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Open Culture
Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa Now Appears on Japanese Banknotes If you’ve lived or traveled in Japan, you know full well how much of daily life in that...
a year ago
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a year ago
If you’ve lived or traveled in Japan, you know full well how much of daily life in that cash-intensive society involves the use of thousand-yen bills. Once considered the equivalent of the American ten-spot, the yen’s lately having fallen to its lowest value in decades means that...
escape the algorithm
Is Substack exaggerating its network effects? The data tells the story writers want to hear... but is it true?
a year ago
Seth's Blog
Toward better In our work to make things better, it’s easy to overlook two things: The best way to make things...
7 months ago
33
7 months ago
In our work to make things better, it’s easy to overlook two things: The best way to make things better is to begin. Create the conditions for others to join you. Persist.
Open Culture
2000-Year-Old Bottle of White Wine Found in a Roman Burial Site Image via Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports Back in 2017, we featured the oldest unopened...
a year ago
63
a year ago
Image via Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports Back in 2017, we featured the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world here on Open Culture. Found in Speyer, Germany, in 1867, it dates from 350 AD, making it a venerable vintage indeed, but one recently outdone by a bottle...
Seth's Blog
Valuable contributions We actually don’t really know. Netflix just released their first-ever detailed analysis of how many...
a year ago
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a year ago
We actually don’t really know. Netflix just released their first-ever detailed analysis of how many hours of engagement the top 15,000+ most watched shows on the network received over a six month period. Here’s the file. Who won? That question is actually the lesson here. The...
Seth's Blog
Out of control It’s negative when we say that someone is out of control. They’ve lost their self-restraint, and...
a year ago
43
a year ago
It’s negative when we say that someone is out of control. They’ve lost their self-restraint, and they’re doing things that they’ll regret later. And it’s honest when we acknowledge that just about everything is out of our control. We can work to influence it, we can practice...
Seth's Blog
The name doesn’t matter (that much) Busy people in important organizations waste a lot of time naming things. It could be that once a...
3 months ago
32
3 months ago
Busy people in important organizations waste a lot of time naming things. It could be that once a name is good enough, you’re done. That’s certainly true for the logo. Nike is hard to pronounce. Starbucks is named after an obscure character in a mostly unreadable book. Apple is...
Seth's Blog
“No photos” That’s what it said at the florist shop. I’m guessing because ‘taking’ a photo sometimes feels like...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
That’s what it said at the florist shop. I’m guessing because ‘taking’ a photo sometimes feels like a taking. The creativity, skill and effort that goes into making a distinctive arrangement might feel uncompensated when someone simply takes the work and posts it. This misses the...
Stat Significant
Which Old Movies Stand the Test of Time? A Statistical Analysis An exploration of "timeless" films.
4 months ago
Open Culture
The Evolution of Hokusai’s Great Wave: A Study of 113 Known Copies of the Iconic Woodblock Print The most widely known work by the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Japanese artist Hokusai,...
a year ago
49
a year ago
The most widely known work by the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Japanese artist Hokusai, 神奈川沖浪裏, is usually translated into English as The Great Wave off Kanagawa. That version of the title reflects the iconic scene depicted in the image well enough, though I can’t help but...
Seth's Blog
The second time through One way to understand creative work is to think about the time and effort required to do something...
3 months ago
25
3 months ago
One way to understand creative work is to think about the time and effort required to do something the first time versus doing it again. A novel might take five years to write. Retyping it takes a day. A company could easily expend 10,000 hours of effort before launching a new...
Seth's Blog
Overstuffed The empty part of the drawer is what makes it a useful tool. Same goes for a filing cabinet, a...
over a year ago
37
over a year ago
The empty part of the drawer is what makes it a useful tool. Same goes for a filing cabinet, a toolbox and a calendar. Slack is underrated.
Seth's Blog
Finding a more useful umwelt Add up all the senses you use and the things you notice: that’s your umwelt. It’s pretty obvious...
a year ago
25
a year ago
Add up all the senses you use and the things you notice: that’s your umwelt. It’s pretty obvious that your dog has a different one than you do. They see fewer colors and smell far more intelligently. Sea slugs see a much wider range of colors, and bats can sense vibrations. Among...
Seth's Blog
Speed, creativity and AI A little faster is a market advantage. A step change in speed changes the market entirely. Fedex was...
7 months ago
49
7 months ago
A little faster is a market advantage. A step change in speed changes the market entirely. Fedex was faster mail. It allowed them to grow and profit. Email, on the other hand, completely changed communication. In the discussions of AI, most people are failing to consider the step...
Open Culture
How Georges Méliès A Trip to the Moon Became the First Sci-Fi Film & Changed Cinema Forever (1902) If you happen to visit the Cinémathèque Française in Paris, do take the time to see the Musée Méliès...
7 months ago
55
7 months ago
If you happen to visit the Cinémathèque Française in Paris, do take the time to see the Musée Méliès located inside it. Dedicated to la Magie du cinéma, it contains artifacts from throughout the history of film-as-spectacle, which includes such pictures as 2001: A Space Odyssey...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: All Hail New Media Censorship, platforms, and exactly who are we empowering?
5 months ago
Handprinted - Blog
Blind Embossing with Lino Blind embossing is a beautiful way in which to add light and shadow to your prints. Embossing adds...
a year ago
137
a year ago
Blind embossing is a beautiful way in which to add light and shadow to your prints. Embossing adds subtle texture and interest. Emboss prints ‘blind’ (without ink) or combine with inked lino for a complex final print. Prepare the design. These white pencils are brilliant for...
Seth's Blog
The lazy jugglers The best jugglers don’t seem to be trying very hard. That’s because they understand what the work...
a year ago
74
a year ago
The best jugglers don’t seem to be trying very hard. That’s because they understand what the work involves, and they don’t confuse effort with results. Some approaches to keep in mind: Focus on the work at hand Don’t take on more than you can handle Establish a spec, and ignore...
Open Culture
How Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton & Harold Lloyd Pulled Off Their Spectacular Stunts During Silent... It can be tempting to view the box office’s domination by visual-effects-laden Hollywood spectacle...
a month ago
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a month ago
It can be tempting to view the box office’s domination by visual-effects-laden Hollywood spectacle as a recent phenomenon. And indeed, there have been periods during which that wasn’t the case: the “New Hollywood” that began in the late nineteen sixties, for instance, when the...
Seth's Blog
Learning, connecting, deciding (and amazing) My new short LinkedIn class on project management just launched, and I’ll be discussing it live...
a year ago
34
a year ago
My new short LinkedIn class on project management just launched, and I’ll be discussing it live today with Amanda Ruud … we’ll be there if you want to bring your questions. Sooner or later, all important work becomes project work. After the extraordinary feedback from her last...
Seth's Blog
The early adopter (and the dilettante) The early adopter bought an iPhone in 2008 and never looked back. They played a few games of...
a year ago
25
a year ago
The early adopter bought an iPhone in 2008 and never looked back. They played a few games of pickleball and then joined a club and bought the equipment. They picked up a new magazine on the newsstand and then subscribed, and they bought the new bestseller and then read the...
Open Culture
Buckminster Fuller’s Map of the World: The Innovation That Revolutionized Map Design (1943) In 2017, we brought you news of a world map purportedly more accurate than any to date, designed by...
10 months ago
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10 months ago
In 2017, we brought you news of a world map purportedly more accurate than any to date, designed by Japanese architect and artist Hajime Narukawa. The map, called the AuthaGraph, updates a centuries-old method of turning the globe into a flat surface by first converting it to a...
Seth's Blog
The arrogance of improvement Who are you to make things better? How dare you raise your hand to help, offer an idea, take...
a year ago
28
a year ago
Who are you to make things better? How dare you raise your hand to help, offer an idea, take responsibility… Perhaps it might be helpful to reframe that feeling as the generosity of improvement instead. If not you, who? If not now, when?
Rectangle
The Linear effect Is everything looking the same?
over a year ago
Open Culture
Hear the Isolated Vocals of Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush in “Don’t Give Up”: The Power of Perseverance Just by chance, could you use a song about perseverance and overcoming adversity? Something to give...
7 months ago
52
7 months ago
Just by chance, could you use a song about perseverance and overcoming adversity? Something to give you a little encouragement and reassurance? Then we submit to you “Don’t Give Up,” featuring the isolated vocals of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. When he released the song on his...
Open Culture
Why You Do Your Best Thinking In The Shower: Creativity & the “Incubation Period” Image via Wikimedia Commons “The great Tao fades away.” So begins one translation of the Tao Te...
a year ago
42
a year ago
Image via Wikimedia Commons “The great Tao fades away.” So begins one translation of the Tao Te Ching’s 18th Chapter. The sentence captures the frustration that comes with a lost epiphany. Whether it’s a profound realization when you just wake up, or moment of clarity in the...
Open Culture
How Las Vegas’ Sphere Actually Works: A Looks Inside the New $2.3 Billion Arena If the United States of America is the Roman empire of our time, surely it must have an equivalent...
a year ago
58
a year ago
If the United States of America is the Roman empire of our time, surely it must have an equivalent of the Colosseum. A year ago, you could’ve heard a wide variety of speculations as to what structure that could possibly be. Today, many of us would simply respond with “the...
Seth's Blog
Ideas need handles: the thing about subject lines A bureaucracy recently asked me to submit a few documents. They were very specific and the person on...
6 months ago
57
6 months ago
A bureaucracy recently asked me to submit a few documents. They were very specific and the person on the phone said that the subject line of the email I sent should be blank. This is really unsettling. Almost like taking the labels off bottles at the supermarket. My email...
Seth's Blog
The opposite of a good idea… might also be a good idea. The hard part isn’t finding proof before you begin. The hard part is...
4 months ago
30
4 months ago
might also be a good idea. The hard part isn’t finding proof before you begin. The hard part is beginning, knowing you might not succeed.
Seth's Blog
The commonweal Thanks to everyone who has read, talked about and taken action around my new book, The Song of...
a year ago
32
a year ago
Thanks to everyone who has read, talked about and taken action around my new book, The Song of Signficance. If you have a chance to post a review, that would be great. And you can find the podcasts here. The first step in making things better is talking about it.
Open Culture
How Ancient Romans Traveled Without Maps In an age when many of us could hardly make our way to an unfamiliar grocery store without relying...
7 months ago
45
7 months ago
In an age when many of us could hardly make our way to an unfamiliar grocery store without relying on a GPS navigation system, we might well wonder how the Romans could establish and sustain their mighty empire without so much as a proper map. That’s the question addressed by the...
