habits that process involved.
Comment linking /p/behold-my-ted-talk
on “My stages of learning to be a socially normal person”Submitted Maybe you’re not trying as a story · 448 points
HN discussionSubmitted The Moat of Low Status as a story · 397 points
HN discussionSubmitted How to Be More Agentic as a story · 293 points
HN discussionSubmitted Are you stuck in movie logic? as a story · 239 points
HN discussionSubmitted How to increase your surface area for luck as a story · 213 points
HN discussionSubmitted In Praise of Quitting as a story · 34 points
HN discussionSubmitted Fuck Willpower as a story · 10 points
HN discussionSubmitted Rightness Is a Prison as a story · 8 points
HN discussionSubmitted Testosterone gave me my life back as a story · 7 points
HN discussionSubmitted Fuck Willpower: Winners take shortcuts as a story · 5 points
HN discussionSubmitted Rightness Is a Prison as a story · 5 points
HN discussionSubmitted Everyone Here Is in a Cult as a story · 4 points
HN discussionSubmitted Testosterone gave me my life back as a story · 4 points
HN discussionSubmitted The lies I used to tell myself as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted There are nine wolves inside of you as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted Maybe you're not Actually Trying – On selective agency in capable people as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted Maybe You're Not Actually Trying as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted Are you stuck in movie logic? as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted Tying Yourself to the Mast as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted Are You a Jerk, or a Liar? On talking past each other as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted Until you get punched in the face as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Writing a book is a labor of love as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted How to instantly be better at things as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted The seam through the center of things as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Maybe You're Not Trying as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Things I Know as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Things I Know as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted How to instantly be better at things as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Maybe You're Not Trying as a story · 2 points
HN discussion
