The Secret to Life is Maximizing Bits

A phone call with Alex Dobrenko reveals the endless potential for goofs. Plus recs for Gretchen Rubin's life lessons, Wyatt Cenac's subway take, and Maris Kreizman on being a good author

Everything is a surface for a bit. Let me explain.

The other day, I scheduled a chat with my friend Alex (author of the fantastic newsletter Both Are True). Alex moved to Asheville and so we haven’t gotten to catch up in a while. I was looking forward to hearing how he’s doing. But when I called him, before he said a single word, he had already made my day. Because when I called him, Apple automatically displayed this image on my phone.

Yes, I know my phone is on airplane mode! This is a dramatic reenactment for the sake of this newsletter, not the actual moment because I didn’t capture a screenshot!

Simultaneously, Apple automatically displayed this photo of me on Alex’s phone.

We had both independently identified Apple’s option to make a “custom contact photo and poster” as the perfect opportunity for a bit.

You’re telling me that I can choose, without my friend’s knowing it, what image of me pops up on their phone when I call? There’s no way I’m not going to make that something ridiculous and try to make them laugh.

Alex and I immediately congratulated each other on making excellent bit use of emerging technologies. Alex told me that his philosophy is that “everything in life is a surface for a bit.”

It’s an idea I love so much. It so perfectly sums up what I believe that I was furious he only said it to me now, after I’m done writing my book on how to laugh more every day (coming out in January 2026 from Doubleday!! Not available for pre-order yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as it is!!!).

Putting more bits into your life is central to everything I’ve learned about how to have a better sense of humor. There’s so much of our everyday life that passes by us in a blur. We’re on autopilot, not stopping to actually look around because we’re just going from one task to another, getting through the day. But then you encounter a well-placed bit and it stops you in your tracks. You’re jolted back into the moment in the most pleasant possible way, with a laugh.

While I love having friends who make me laugh with their jokes, my favorite part about funny people isn’t even the jokes themselves; it’s how many surfaces they find to put a bit. Vanity license plates, the customized embroidery on an L.L. Bean tote bag, the name of their WiFi network, the Letterbox reviews they leave for movies, or the yard sign they put in front of their home.

For me, an absolute delight of writing a book about humor was getting to share some of my favorite bits that people have created, bits that only a small number of people will ever randomly stumble upon. There are so many bits that deserve a broader audience and I hope my book can give them the spotlight they deserve!

Of course, writing a book about humor is also a prime opportunity to plaster as many surfaces as possible with bits myself. I can’t share all of them pre-publication, but I am very excited for people to see what I did in the most typically dry and serious parts of a book like the epigraph, footnotes, and acknowledgments. My author photo is one bit from the book that I can share ahead of time (at least, I think I can? I’m going to and then if they tell me to take it down afterwards, I’ll delete it from the internet and it will only live in your inbox).

I probably should have studied this book before the photo shoot… Photo credit: the always excellent Sela Shiloni

The fake book “How to Smile” was created for me by Carlisle Rutledge, who also made all the fake books for the set of Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas, where we worked together. I thought those books were genius and I was so glad Carlisle was generous enough to make this one for me (with some consulting and creative guidance from another former coworker, Maggie Ruder).

The idea of having this as my author photo makes me laugh so much. I hope it makes other people laugh too, but it kind of doesn’t matter. Here’s a place where authors are typically supposed to look as impressive and serious as possible and instead I’m a full-on buffoon.

Also, I’m delighted by all the copy that Carlisle created to put on the cover jacket, even though it would be seen by literally no one except me (and now you, because you signed up for this newsletter!)

I strongly encourage you to look around your home and your life and cover at least a few surfaces with a bit. It doesn’t require hiring a graphic designer! It could be as simple as googly eyes on a mirror or changing the default image on your streaming accounts. I created a special Peacock account for my wife that’s called Troll Mollie with this image.

We laugh every time we look at the Peacock home screen.

A bit can be an inside joke with a family member or a friend or even just yourself! But you gotta do it. We need more bits out there.

My projects and upcoming events:

LIVE IN LA: Wrong Answers Only - Dynasty Typewriter on THIS TUESDAY! May 20th at 7:30 p.m. A comedy show about LA’s wild parrots! Join me and comedians Joanna Hausmann, Rob Haze, and Rekha Shankar as we interview a bird behavior expert who runs a lab that’s genetically analyzed LA’s parrot population. Get your tickets now (also available for livestream if you live outside LA and still want to join in the fun).

PODCAST: How to Be a Better Human (TED/PRX) - Abigail Marsh is a professor of psychology and neuroscience who studies psychopathy and extreme empathy. By looking at two far ends of the spectrum, she’s trying to get to the bottom of what makes us care (or not care) about other people. She does groundbreaking research and there was so much she said that really blew my mind. Listen to this conversation to understand more about what is happening in the minds of people around you.

This week’s list

GREAT:

Gretchen Rubin is someone whose work I admire and view as a big inspiration. Despite being a wildly successful author, I still think she’s largely underrated. She’s such an entertaining podcaster, a talented writer whose work always remains accessible, and, by all accounts I’ve ever heard, a genuinely lovely person. Her new book, Secrets of Adulthood, is very fun and has also led to some very funny and surprisingly useful reader-submitted secrets of adulthood.

FUNNY:

Wyatt Cenac sends an extremely occasional newsletter, but every time he sends it, it’s worth reading. This one is a very funny essay that starts with some ridiculous ads for AI-based products Wyatt saw on the subway and ends with a meditation on what it means to value kindness over cruelty. Not Quite Subway Takes

INTERESTING:

Since I already mentioned writing a book, here’s a piece by one of the most interesting and informed book people I know, Maris Kreizman. She’s got a new book of essays coming out, which I highly recommend pre-ordering. As she gears up for the launch, she’s also reflecting on what it means to be a “good author” when you publish a book.

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That's it for this week. Thanks for reading! Please share Bright Spots with anyone you think might enjoy it.

Trying desperately to learn how to smile,

Chris Duffy

This has been Bright Spots, a newsletter.

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…wait, who are you?

I'm Chris Duffy, a comedian, TV writer, podcast host, and both a former fifth grade teacher and a former fifth grade student. I’m currently writing a nonfiction book about humor for Doubleday.