Seth's Blog
The problem with shock design If attention is what you seek and attention is what you measure, it’s likely you’ll create drama....
7 months ago
51
7 months ago
If attention is what you seek and attention is what you measure, it’s likely you’ll create drama. And drama is inherently short-lived. The managing director of Jaguar said, “We’ve certainly gathered an awful lot of attention over the last few weeks.” Choosing the word “awful” was...
Seth's Blog
But it’s included… Perhaps your wedding package includes a cake. It’s paid for, better eat it. Even if you’re allergic...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Perhaps your wedding package includes a cake. It’s paid for, better eat it. Even if you’re allergic to wheat. Perhaps the amusement park includes as many rides as you like, even if you’re feeling sick or have had quite enough for today. The thing about included is that it’s free....
Open Culture
Every Wes Anderson Movie, Explained by Wes Anderson That Wes Anderson is perhaps the most assiduous maker of short films today becomes clear when you...
3 weeks ago
7
3 weeks ago
That Wes Anderson is perhaps the most assiduous maker of short films today becomes clear when you look closely at his recent work. The four adaptations of “The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar” and three other Roald Dahl stories he made for Netflix were presented as a single...
Open Culture
How Man Ray Reinvented Himself & Created One of the Most Iconic Works of Surrealist Photography It would surprise none of us to encounter a young artist looking to cast off his past and make his...
8 months ago
44
8 months ago
It would surprise none of us to encounter a young artist looking to cast off his past and make his mark on the culture in a place like Williamsburg. But in the case of Man Ray, Williamsburg was his past. One must remember that the Brooklyn of today bears little resemblance to the...
Open Culture
How Editing Saved Ferris Bueller’s Day Off & Made It a Classic “In our salad days, we are ripe for a particular movie that will linger, deathlessly, long after the...
10 months ago
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10 months ago
“In our salad days, we are ripe for a particular movie that will linger, deathlessly, long after the greenness has gone,” writes the New Yorker’s Anthony Lane in a recent piece on movies in the eighties. “When a friend turned to me after the first twenty minutes of Ferris...
Open Culture
Elementary School Kids Sing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” & Other Rock Hits: A Cult Classic Recorded... In 1976 and 1977 an inspired music teacher in the small school district of Langley Township, British...
2 weeks ago
10
2 weeks ago
In 1976 and 1977 an inspired music teacher in the small school district of Langley Township, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver, recorded his elementary school students singing popular songs in a school gym. Two vinyl records were produced over the two years, and families...
Seth's Blog
My Big Fat Greek Wedding Among the top 500 grossing Hollywood movies of all time, this movie is the most profitable in return...
a year ago
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a year ago
Among the top 500 grossing Hollywood movies of all time, this movie is the most profitable in return on investment. And among all Hollywood movies in the top 1,500 at the box office, Paranormal Activity is far and away the highest return, outperforming almost any investment the...
Open Culture
Patti Smith Reads Her Final Letter to Robert Mapplethorpe, Calling Him “the Most Beautiful Work of... If you go to hear Patti Smith in concert, you expect her to sing “Beneath the Southern Cross,”...
a year ago
67
a year ago
If you go to hear Patti Smith in concert, you expect her to sing “Beneath the Southern Cross,” “Because the Night,” and almost certainly “People Have the Power,” the hit single from Dream of Life. Like her 1975 debut Horses, that album had a cover photo by Robert...
Open Culture
How Rome Began: The History As Told by Ancient Historians Much attention has been paid to the fall of the Roman Empire, by everyone from august historians...
11 months ago
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11 months ago
Much attention has been paid to the fall of the Roman Empire, by everyone from august historians like Edward Gibbon to modern-day observers wringing their hands over the fate of the United States of America. But as every Rome enthusiast knows, that long collapse constitutes just...
Not Boring by Packy...
Weekly Dose of Optimism #141 Building Civilizations, Nuclear Moon, Physical Intelligence, Argentina, Creatine
2 months ago
Handprinted - Blog
Meet The Maker: Fabiola Knowles Originally from Sicily, I grew up in Australia; however, having settled in the UK in 1996, it has...
12 months ago
95
12 months ago
Originally from Sicily, I grew up in Australia; however, having settled in the UK in 1996, it has been my home for the largest part of my life. I love the outdoors and I am drawn to open landscapes with big skies. I am an artist working mainly with various forms of printmaking. I...
Seth's Blog
Manipulation, indoctrination and addiction They’re often related. It’s not unusual for someone to have more experience or knowledge than we do....
a year ago
32
a year ago
They’re often related. It’s not unusual for someone to have more experience or knowledge than we do. If they use that knowledge to their benefit, not ours, they might be manipulating us. If we knew what they knew, we wouldn’t have gone along. This is the difference between a...
Seth's Blog
The hard part first If you’re trying to reduce risk, do the hard part first. That way, if it fails, you’ll have...
a year ago
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a year ago
If you’re trying to reduce risk, do the hard part first. That way, if it fails, you’ll have minimized your time and effort. On the other hand, if you’re looking for buy-in and commitment so you can through the hard part, do it last. People are terrible at ignoring sunk costs, and...
Open Culture
Honoré de Balzac Writes About “The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee,” and His Epic Coffee Addiction 174 years after his death, Honoré de Balzac remains an extremely modern-sounding wag. Were he alive...
12 months ago
65
12 months ago
174 years after his death, Honoré de Balzac remains an extremely modern-sounding wag. Were he alive today, he’d no doubt be pounding out his provocative observations in a coffice, a café whose free wifi, lenient staff, and abundant electrical outlets make it a magnet for writers....
Seth's Blog
More is More More hope. More health. More security. More innovation. More breakthroughs. More connection. More...
over a year ago
83
over a year ago
More hope. More health. More security. More innovation. More breakthroughs. More connection. More creation. More joy. The climate movement doesn’t have to be about asking individuals to bear the burden of systemic problems. It’s not about living with less.  It’s about demanding...
Seth's Blog
The unsurprising confusion about ‘per capita’ A car cut me off on the highway the other day. The car was going nearly 100 mph. Was the car a new...
a year ago
22
a year ago
A car cut me off on the highway the other day. The car was going nearly 100 mph. Was the car a new Porsche 911 GT3 or a used Toyota Camry? The thing is, there are more than 1,000 times as many Camrys on the road. But our instinct is to pick the vivid and […]
Stat Significant
Unpacking Vinyl's Remarkable Revival: A Statistical Analysis The fall and rise of vinyl and record stores.
9 months ago
Infinite Scroll
Infinite Scroll Podcast: Substack founder Hamish McKenzie An interview on where Substack sits in the digital media ecosystem
6 months ago
Not Boring by Packy...
Who is Larry Ellison? Anton Troynikov's Guest Post on the "CEO of Everything"
4 months ago
Seth's Blog
Maybe it’s in how you tell it The plot of 2001: A Space Odyssey is pretty simple. You could write out a summary in three...
3 months ago
22
3 months ago
The plot of 2001: A Space Odyssey is pretty simple. You could write out a summary in three paragraphs. That’s not what made it one of the most revered movies of all time, and also one of the most difficult to make. Blurting out the plot of what we’re offering seems like the...
Seth's Blog
Versions of reality A sea slug sees far more colors than you do, and you probably see more than a profoundly color-blind...
5 days ago
5
5 days ago
A sea slug sees far more colors than you do, and you probably see more than a profoundly color-blind person. Who’s right? We each carry our own version of reality, our own story about what happened, what’s around us and how things work. Our chosen reality serves two useful...
Seth's Blog
The price of salt Salt is essentially free. A bag of salted nuts is the same price (or less) as an unsalted one. But...
over a year ago
96
over a year ago
Salt is essentially free. A bag of salted nuts is the same price (or less) as an unsalted one. But salt used to be expensive. Truly expensive, like gold. We keep seeing the deflation of things we were sure would remain expensive. Computer chips, disk storage and now, content....
Stat Significant
Is Music Stardom in Decline? A Statistical Analysis Is music stardom dying?
8 months ago
Infinite Scroll
Should We Ban Gambling on Smartphones? A conversation between two parts of my brain
2 months ago
The Great Discontent...
Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor When Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor came up with the idea for Ear Hustle, the podcast they’ve hosted...
a year ago
19
a year ago
When Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor came up with the idea for Ear Hustle, the podcast they’ve hosted together since 2017, Earlonne was serving a prison sentence of 31 years to life—the result of California’s three-strikes law. The two met at San Quentin State Prison where Nigel, a...
Open Culture
Why Medieval Bologna Was Full of Tall Towers, and What Happened to Them Image by Toni Pecoraro, via Wikimedia Commons Go to practically any major city today, and you’ll...
a year ago
98
a year ago
Image by Toni Pecoraro, via Wikimedia Commons Go to practically any major city today, and you’ll notice that the buildings in certain areas are much taller than in others. That may sound trivially true, but what’s less obvious is that the height of those buildings tends to...
Open Culture
Get $160 Off a Year of Coursera Plus & Gain Unlimited Access to Courses in Data Analytics,... A heads-up on a Black Friday special: Between today and December 2, 2024, Coursera is offering a 40%...
7 months ago
37
7 months ago
A heads-up on a Black Friday special: Between today and December 2, 2024, Coursera is offering a 40% discount on its annual subscription plan called “Coursera Plus.” Normally priced at $399, Coursera Plus (now available for $239.40) gives you access to 7,000+ courses for one...
Seth's Blog
Trusting AI For generations, humans have been entrusting their lives to computers. Air Traffic Control,...
5 months ago
47
5 months ago
For generations, humans have been entrusting their lives to computers. Air Traffic Control, statistical analysis of bridge resilience, bar codes for drug delivery, even the way stop lights are controlled. But computers aren’t the same as the LLMs that run on them. Claude.ai is my...
Ian Betteridge
Ten Blue Links “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date” Edition 1. Who rules us? Google changed its rules on what kind of behaviour it regards as “spam” and, of...
7 months ago
37
7 months ago
1. Who rules us? Google changed its rules on what kind of behaviour it regards as “spam” and, of course, the impact on some companies will be pretty negative. The behaviour it is targeting is so-called “parasite SEO”, where a publisher allows a third party to create content for...
Seth's Blog
Worst possible While it’s tempting to compare suffering, inconvenience, unfairness or general no-goodness, it’s not...
