👋 Hello there, I’m Aruna.

Surface Tension is my weekly exploration of insights and thought provoking quotes from the books I read, bundled into one idea worth sitting with. For more, browse my book notes and long form articles.

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Category: All Categories Mastery Reading and Writing

2026

Nature Versus Nurture

Getting good at anything is not impossible, but it is not equally possible at every stage of life either.

Date: April 3, 2026

What Monopoly Gets Right About Real Life

The real mistake is to think that the all-in solution to all the tradeoffs life throws at you is courage, when very often that is just one end of a spectrum, and the best possible outcome lives somewhere in the middle.

Date: March 31, 2026

It’s Better to Be Wrong Than to Be Vague and Confusing

Only the language that is precise enough to be wrong is good enough to be useful.

Date: March 22, 2026

Are You Standing Too Close to the Book?

Why the real reading begins after you finish the book

Date: March 16, 2026

Dress Code for Thought

Why typography matters so much in software

Date: March 13, 2026

What Marks the Summit of a Life?

What ikigai and flow have in common?

Date: March 13, 2026

How to Tell a Book from a Market Commodity?

Are books becoming profound nonsense?

Date: March 13, 2026

When the response become the damage

Outcomes often belong to the reaction more than the original trigger

Date: March 13, 2026

How to separate trade-offs from avoidable costs

There are no solutions, only trade-offs

Date: March 13, 2026

2025

How to Read More Books by Quitting More

The Strategic Quitting Method

Date: December 7, 2025