3 months ago
28
3 months ago
While it’s tempting to compare suffering, inconvenience, unfairness or general no-goodness, it’s not helpful. Someone else’s trauma doesn’t diminish yours. In fact, when we can find the space to see that others have their own mess to deal with, it opens the door for forward...
Open Culture
A Japanese Zen Monk Explains What Zen Is Really About Despite developing in Asia, as the Chinese form of a religion originally brought over from India and...
2 months ago
14
2 months ago
Despite developing in Asia, as the Chinese form of a religion originally brought over from India and later refined in Japan, Zen Buddhism has long appealed to Westerners as well. Some of that owes to the spare, elegant aesthetics with which popular culture associates it, and more...
Seth's Blog
Four-word advice When there’s a complex situation that feels foreboding, you might need a manual, a coach and even a...
3 months ago
25
3 months ago
When there’s a complex situation that feels foreboding, you might need a manual, a coach and even a system to move forward. Or, it’s possible you simply need someone to tell you, “you’ll figure it out.”
Open Culture
A Forgotten 16th-Century Manuscript Reveals the First Designs for Modern Rockets The Austrian military engineer Conrad Haas was a man ahead of his time — indeed, about 400 years...
2 months ago
27
2 months ago
The Austrian military engineer Conrad Haas was a man ahead of his time — indeed, about 400 years ahead, considering that he was working on rockets aimed for outer space back in the mid-sixteenth century. Needless to say, he never actually managed to launch anything into the upper...
Seth's Blog
When the sun is shining Our job as professionals is to show up and do the work. Not simply respond to incoming or do the...
over a year ago
99
over a year ago
Our job as professionals is to show up and do the work. Not simply respond to incoming or do the chores, but to create and innovate. And yet, some days feel more conducive than others. There are moments when it simply flows. When the surf’s up, cancel everything else. Don’t waste...
Seth's Blog
In search of incompetence Learning is about becoming incompetent on our way to getting better. If you’re not open to the...
a year ago
27
a year ago
Learning is about becoming incompetent on our way to getting better. If you’re not open to the tension that is caused by knowing you could do better, it’s unlikely you’re willing to do the work to get better. As you’re doing that work, there’s the satisfaction it brings, but also...
Seth's Blog
The Weekly World News version of the future What if someone is just making stuff up? Years ago, I worked with the supermarket tabloid to make an...
a month ago
9
a month ago
What if someone is just making stuff up? Years ago, I worked with the supermarket tabloid to make an ironic, shouty, somewhat funny book that has turned out to match much of the discourse we find surrounding us. When we flew down to Florida to meet their team, I was amazed to...
Open Culture
The Rolling Stones Introduce Bluesman Howlin’ Wolf on US TV, One of the “Greatest Cultural Moments... Howlin’ Wolf may well have been the greatest blues singer of the 20th century. Certainly many people...
11 months ago
65
11 months ago
Howlin’ Wolf may well have been the greatest blues singer of the 20th century. Certainly many people have said so, but there are other measurements than mere opinion, though it’s one I happen to share. The man born Chester Arthur Burnett also had a profound historical effect on...
The Great Discontent...
Schessa Garbutt Schessa Garbutt is the founder of the Inglewood–based design studio, Firebrand. An educator,...
11 months ago
9
11 months ago
Schessa Garbutt is the founder of the Inglewood–based design studio, Firebrand. An educator, lecturer, and published essayist (see The Black Experience in Design anthology, a must-read). Garbutt works at the intersection of co-design practices and making huge, mind-bending ideas...
Seth's Blog
The illusion of concern When organizations reach scale, digital interactions belie our expectation that someone in charge...
a year ago
35
a year ago
When organizations reach scale, digital interactions belie our expectation that someone in charge actually gives a damn. Once there’s math to do, the CFO does the math. It quickly reveals that no, the search engine shouldn’t bother having a customer support team. That UPS or...
Seth's Blog
Explaining yourself The only reason we need to go into detail about our resume, the details of our new idea or the...
a year ago
35
a year ago
The only reason we need to go into detail about our resume, the details of our new idea or the features of a product is to cause action to happen. And action is the result of tension, status or affiliation, and these are based on trust. There are many ways to build that trust,...
Seth's Blog
The intentional stance Dan Dennett explained that it began as a survival mechanism. It’s important to predict how someone...
a year ago
93
a year ago
Dan Dennett explained that it began as a survival mechanism. It’s important to predict how someone else is going to behave. That tiger might be a threat, that person from the next village might have something to offer. If we simply wait and see, we might encounter an unwelcome or...
Open Culture
Watch Pablo Picasso’s Creative Process Unfold in Real-Time: Rare Footage Shows Him Creating Drawings... Pablo Picasso was born not long before the invention of the motion picture. With a different set of...
a month ago
16
a month ago
Pablo Picasso was born not long before the invention of the motion picture. With a different set of inclinations, he might have become one of the most daring pioneers of that medium. Instead, as we know, he mastered and then practically reinvented the much older art form of...
Ian Betteridge
Ten Blue Links, “your time is up” edition This week… But first, an announcement! TLDR: Over the holidays, I will be migrating this site from...
6 months ago
88
6 months ago
This week… But first, an announcement! TLDR: Over the holidays, I will be migrating this site from WordPress.com to Ghost. This may mean a little disruption, but I’ll try to keep it to a minimum. Why am I doing this? I’ve been a paying customer of WordPress.com for my site...
Rectangle
Coming soon A newsletter about rectangles, but mostly design.
over a year ago
Open Culture
Moebius Gives 18 Wisdom-Filled Tips to Aspiring Artists Jean Giraud, aka Moebius, was a comic book artist who combined blinding speed with boundless...
9 months ago
111
9 months ago
Jean Giraud, aka Moebius, was a comic book artist who combined blinding speed with boundless imagination. He shaped the look of Alien, Empire Strikes Back and The Fifth Element. He reimagined the Silver Surfer for Stan Lee. And he is an acknowledged influence on everyone from...
Seth's Blog
An eroding sense of wonder We live in a science fiction universe. A $20 dose of penicillin was priceless a century ago. The...
2 months ago
22
2 months ago
We live in a science fiction universe. A $20 dose of penicillin was priceless a century ago. The five cents (a nickel!) we spend to light our home might have been the sort of thing we needed to trade an hour of labor for a few generations ago. The ability to press a button and...
Blog - Mac Pierce
p5.js on Squarespace - The Basics A quick guide on how to get p5.js guides working on Squarespace.
over a year ago
Seth's Blog
The hubris of creativity Where’s your permit? Who said you could try to solve this problem? I don’t get it… That’s too...
a year ago
58
a year ago
Where’s your permit? Who said you could try to solve this problem? I don’t get it… That’s too original. It’s not original enough. You missed a comma. That’s not funny. That’s been done before. That’s never been done before. It’s not your best work. None of us are authorized to...
Prolost
Visual Effects Compositing in Adobe After Effects: My IBC 2019 Talk Adobe graciously invited me to speak at their IBC 2019 booth about visual effects compositing in...
over a year ago
28
over a year ago
Adobe graciously invited me to speak at their IBC 2019 booth about visual effects compositing in After Effects — something I’ve been doing against all advice for many (many!) years. You can watch the entire talk here:
Handprinted - Blog
Preparing your paper and press for etching When you’ve created an aluminium or zinc plate etching, you’ll want to have a go at pulling your...
a year ago
125
a year ago
When you’ve created an aluminium or zinc plate etching, you’ll want to have a go at pulling your first print. To do this, you’ll need to learn how to prepare your paper and how to set the correct pressure on your press. This blog is part of a series featuring tips and techniques...
Seth's Blog
“What’s the catch?” It’s an important question. Lots of opportunities come with one, and going in with your eyes open...
a year ago
58
a year ago
It’s an important question. Lots of opportunities come with one, and going in with your eyes open helps avoid problems later. Two challenges: Sometimes, a really good opportunity doesn’t actually have a catch. And spending a lot of time looking for one keeps us from the work we...
Seth's Blog
The blank page Sometimes, we’re so afraid of creation that we don’t even leave blank pages around. If your...
a year ago
65
a year ago
Sometimes, we’re so afraid of creation that we don’t even leave blank pages around. If your workspace has a hole exactly the size of a creative idea in it, you’re more likely to fill the hole. When we decrease the number of steps to begin creating, and increase the expectation...
Seth's Blog
Good businesses solve real problems But not all real problems lead to good businesses. There are problems all around us. People need...
a year ago
19
a year ago
But not all real problems lead to good businesses. There are problems all around us. People need housing, health care and food. They want delight, belonging and status. When a company shows up in the marketplace with a product or service that people eagerly choose to buy, it’s...
Stat Significant
What Are the Greatest Karaoke Songs of All Time? A Statistical Analysis Which songs dominate karaoke night?
2 months ago
Infinite Scroll
JD Vance and Vice Signaling Abandon your values for power and profit
4 months ago
Open Culture
A Short Visual History of America, According to the Irreverent Comic Artist R. Crumb As a founder of the “underground comix” movement in the 1960s, R. Crumb is either revered as a...
8 months ago
54
8 months ago
As a founder of the “underground comix” movement in the 1960s, R. Crumb is either revered as a pioneering satirist of American culture and its excesses or reviled as a juvenile purveyor of painfully outmoded sexist and racist stereotypes. Crumb doesn’t apologize. He keeps...
Seth's Blog
At the speed of judgment Getting to the conference in Santa Fe isn’t difficult. Someone will drive/fly you there. The hard...
4 months ago
37
4 months ago
Getting to the conference in Santa Fe isn’t difficult. Someone will drive/fly you there. The hard part is deciding to go. And yet, it might take 8 hours to arrive. If they invented teleportation and offered it for free, it would be very clear that where we went would simply...
Seth's Blog
Student coach Big football at colleges in the US costs more than $5 billion a year. And none of these programs has...
11 months ago
83
11 months ago
Big football at colleges in the US costs more than $5 billion a year. And none of these programs has a student acting as a coach. The same analysis, at a much smaller scale, applies to school theater directors and producers, conductors of the jazz band or orchestra and even the...
Neocha – Culture &...
Peace, Love, & Ass
over a year ago
Open Culture
An Oscar-Winning Animation of Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” Painted on 29,000 Frames... Ernest Hemingway’s romantic adventure of man and marlin, The Old Man and the Sea, has perhaps spent...
11 months ago
49
11 months ago
Ernest Hemingway’s romantic adventure of man and marlin, The Old Man and the Sea, has perhaps spent more time on high school freshman English reading lists than any other work of fiction, which might lead one to think of the novel as young adult fiction. But beyond the book’s...
Seth's Blog
Figs, ivy, silphium and of course, commerce It’s just a week until Valentine’s Day, a multi-billion dollar spending jamboree. As often happens,...
4 months ago
27
4 months ago
It’s just a week until Valentine’s Day, a multi-billion dollar spending jamboree. As often happens, the people we depend on for much of it get the short end of the deal, but a little mindful planning can make a difference. The heart shape we associate with love came from leaves....
Handprinted - Blog
Neocolor Pastels for Mono Screen Printing Monoprinting using an open screen is a wonderfully creative way of using your screen printing...
3 months ago
34
3 months ago
Monoprinting using an open screen is a wonderfully creative way of using your screen printing equipment for speedy, painterly prints. Neocolor Pastels are a great material to use when mono screen printing - you can draw directly onto the mesh and print your drawing through the...
Seth's Blog
Mind reading It’s thrilling when someone reads our minds. Sometimes we call it hospitality, or smart user...
a month ago
14
a month ago
It’s thrilling when someone reads our minds. Sometimes we call it hospitality, or smart user interface design. Sometimes, it simply feels like being seen. The person or the system knows what you need, perhaps before you even realize what that might be. This is a special sort of...
John Reynolds -...
HOUSE Video Title: HOUSE Year: 2023 --
over a year ago
Seth's Blog
Generosity and gratitude A gift doesn’t diminish the giver. Sharing creates connection, possibility and energy. And the magic...
a year ago
25
a year ago
A gift doesn’t diminish the giver. Sharing creates connection, possibility and energy. And the magic of gratitude is that it improves everything it touches, especially the person who offered it in the first place. So, what holds us back? Fear. Fear of connection, of change, of...
Seth's Blog
Work ethic vs discipline A solid work ethic drives someone to show up, even when they’d rather not. If there’s work on their...
2 months ago
23
2 months ago
A solid work ethic drives someone to show up, even when they’d rather not. If there’s work on their desk, they’ll take it on. Discipline, on the other hand, is the ability to say ‘no’ to free up focus and resources for the work that’s worth saying ‘yes’ to.
Marian's Blog
Infinite procedurally generated city with the Wave Function Collapse algorithm This is a game where you walk through an infinite city that is procedurally generated as you...
over a year ago
23
over a year ago
This is a game where you walk through an infinite city that is procedurally generated as you walk. It is generated from a set of blocks with the Wave Function Collapse algorithm. You can download a playable build of the game on itch.io and you can get the source code on...
Open Culture
How the Ancient Greeks & Romans Made Beautiful Purple Dye from Snail Glands Much has been written about the loss of color in the twenty-first century. Our environments offered...
a year ago
56
a year ago
Much has been written about the loss of color in the twenty-first century. Our environments offered practically every color known to man not so very long ago — and in certain eras, granted, it got to be a bit much. But now, everything seems to have retreated to a narrow palette...
Seth's Blog
The first draft of your first non-fiction book Writing a book is good for you. It clarifies your thinking and it’s generous as well. You might not...
6 months ago
53
6 months ago
Writing a book is good for you. It clarifies your thinking and it’s generous as well. You might not publish it professionally, but sharing it with people you want to teach and lead is a useful practice. The first draft can be challenging. We’re facing a blank page, trying to find...
Seth's Blog
Clear ice I love Zamboni machines. They’re ungainly, they’re slow but they’re also majestic. Like an elephant...
7 months ago
44
7 months ago
I love Zamboni machines. They’re ungainly, they’re slow but they’re also majestic. Like an elephant for ice hockey. After each period, when the ice is chopped up by play, the Zamboni rolls out and leaves behind a sheet of perfect ice. Cold, smooth and untouched. It’s useful to...
Seth's Blog
After the meteorite When it slams into your house and destroys it, we’re likely to pursue one of two lines of thinking:...
a year ago
32
a year ago
When it slams into your house and destroys it, we’re likely to pursue one of two lines of thinking: –How did I cause this? What choices did I make, what mistakes did I permit, why did I deserve to have this damage, or who can I blame? –Well, that happened, now what should I do?...
Seth's Blog
Our new school When I include links to various books and items on this blog, your purchases generate a small...
6 months ago
42
6 months ago
When I include links to various books and items on this blog, your purchases generate a small royalty that I earmark for worthy causes. This year, we were able to help BuildOn and the community in Khakh build a new school. It’s the first real school building the village has ever...
Seth's Blog
1,000 fans (which sort?) Not all customers are fans. And not all fans are the sort of customers you can thrive with. Cadres...
a month ago
16
a month ago
Not all customers are fans. And not all fans are the sort of customers you can thrive with. Cadres of supporters often migrate into one of two camps… The generous stans (a more positive riff from a twenty-year-old Eminem track), are there for the work and the change being made,...
Seth's Blog
Exceed or maintain? In just about every group, people decide in advance how they’ll show up when it comes to learning,...
a year ago
88
a year ago
In just about every group, people decide in advance how they’ll show up when it comes to learning, to winning and to responding to opportunities. They’re wearing a hat with a label, and over time, it’s not hard to recognize. This can change based on pedagogy, social conditions...
Infinite Scroll
The Unbearable Cynicism of Trump 2.0 Who cares, nothing matters, cry about it
5 months ago
Seth's Blog
Better than Google I haven’t done a Google search in months. Perplexity is more powerful, more pleasant and more...
a year ago
44
a year ago
I haven’t done a Google search in months. Perplexity is more powerful, more pleasant and more effective. Instead of being corrupted by invasive ads, surveillance and sneaky dark patterns, it presents you with a simple, footnoted explanation of exactly what you’re looking for....
Prolost
Mac Studio and Studio Display Mac Studio with M1 Ultra and Apple Studio Display, running Cinema 4D and Redshift. In October of...
over a year ago
43
over a year ago
Mac Studio with M1 Ultra and Apple Studio Display, running Cinema 4D and Redshift. In October of 2021 I got to test a 14″ MacBook Pro with M1 Max processor. It performed so well, that I, along with many Mac power-users, questioned whether it could replace my desktop Mac. Last...
Seth's Blog
Password stupidity is no longer viable [Of course, it’s not stupidity. It’s fear and superstition, which often go together. First, the...
a year ago
24
a year ago
[Of course, it’s not stupidity. It’s fear and superstition, which often go together. First, the rant.] It’s 2023. Major corporations should not be posting rules like this: This is not just security theatre. It’s a waste of time, the math makes no sense and it leads people to...
Seth's Blog
Seriously One way to deal with a changing world and new problems is to take yourself very seriously, others...
2 months ago
8
2 months ago
One way to deal with a changing world and new problems is to take yourself very seriously, others not so much. The other way is to take the situation quite seriously, but perhaps not focus so much on taking ourselves seriously. As Ani DiFranco points out, rock musicians take...
Open Culture
David Bowie’s 100 Must Read Books Image by Avro, via Wikimedia Commons In 2013, the curators of the touring museum exhibit “David...
9 months ago
64
9 months ago
Image by Avro, via Wikimedia Commons In 2013, the curators of the touring museum exhibit “David Bowie Is” released a list of David Bowie’s 100 favorite reads, providing us with deeper insights into his literary tastes. Covering fiction and non-fiction, the list spans six decades,...
Seth's Blog
On burning bridges Building a bridge is far more difficult than maintaining one. While it’s tempting to imagine that...
4 weeks ago
10
4 weeks ago
Building a bridge is far more difficult than maintaining one. While it’s tempting to imagine that we’re always racing forward, it’s far more likely we’ll benefit from traveling over this bridge again one day soon.
Open Culture
High-Tech Analysis of Ancient Scroll Reveals Plato’s Burial Site and Final Hours Even if you can name only one ancient Greek, you can name Plato. You can also probably say at least...
a year ago
56
a year ago
Even if you can name only one ancient Greek, you can name Plato. You can also probably say at least a little about him, if only some of the things humanity has known since antiquity. Until recently, of course, that qualification would have been redundant. But now, thanks to an...
Not Boring by Packy...
Base Power Company: Chapter 2 Violently Executing to Build America's Next Generation Power Company
2 months ago
Open Culture
The First Animation That Hayao Miyazaki Directed on His Own: Watch Footage from the Pilot of Yuki’s... Hayao Miyazaki began his career as an animator in 1963, getting in the door at Toei Animation not...
11 months ago
50
11 months ago
Hayao Miyazaki began his career as an animator in 1963, getting in the door at Toei Animation not long before the company ceased to hire regularly. Miyazaki’s equally retirement-resistant contemporary Tetsuya Chiba, already well on his way to fame as a mangaka, or comic artist,...
Seth's Blog
A good idea, well executed Why isn’t this enough? There are plenty of good ideas, easy to learn from and copy. There are...
a year ago
32
a year ago
Why isn’t this enough? There are plenty of good ideas, easy to learn from and copy. There are countless projects, well executed, with the steps on display. Any entrepreneur could find a local business and bring a version of it from over here to over there. And a social change...
Open Culture
Orson Welles Narrates Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner in an Experimental Film Featuring the... Around here we subscribe to the theory that there’s no such thing as too much Orson Welles. In years...
9 months ago
62
9 months ago
Around here we subscribe to the theory that there’s no such thing as too much Orson Welles. In years past, we gave you Welles narrating Plato’s Cave Allegory and Kafka’s “Before the Law,” and, before that, the Welles-narrated parable Freedom River, and the list goes on. Now, we...
Open Culture
Gustave Doré’s Macabre Illustrations of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” (1884) One of the busiest, most in-demand artists of the 19th century, Gustave Doré made his name...
a year ago
58
a year ago
One of the busiest, most in-demand artists of the 19th century, Gustave Doré made his name illustrating works by such authors as Rabelais, Balzac, Milton, and Dante. In the 1860s, he created one of the most memorable and popular illustrated editions of Cervantes’ Don Quixote,...
Seth's Blog
Celebrating the thousand with a special package [Lots of links in this post… US offer is here, international is here.] Ideas travel horizontally....
9 months ago
80
9 months ago
[Lots of links in this post… US offer is here, international is here.] Ideas travel horizontally. Not from the creator to the audience as much as from one person to another. It’s easy to misunderstand the insight of Kevin Kelly’s 1,000 True Fans. Decades ago he argued that the...
Seth's Blog
Are you pitching or are you asking? There are two easy ways to tell: First, if you have a script or a highlighted goal in mind, you’re...
a year ago
88
a year ago
There are two easy ways to tell: First, if you have a script or a highlighted goal in mind, you’re pitching. You’re simply asking questions to create connection, tension or forward motion. Second, if you’re willing to learn and change your point of view as a result of the...
Seth's Blog
Situational spending Money is a story. But money is also an exchangeable commodity, valued by different people in...
5 months ago
48
5 months ago
Money is a story. But money is also an exchangeable commodity, valued by different people in different ways. And time is the wildcard. Situational spending is a trap that seduces us into forgetting that time passes and debt (or assets) remain. A couple about to wed might not...
Seth's Blog
How to change the world All successful cultural change (books, movies, public health), has a super-simple two-step loop:...
over a year ago
92
over a year ago
All successful cultural change (books, movies, public health), has a super-simple two-step loop: AWARENESSTENSION–>Loop<– It’s easy to focus on awareness. Get the word out. Hype. Promo. I think that’s a mistake. Because awareness without tension is useless. The tension is like...
Seth's Blog
Queued It’s sort of the opposite of “cued.” In addition to being delightful to spell, the idea of work...
a year ago
82
a year ago
It’s sort of the opposite of “cued.” In addition to being delightful to spell, the idea of work that’s queued up is energizing. The chapter ahead of schedule, the process in place for the next quarter, the continued commitment to learning… It is locked, loaded and ready to go....
Seth's Blog
Activation is not a secret …but it’s often overlooked. A farmer might yearn for twice as much land. But it’s far more efficient...
a month ago
17
a month ago
…but it’s often overlooked. A farmer might yearn for twice as much land. But it’s far more efficient to double the yield on the land he already has. Marketers often hustle to get the word out. To reach more people. And yet, activating the fans you already have–the ones who trust...
Seth's Blog
Bottom of the funnel It’s easy to get focused on the public-facing mouth of the funnel. More followers. More impressions....
a year ago
102
a year ago
It’s easy to get focused on the public-facing mouth of the funnel. More followers. More impressions. More buzz, hype, promotion. Get the word out. Just about all the time people who call themselves “marketers” spend is on this. Don’t worry about what happens later, just pour more...
Seth's Blog
Jump in the lake The waters of Buck Lake are cool and clear and restorative. All summer, it’s tempting to go for a...
a year ago
85
a year ago
The waters of Buck Lake are cool and clear and restorative. All summer, it’s tempting to go for a swim. But it’s also a hassle. You need to change your clothes, find someone to guard, bring a towel and most of all, gasp at the transition when the cold water hits. And yet… no one...
Open Culture
Richard Feynman Creates a Simple Method for Telling Science From Pseudoscience (1966) Photo by Tamiko Thiel via Wikimedia Commons How can we know whether a claim someone makes is...
10 months ago
47
10 months ago
Photo by Tamiko Thiel via Wikimedia Commons How can we know whether a claim someone makes is scientific or not? The question is of the utmost consequence, as we are surrounded on all sides by claims that sound credible, that use the language of science—and often do so in attempts...
Seth's Blog
The natural size No matter how many people come over for dinner, you’re only going to be able to engage with a few....
over a year ago
48
over a year ago
No matter how many people come over for dinner, you’re only going to be able to engage with a few. And no matter how big the crowd in the arena, the musicians can only see the faces of a few hundred. An investor can only be engaged and smart about a very small number of […]
Open Culture
Why Bob Dylan’s Unreleased “Blind Willie McTell” Is Now Considered a Masterpiece Most Dylanologists disagree about which is the single greatest song in Bob Dylan’s catalog, but few...
a week ago
5
a week ago
Most Dylanologists disagree about which is the single greatest song in Bob Dylan’s catalog, but few would deny “Blind Willie McTell” a place high in the running. It may come as a surprise — or, to those with a certain idea of Dylan and his fan base, the exact opposite of a...
Blog - Amy Goodchild
Using ChatGPT to implement Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawings Sol LeWitt‘s Wall Drawings aren’t actually drawings but, rather, instructions for drawings. I...
over a year ago
57
over a year ago
Sol LeWitt‘s Wall Drawings aren’t actually drawings but, rather, instructions for drawings. I asked ChatGPT to implement them in p5js
Handprinted - Blog
Offset Registration for Multi Block Linocuts Accurate registration can be difficult when printing multi-block linocuts. Offset printing will show...
4 months ago
31
4 months ago
Accurate registration can be difficult when printing multi-block linocuts. Offset printing will show you exactly where your design will sit on each block, allowing you to cut a set of blocks that will print in perfect alignment.  Begin by preparing a registration board. This will...
Open Culture
How 16th-Century Artist Joris Hoefnagel Made Insects Beautiful—and Changed Science Forever In English, most of the words we’d use to refer to insects sound off-putting at best and fearsome at...
4 days ago
6
4 days ago
In English, most of the words we’d use to refer to insects sound off-putting at best and fearsome at worst, at least to those without an entomological bent. Dutch, close a linguistic relation though it may be, offers a more endearing alternative in beestjes, which refers to all...
Stat Significant
The Rise of Faith-Based Films: A Statistical Analysis The economics and origins of the faith-based film industry.
9 months ago
Seth's Blog
x1000 The future creeps up on us slowly. But when it leaps dramatically, we notice. One spam phone call a...
a year ago
84
a year ago
The future creeps up on us slowly. But when it leaps dramatically, we notice. One spam phone call a day is an irritation. 1,000 of them destroy the utility of the phone. One photographer undercutting our rates is a threat. 1,000 of them means we can’t make a living at it any...
Open Culture
The Brilliant Engineering That Made Venice: How a City Was Built on Water Many of us have put off a visit to Venice for fear of the hordes of tourists who roam its streets...
11 months ago
42
11 months ago
Many of us have put off a visit to Venice for fear of the hordes of tourists who roam its streets and boat down its canals day in and day out. To judge by the most visible of its economic activity, the once-mighty city-state now exists almost solely as an Instagramming...
Open Culture
Jack Kerouac’s Hand-Drawn Cover for On the Road (1952) This falls under the category, “If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself.” In 1950,...
10 months ago
40
10 months ago
This falls under the category, “If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself.” In 1950, when Jack Kerouac released his first novel, The Town and the City, he was less than impressed by the book cover produced by his publisher, Harcourt Brace. (Click here to see why.) So,...
Seth's Blog
Customer traction is the hard part A new business is complicated. It involves weaving together suppliers, partners, customers,...
over a year ago
39
over a year ago
A new business is complicated. It involves weaving together suppliers, partners, customers, processes, technology, leases, employees, logos, capital and more. Along the way, it’s easy to get distracted, but focusing on the hard parts is a useful way to move forward. You could...
Open Culture
George Orwell’s Political Views, Explained in His Own Words Among modern-day liberals and conservatives alike, George Orwell enjoys practically sainted status....
a year ago
41
a year ago
Among modern-day liberals and conservatives alike, George Orwell enjoys practically sainted status. And indeed, throughout his body of work, including but certainly not limited to his oft-assigned novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, one can find numerous implicitly or...
Handprinted - Blog
Using Pearl Ex Metallic Pigments to Enhance Screen Prints Pearl Ex Powdered Pigments are metallic pigments that can be mixed into printing inks, acrylics,...
a year ago
104
a year ago
Pearl Ex Powdered Pigments are metallic pigments that can be mixed into printing inks, acrylics, oils, encaustics and loads more. As printmakers we were keen to see how they could be used in various printmaking applications. We've tested them for relief printing and had some...
Seth's Blog
Who is undermining your brand? There’s a high-end grocer in a very expensive neighborhood of New York–and they focus all of their...
over a year ago
41
over a year ago
There’s a high-end grocer in a very expensive neighborhood of New York–and they focus all of their energy on Italian food. Everything is imported, and they spend a lot of time and money earning the premium they charge for an authentic Italian shopping experience. And then a lazy...
Neocha – Culture &...
A Life Laid Bare
a month ago
Stat Significant
How Have Song Lyrics Changed Since the 1960s? A Statistical Analysis How have song lyrics evolved over time?
8 months ago
Seth's Blog
Choose your customers …choose your future. It’s an odd way to think about your project, your job, your startup, but...
a year ago
31
a year ago
…choose your future. It’s an odd way to think about your project, your job, your startup, but there’s little that matters more. There are two key elements: At one extreme is the first few years of Google’s growth. The salesforce didn’t matter–the customers showed up on their own,...
Seth's Blog
Which inbox? It’s easier than ever to fall into an inbox mindset. There are things to do, and we do them. Inbox...
a month ago
10
a month ago
It’s easier than ever to fall into an inbox mindset. There are things to do, and we do them. Inbox zero is the unattainable goal that fills our days. But it avoids the real question, which is: which inbox are we emptying? There’s the inbox of urgent texts. Or the inbox of...
Seth's Blog
The expanding frontier of ignorance Some fields of endeavor continue to narrow down the unknown, in search of the recipe, the efficient...
a year ago
29
a year ago
Some fields of endeavor continue to narrow down the unknown, in search of the recipe, the efficient method of industry. And others live on Feynman’s expanding frontier of ignorance, where each closed door leads to several newly opened ones. That’s a fundamental choice in our...
Neocha – Culture &...
Peace, Love, & Ass
a year ago
Open Culture
Aldous Huxley Explains How Man Became “the Victim of His Own Technology” (1961) Just a couple of days ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted out a video promoting, “the new iPad Pro: the...
a year ago
92
a year ago
Just a couple of days ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted out a video promoting, “the new iPad Pro: the thinnest product we’ve ever created.” The response has been overwhelming, and overwhelmingly negative: for many viewers, the ad’s imagery of a hydraulic press crushing a heap of...
Marian's Blog
Raspberry Pi powered fishtank My fishtank is now internet-connected. It is run by a Raspberry Pi that can do three things: Feed...
over a year ago
22
over a year ago
My fishtank is now internet-connected. It is run by a Raspberry Pi that can do three things: Feed the fish, switch the lights and take pictures. To feed the fish, the Raspberry Pi sends commands to an automatic fishfeeder that I modified. It can empty any container in any order....
Prolost
Lightroom Adds Video Color Editing, with Prolost Presets From the Lightroom Blog: The same edit controls that you already use to make your photography shine...
over a year ago
24
over a year ago
From the Lightroom Blog: The same edit controls that you already use to make your photography shine can now be used with your videos as well! Not only can you use Lightroom’s editing capabilities to make your video clips look their best, you can also copy and paste edit settings...
Seth's Blog
The marketing department That’s the first part of the confusion. It’s a group of people who can’t decide what the thing they...
a year ago
46
a year ago
That’s the first part of the confusion. It’s a group of people who can’t decide what the thing they do is supposed to be. Is it: Advertising Publicity Increasing retail distribution Direct and measured response SEO Making the logo pretty Wholesale and trade relationships...
Open Culture
Free: 356 Issues of Galaxy, the Groundbreaking 1950s Science Fiction Magazine Along with Astounding Science Fiction and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Galaxy...
7 months ago
52
7 months ago
Along with Astounding Science Fiction and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Galaxy Magazine was one of the most important science fiction digests in 1950s America. Ray Bradbury wrote for it–including an early version of his masterpiece Fahrenheit 451–as did Robert A....
Seth's Blog
Busy-ness and leverage When I made breakfast this morning, I didn’t begin by making the blender. Someone else, a team with...
5 months ago
51
5 months ago
When I made breakfast this morning, I didn’t begin by making the blender. Someone else, a team with more skills, resources and scale, built the blender. I simply bought it. That seems obvious–no one expects a from-scratch baker to make their own baking powder. And yet, our...
Open Culture
Watch Bob Dylan Play “Mr. Tambourine Man” in Color at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival It was at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival that Bob Dylan famously “went electric,” alienating certain...
2 weeks ago
8
2 weeks ago
It was at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival that Bob Dylan famously “went electric,” alienating certain adherents to the folk scene through which he’d come up, but also setting a precedent for the kind of quick-change musical adaptation that he’s kept up into his eighties. At the...
Seth's Blog
Allocating scarcity If we’re lucky, we invent something that’s going to be in high demand. Reservations at a hot...
over a year ago
79
over a year ago
If we’re lucky, we invent something that’s going to be in high demand. Reservations at a hot restaurant. Limited edition trading cards. Concert tickets… How to decide who gets them? One attractive option is “first-come-first-served.” It feels fair, after all. The theory is that...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Powerful Group Chats Plus! Every kind of AI - sycophantic, predatory and unethical!
2 months ago
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Something Wicked This Way Comes Theater Kids, BlueSky momentum, and Kai Cenat's big month
7 months ago
Seth's Blog
Living in hyperbole In the pre-media world, we bumped into fables, or news from across the village, but mostly, our role...
over a year ago
74
over a year ago
In the pre-media world, we bumped into fables, or news from across the village, but mostly, our role models and experiences were based on reality. Now, when it’s not unusual to spend eight hours a day surrounded by media fueled by greatest hits (worst offender, breaking news,...
Neocha – Culture &...
The Photography of Shin Noguchi
over a year ago
Handprinted - Blog
Collagraph Printing Collagraphy is a really versatile printing process in which a textured plate is inked up and put...
a year ago
82
a year ago
Collagraphy is a really versatile printing process in which a textured plate is inked up and put through a press. Different textures hold varying amounts of ink and print different tones. Anything with a low relief texture can be stuck down and used: wallpaper, leaves, fabrics,...
Seth's Blog
Demanding certainty The defenders of the status quo often demand certainty when facing decisions about the future. It...
a year ago
33
a year ago
The defenders of the status quo often demand certainty when facing decisions about the future. It sets up the conditions for doing nothing, because certainty never happens until the future arrives. It’s much more useful to look at probabilities. Flipping a fair coin has a 50%...
Open Culture
What Victorian People Sounded Like: Hear Recordings of Florence Nightingale & Queen Victoria Herself More than 120 years after the end of the Victorian era, we might assume that we retain a more or...
7 months ago
42
7 months ago
More than 120 years after the end of the Victorian era, we might assume that we retain a more or less accurate cultural memory of the Victorians themselves: of their social mores, their aesthetic sensibilities, their ambitions great and small, their many and varied hang-ups. Some...
Open Culture
Watch The Idea, the First Animated Film to Deal with Big, Philosophical Ideas (1932) A vague sense of disquiet settled over Europe in the period between World War I and World War II. As...
9 months ago
65
9 months ago
A vague sense of disquiet settled over Europe in the period between World War I and World War II. As the slow burn of militant ultranationalism mingled with jingoist populism, authoritarian leaders and fascist factions found mounting support among a citizenry hungry for...
Open Culture
A 5‑Hour Journey Through North Korean Entertainment: Propaganda Films, Kids’ Cartoons, Sketch Comedy... Over the second half of the twentieth century, South Korea became rich, and in the first decades of...
a year ago
38
a year ago
Over the second half of the twentieth century, South Korea became rich, and in the first decades of the twenty-first, it’s become a global cultural superpower. The same can’t be said for North Korea: after a relatively strong start in the nineteen-fifties and sixties, its economy...
John Reynolds -...
at☉m at☉m
a year ago
Seth's Blog
How many more in the bag? In a huge bag of chips, each individual chip isn’t worth as much as if there’s only a few. On a long...
a month ago
15
a month ago
In a huge bag of chips, each individual chip isn’t worth as much as if there’s only a few. On a long vacation, each day might feel less precious than on a short one. This is an invented construct. Our perception and embrace of time and the available alternatives is up to us. If...
Seth's Blog
Reality as reassurance Culture makes it tempting (and easy) to insulate ourselves from reality. Credit card debt is an...
over a year ago
32
over a year ago
Culture makes it tempting (and easy) to insulate ourselves from reality. Credit card debt is an invisible burden, until it’s not. Ignoring the changes in our climate makes our days easier, but not our years. We can avoid the bank balance, not work on the annual budget and ignore...
Seth's Blog
The 2 x 4 lessons You’ll need two 8-foot boards and six five-gallon buckets. Each board is a standard 2 x 4, about two...
a year ago
32
a year ago
You’ll need two 8-foot boards and six five-gallon buckets. Each board is a standard 2 x 4, about two inches by four inches in size. And the bucket is about two feet deep. The first lesson is simple: Put the board on the floor and have a colleague walk from one end to the other....
Seth's Blog
Diagnostics “If it breaks, we’ll know how to fix it.” Old cars had an oil light, and that was about it. Often,...
16 hours ago
2
16 hours ago
“If it breaks, we’ll know how to fix it.” Old cars had an oil light, and that was about it. Often, we build things hoping they’ll work. But complex systems are more resilient when we build in the diagnostics for failure from the start. A multi-unit retail chain, a medical...
Seth's Blog
The stories we tell ourselves If it happened to us, our memory of it is a story, our record of it with us at the center. Even if...
6 months ago
61
6 months ago
If it happened to us, our memory of it is a story, our record of it with us at the center. Even if it’s on video, even if other people were there, our narrative and the context and the play by play belong to us. The useful question might be: “Is my story helpful?” And […]
Infinite Scroll
The New Age of Thought Crime Conservatives raged against woke cancellations. Now they're eagerly doing it themselves.
2 months ago
Stat Significant
6 Reasons to Be (Cautiously) Optimistic About Movies in 2025: A Statistical Analysis Six reasons to be optimistic about the film industry.
6 months ago
Seth's Blog
Meaningfully informed Community requires individuals to have the option of speaking up. If we’re in this together, we...
a year ago
35
a year ago
Community requires individuals to have the option of speaking up. If we’re in this together, we ought to be able to chime in. But while every member of the community can speak out, the ones that are heard also have something useful to say. Being informed is a requirement to be...
Seth's Blog
The opportunity for AI formbots Forms are a convenient way for bureaucracies to collect information. They’re convenient because they...
6 months ago
72
6 months ago
Forms are a convenient way for bureaucracies to collect information. They’re convenient because they offload the work to the patient/customer/taxpayer. The shift in labor led to an explosion of self-serve forms, but the built-in inefficiencies punish everyone. The fundamental...
Seth's Blog
Redefining a profession Pharmacists used to mix chemicals by hand to create prescriptions. Opticians used to grind lenses...
10 months ago
63
10 months ago
Pharmacists used to mix chemicals by hand to create prescriptions. Opticians used to grind lenses from scratch. Lawyers used to start with an empty page. Graphic designers needed to know how to draw. All of these jobs are still important. None of them are the same as they were...
Anarchy Unfolds
May '24 Myths & Recs Biden, Kurzgesagt, 90s Christian bands, and more
a year ago
Open Culture
How the BIC Cristal Ballpoint Pen Became the Most Successful Product in History If you want to see a tour de force of modern technology and design, there’s no need to visit a...
3 weeks ago
11
3 weeks ago
If you want to see a tour de force of modern technology and design, there’s no need to visit a Silicon Valley showroom. Just feel around your desk for a few moments, and sooner or later you’ll lay a hand on it: the BIC Cristal ballpoint pen, which is described in the Primal Space...
Seth's Blog
Little dents Deciding to fix a big dent in a car isn’t perplexing. It’s an easy choice. There’s a huge dent, get...
9 months ago
67
9 months ago
Deciding to fix a big dent in a car isn’t perplexing. It’s an easy choice. There’s a huge dent, get it fixed. It’s the little dents that are a dilemma. But not fixing little dents means that pretty soon, we’re driving a car that we’re not happy with. Either that, or we define...
Handprinted - Blog
Meet the Maker: Pia Bramley I’m an artist, illustrator and printmaker. Having left London after a decade of city life I now live...
a year ago
60
a year ago
I’m an artist, illustrator and printmaker. Having left London after a decade of city life I now live and work in The New Forest, squeezing in drawing and printing around caring for a three year old. How and where did you learn to print? I did my foundation at KIAD (formerly...
Seth's Blog
“Usualing” This is not a real word, but it’s useful nonetheless. When we default to doing what we did without...
4 months ago
33
4 months ago
This is not a real word, but it’s useful nonetheless. When we default to doing what we did without examining our options, we’re ‘usualing.’ It’s a helpful way to save time, because we can’t re-examine every possible option or we’d never get out the door in the morning. We wear...
Open Culture
How Zaha Hadid Revolutionized Architecture & Drew Inspiration from Russian Avant-Garde Art Zaha Hadid died in 2016, at the age of 65. She certainly wasn’t old, by the standards of our time,...
2 months ago
33
2 months ago
Zaha Hadid died in 2016, at the age of 65. She certainly wasn’t old, by the standards of our time, though in most professions, her best working years would already have been behind her. She was, however, an architect, and by age 65, most architects are still very much in their...
Seth's Blog
Two kinds of salad A useful metaphor for freelancers and small businesses. Every good restaurant should have two...
over a year ago
83
over a year ago
A useful metaphor for freelancers and small businesses. Every good restaurant should have two different salads on the menu. The boring salad is the regular kind. It’s there for people who know that they want a reliable, repeatable, unremarkable salad. It’s the safe part of a safe...
Seth's Blog
Decisions and choices Decisions are easy, choices are hard. A good decision is our best analysis of the facts, options and...
5 months ago
46
5 months ago
Decisions are easy, choices are hard. A good decision is our best analysis of the facts, options and risks. If it’s too close to call, flip a coin, because it’s too close to call. On the other hand, a choice involves understanding our priorities, evaluating our preference for...
escape the algorithm
Gift interfaces, an interview, and how you found me Some updates on things that have happened and that are coming in the escape the algorithm cinematic...
7 months ago
Seth's Blog
Volition and placebos If a placebo heals your illness, does that mean it was all in your head in the first place? That you...
over a year ago
76
over a year ago
If a placebo heals your illness, does that mean it was all in your head in the first place? That you weren’t really sick, or didn’t really want to get better? If expensive wine tastes better to you, but you can’t tell wine apart in a double-blind taste test, does that mean it...
Seth's Blog
Confusing status with skill The tenured philosophy professor at Princeton might not even be half as effective a teacher as the...
4 months ago
36
4 months ago
The tenured philosophy professor at Princeton might not even be half as effective a teacher as the adjunct at the community college. The head of surgery might be relatively better at meetings and politics than they are at actually helping patients. Having a lot of social media...
Seth's Blog
Hiding the ‘aha’ The most effective persuasion happens when we persuade ourselves. The purpose of the memo or the...
a year ago
32
a year ago
The most effective persuasion happens when we persuade ourselves. The purpose of the memo or the table or the graph or the presentation is to create the conditions for someone to make up their own minds. Because it’s almost impossible to make up their mind for them. The aha is...
Seth's Blog
If they know, they should tell us Asymmetrical information creates real problems. And fixing the flow of useful proxies benefits both...
6 months ago
78
6 months ago
Asymmetrical information creates real problems. And fixing the flow of useful proxies benefits both sides. Cigarette companies knew a great deal about the addictions they were causing and the illnesses that resulted. If the public had known, they would have made different...
Seth's Blog
Design has a language And it changes over time. You and I know what to do when we see a revolving door, or to speak...
over a year ago
85
over a year ago
And it changes over time. You and I know what to do when we see a revolving door, or to speak quietly in a library. We have expectations of how the world works and what designers are saying with their work. Here’s a photo of a device with two controls. We’ve been taught our whole...
Infinite Scroll
How the Internet Changed Gen Z Humor "Soup Time", says Standing Frog
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
A good business Just because it’s useful, needed or worthwhile doesn’t mean it’s a good business. E-bikes are...
2 months ago
21
2 months ago
Just because it’s useful, needed or worthwhile doesn’t mean it’s a good business. E-bikes are transforming cities and offering mobility to those who previously couldn’t afford it. But they’re a commodity, and it’s difficult to make a significant profit producing them. A good...
Seth's Blog
Full circle with myopia In 1983, an old article from the Harvard Business Review changed my life. In 1960, Ted Levitt, a...
8 months ago
57
8 months ago
In 1983, an old article from the Harvard Business Review changed my life. In 1960, Ted Levitt, a professor at HBS, wrote the most popular article in the Review’s history. Called Marketing Myopia, it described a different way of thinking about change and marketing. I was a (very)...
Open Culture
Andy Warhol’s One Minute of Professional Wrestling Fame (1985) Andy Warhol did for art what the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) did for wrestling. He made it a...
8 months ago
51
8 months ago
Andy Warhol did for art what the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) did for wrestling. He made it a spectacle. He made it something the “everyman” could enjoy. He infused it with celebrity. And, some would say, he cheapened it too. Looking back, it makes perfect sense that Warhol...
Seth's Blog
Practical approaches for more effective teamwork Give credit, take responsibility Get aligned on timeframes Insist on a spec, write one, improve it...
10 months ago
83
10 months ago
Give credit, take responsibility Get aligned on timeframes Insist on a spec, write one, improve it Agree on a budget Keep a calendar Don’t hold a grudge Speak up clearly and generously Show your work Share your fears Make promises and keep them Do the reading Talk about people...
Seth's Blog
Anti-smart There’s a difference between intellectual and smart. A plumber is smart, they know how to do a...
a year ago
20
a year ago
There’s a difference between intellectual and smart. A plumber is smart, they know how to do a skilled and effective job on the task at hand. Intellectualism isn’t about practical results, it’s a passion for exploring what others have said, though this approach is sometimes...
Seth's Blog
Refocusing Freedom, liberty and independence are human rights. But they depend on responsibility....
2 days ago
3
2 days ago
Freedom, liberty and independence are human rights. But they depend on responsibility. Responsibility to others, to our future, to the community. Responsibility for our actions and our choices. The only way to earn our independence is to keep the promises we’ve made. Can we...
Seth's Blog
“I don’t learn that way” If you’re sitting on the dock, watching the swim class without getting wet, it’s more accurate to...
a year ago
86
a year ago
If you’re sitting on the dock, watching the swim class without getting wet, it’s more accurate to say, “I’m just watching.” There are plenty of theories on how different people learn. Online, we’re in the middle of the biggest learning experiment in history, with countless...
Handprinted - Blog
Meet the Maker: Rachel Snowdon Hello! I’m Rachel Snowdon of Rachel Snowdon Studio, a London-born relief printmaker and illustrator...
9 months ago
92
9 months ago
Hello! I’m Rachel Snowdon of Rachel Snowdon Studio, a London-born relief printmaker and illustrator who has been based in West Devon since 2009.   Describe your printmaking process. Having recently introduced more colour into my designs, multi-block lino printing is probably...
Open Culture
The Real Reason Why Music Is Getting Worse: Rick Beato Explains Earlier this month, a North Carolina man was charged with generating songs using an...
9 months ago
47
9 months ago
Earlier this month, a North Carolina man was charged with generating songs using an artificial-intelligence system and configuring bots to stream them automatically, thus racking up some $10 million in illegal royalties. Though that amount no doubt startles many of us, in this...
Anarchy Unfolds
Is anarchy compatible with modern society? Problems of scale and shape in imagining the futures
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
The lens or the problem? We often see problems through the lens that we’re used to using. The banker sees a solution around...
over a year ago
72
over a year ago
We often see problems through the lens that we’re used to using. The banker sees a solution around money, the activist might see an opportunity for social justice. The technologist figures that a computer and more data might help, and the bureaucrat is looking for a system to put...
Stat Significant
What Are the Most Commonly Used Movie Clichés? A Statistical Analysis Exploring the cliché phrases that dominate movies.
6 months ago
Seth's Blog
Own it and label it This takes guts, and hustlers are afraid to do so. Thirty years ago, when the avalanche of email...
4 months ago
39
4 months ago
This takes guts, and hustlers are afraid to do so. Thirty years ago, when the avalanche of email spam was on the horizon, I proposed that any commercial email should have a $ in the subject line. A simple way for email programs to filter it out if you’re not looking for it....
Seth's Blog
Who cares? A question we don’t ask ourselves very often, but a choice we make every day. It’s tempting to not...
over a year ago
81
over a year ago
A question we don’t ask ourselves very often, but a choice we make every day. It’s tempting to not care. If you choose to not care, you’re off the hook. It’s simply to do as little as possible, avoid too much trouble, ask if it will be on the test, try to stay off the […]
The Last...
Who Bullies The Bullies? but they're welcome to buy an iphone Pacific Standard. Get it? It's like The Atlantic,...
over a year ago
29
over a year ago
but they're welcome to buy an iphone Pacific Standard. Get it? It's like The Atlantic, but it's Pacific. Totally different. So unlike The Atlantic, it will "attack the conventional wisdom from a west coast perspective." That's a quote. "But didn't the editors come from...
Open Culture
The Night Frank Zappa Jammed With Pink Floyd … and Captain Beefheart Too (Belgium, 1969) Recently an older musician acquaintance told me he never “got into ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ and all...
10 months ago
38
10 months ago
Recently an older musician acquaintance told me he never “got into ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ and all that,” referring to the “first major space jam” of Pink Floyd’s career and the subsequent explosion of space rock bands. I found myself a little taken aback. Though I was born too...
Open Culture
“The Virtues of Coffee” Explained in 1690 Ad: The Cure for Lethargy, Scurvy, Dropsy, Gout & More According to many historians, the English Enlightenment may never have happened were it not for...
a year ago
52
a year ago
According to many historians, the English Enlightenment may never have happened were it not for coffeehouses, the public sphere where poets, critics, philosophers, legal minds, and other intellectual gadflies regularly met to chatter about the pressing concerns of the day. And...
Seth's Blog
Overconfidence and AI Human beings are often more effective when we’re a bit self-effacing. “I think,” “Perhaps,” or “I...
over a year ago
88
over a year ago
Human beings are often more effective when we’re a bit self-effacing. “I think,” “Perhaps,” or “I might be missing something, but…” are fine ways to give our assertions a chance to be considered. The solar-powered LED calculator we used in school did no such thing. 6 x 7 is 42,...
Open Culture
Meet Fanny, the First Female Rock Band to Top the Charts: “They Were Just Colossal and Wonderful,... When the Beatles upended popular music, thousands of wannabe beat groups were born all over the...
a year ago
82
a year ago
When the Beatles upended popular music, thousands of wannabe beat groups were born all over the world, and many of them–for the first time ever, really–were all-female groups. This Amoeba Records article has a fairly exhaustive list of these girl bands, with names like The...
John Reynolds -...
Hembree - Walk Alone Music Video Title: Walk AloneArtist: HembreeYear: 2014 --
over a year ago
Open Culture
The Romans Stashed Hallucinogenic Seeds in a Vial Made From an Animal Bone What’s popular in the metropolis sooner or later makes its way out into the provinces. This...
a year ago
40
a year ago
What’s popular in the metropolis sooner or later makes its way out into the provinces. This phenomenon has become more difficult to notice in recent years, not because it’s slowed down, but because it’s sped way up, owing to near-instantaneous cultural diffusion on the internet....
Seth's Blog
Actionable feedback “Do you want to know what I think?” The best answer might be, “no.” Because this person is not very...
over a year ago
29
over a year ago
“Do you want to know what I think?” The best answer might be, “no.” Because this person is not very good at offering useful feedback. Because you didn’t create this product or service or performance to please this person. They’re not the customer. Because you’re not going to...
Haterade
Turns Out, Nobody Needs A Restaurant Critic The Haterade diss track
a year ago
Seth's Blog
Confused about good How often do we assume that popular things are good, and that good things become popular? If your...
8 months ago
49
8 months ago
How often do we assume that popular things are good, and that good things become popular? If your work doesn’t catch on, does that mean it wasn’t good? In almost every field, people with insight, taste and experience admire and emulate good things that aren’t popular, and are...
Seth's Blog
Other people’s problems It’s surprisingly easy to be generous and find solutions to our friend’s problems. Much easier than...
a year ago
38
a year ago
It’s surprisingly easy to be generous and find solutions to our friend’s problems. Much easier than it is to do it for ourselves. Why? There are two useful reasons, I think. FIRST, because we’re unaware of all the real and imaginary boundaries our friends have set up. If it were...
Seth's Blog
The nature of traps Our culture is filled with man-made traps, situations worth avoiding. They have three elements:...
7 months ago
53
7 months ago
Our culture is filled with man-made traps, situations worth avoiding. They have three elements: Because of the third element, the organizer or beneficiaries of a trap can spend time and money to make it ever more seductive and to conceal the nature of what you’re actually signing...
Open Culture
Tracking Pianist Yuja Wang’s Heartbeats During Her Marathon Rachmaninoff Performance The Carnegie Hall YouTube Channel sets the scene: On January 28, 2023, pianist Yuja Wang joined The...
a year ago
55
a year ago
The Carnegie Hall YouTube Channel sets the scene: On January 28, 2023, pianist Yuja Wang joined The Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Carnegie Hall for a once-in-a-lifetime, all-Rachmaninoff marathon that featured the composer’s four piano concertos...
On the Arts
Modern Culture is Too Escapist, Part 1: Isolated vs. Integrated Arts Too much creative energy is focused on escaping the world, not on enhancing it.
a year ago
Marian's Blog
Work in progress: Location based online game This is a game prototype I’m currently working on. The game is played online, on a real world map...
over a year ago
19
over a year ago
This is a game prototype I’m currently working on. The game is played online, on a real world map and the location of the player is also the location ingame, just like in Ingress. I know that making an online game like this is an ambitious goal and it will probably never be...
Seth's Blog
The worst person on our team A common shortcut to cultural divisiveness is to find the single worst person in a different group...
a year ago
24
a year ago
A common shortcut to cultural divisiveness is to find the single worst person in a different group and highlight and attack their behavior. By making it clear and obvious that this is what THEY (the plural) want and who THEY are, it’s easy to walk away from a larger we. Their...
Open Culture
B.B. King Changes a Broken Guitar String Mid-Song at Farm Aid, and Doesn’t Miss a Beat (1985) The scene is Farm Aid, 1985, attended by a crowd of 80,000 people. The song is “How Blue Can You...
8 months ago
38
8 months ago
The scene is Farm Aid, 1985, attended by a crowd of 80,000 people. The song is “How Blue Can You Get.” And the key moment comes at the 3:10 mark, when the blues legend B.B. King breaks a guitar string, then manages to replace it before the song finishes minutes later. All the...
Seth's Blog
Getting to no “Yes” is magical. It brings possibility and forward motion. But it’s almost impossible without “no”...
a year ago
21
a year ago
“Yes” is magical. It brings possibility and forward motion. But it’s almost impossible without “no” and no can be just as frightening. First, there’s the no of “I can’t go for that.” The no of refusing to race to the bottom, the no of avoiding the selfish hustle, the no of...
Blog - Mac Pierce
The void will consume us and it'll be dank - Minionotics at Weatherproof A review of the group show Minionotics (March 13th - April 13th, 2025) at Weatherproof Gallery in...
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
Hungry (vs. not full) If consumption is the point (the engine of the economy, the focus of our marketing, the driver of...
11 months ago
62
11 months ago
If consumption is the point (the engine of the economy, the focus of our marketing, the driver of our status) then it’s easy to get confused about the difference between something that’s nearly empty (and must be refilled to ensure we keep going) and something that’s not quite...
Seth's Blog
Adjacent but not relevant There’s a sale on band saw blades, including a really good deal on one that fits the saw you owned...
11 months ago
63
11 months ago
There’s a sale on band saw blades, including a really good deal on one that fits the saw you owned years ago. The folks who live next door to the house you used to live in are having a raucous party. A guy with a name just like yours wins the lottery… These adjacencies can […]
Seth's Blog
Fingerprints If a jacket is made by Patagonia or a piece of hardware is made by Teenage Engineering, you can...
a year ago
79
a year ago
If a jacket is made by Patagonia or a piece of hardware is made by Teenage Engineering, you can probably tell who made it the first time you see it, even without a logo. A painting by Sonia Delaunay doesn’t need to be signed to know who it’s by. On the other hand, AppleTV streams...
The Last...
The Dove Sketches Beauty Scam the only way to win is not to play "Dude, are you doing the Dove ad now?  That was so April...
over a year ago
21
over a year ago
the only way to win is not to play "Dude, are you doing the Dove ad now?  That was so April 15th...?"  Yes, I realize I missed the meme train, but it's better to be right than part of the debate, especially when there is no debate, this is all a short con inside a 50+ year long...
Seth's Blog
Foibles Our habits, preferences and idiosyncrasies make perfect sense. We each know that we have great...
over a year ago
95
over a year ago
Our habits, preferences and idiosyncrasies make perfect sense. We each know that we have great reasons to embrace our ways and stick with them. Other people’s habits, though, show that they are simply picky, weird or too sensitive. The difference between a preference and a foible...
Seth's Blog
Some simple rules for source control Collaborating on documents and projects has never been easier, which is why we screw it up so often....
8 months ago
67
8 months ago
Collaborating on documents and projects has never been easier, which is why we screw it up so often. Sharing and interacting with intent will save you heartache and wasted time. Some things to consider: Naming: Begin by naming your file with a digit and concept and a date....
On the Arts
The Vertical Beauty of Hong Kong An Interview with Photographer Romain Jacquet Lagrèze
a year ago
Seth's Blog
Simple techniques for complex projects Warm up the machines that take a long time first. Stress test the go/no go parts of the project as...
over a year ago
82
over a year ago
Warm up the machines that take a long time first. Stress test the go/no go parts of the project as early as possible. If the cost is low, replace dependent processes with parallel ones. Do the difficult parts when energy is high and the budget hasn’t been depleted. Ship before...
Open Culture
The Best Photographer You’ve Never Heard Of: An Introduction to Tseng Kwong Chi Once, the United States was known for sending forth the world’s most complained-about international...
3 months ago
27
3 months ago
Once, the United States was known for sending forth the world’s most complained-about international tourists; today, that dubious distinction arguably belongs to China. But it wasn’t so long ago that the Chinese tourist was a practically unheard-of phenomenon, especially in the...
Open Culture
60 Free Film Noir Movies You Can Watch Online, Including Classics by John Huston, Orson Welles &... During the 1940s and 50s, Hollywood entered a “noir” period, producing riveting films based on...
a month ago
17
a month ago
During the 1940s and 50s, Hollywood entered a “noir” period, producing riveting films based on hard-boiled fiction. These films were set in dark locations and shot in a black & white aesthetic that fit like a glove. Hardened men wore fedoras and forever smoked cigarettes. Women...
Seth's Blog
Regressing to the mean all by yourself “The mean” is the average. Another word for “mediocre.” When an organization gets big enough, by...
a year ago
44
a year ago
“The mean” is the average. Another word for “mediocre.” When an organization gets big enough, by definition, it’s the average. When you have enough customers, they represent the population as a whole. If you find yourself seeking to serve the largest possible number of people,...
Open Culture
A Grad Student Asks Carl Sagan If He Believes in God (1994) ?si=yeo1Xsu2ZLuCpQbC Most scientists are prepared to answer questions about their research from...
2 weeks ago
7
2 weeks ago
?si=yeo1Xsu2ZLuCpQbC Most scientists are prepared to answer questions about their research from other members of their field; rather fewer have equipped themselves to answer questions from the general public about what Douglas Adams called life, the universe, and everything. Carl...
Seth's Blog
When the future finds us The future never arrives, of course, but it has a powerful force that’s impossible to avoid. We can...
over a year ago
39
over a year ago
The future never arrives, of course, but it has a powerful force that’s impossible to avoid. We can see it as a threshold, a doorway toward something new. Or we can fight it as an unwanted change, and discover that it has traction, tenacity and leverage. We can influence the...
Infinite Scroll
Podcast - The Culture War and MAGA ft. Cartoons Hate Her How did weird online battles over gender lead to the tariff policies we're seeing today?
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
Twenty questions Your next project might feel like a calling, but it’s a choice. A choice that will have an impact on...
9 months ago
37
9 months ago
Your next project might feel like a calling, but it’s a choice. A choice that will have an impact on each day you spend on it. There are no right answers here, but before you fall in love with a business or an organization, it may pay to think about these and other options that...
Seth's Blog
Ensemble stars Over the last 50 years, 167 different people have been part of the Saturday Night Live ensemble...
4 months ago
27
4 months ago
Over the last 50 years, 167 different people have been part of the Saturday Night Live ensemble cast. Some of them went on to become comedy superstars, others lasted a less than a season and are fairly obscure in the cultural pantheon. But if you were tasked of creating an...
Seth's Blog
The right marketing question The wrong question is, “our project isn’t catching on, how do we promote it better?” The right...
over a year ago
32
over a year ago
The wrong question is, “our project isn’t catching on, how do we promote it better?” The right question is a little more nuanced and far more important, “We’re seeking to make a change in part of the world. How do we find the right people and tell them the right (true) story that...
Seth's Blog
Doing presentations virtually A few years ago, I posted about the hardware setup you can use to look better and feel better when...
over a year ago
36
over a year ago
A few years ago, I posted about the hardware setup you can use to look better and feel better when working in a distributed organization. Since then, I’ve tried many hacks for how to integrate Keynote presentations into this environment. I used some fancy software that was...
Seth's Blog
Aerodynamic figureheads That’s sort of an oxymoron. The original figureheads were carved into the bow of a ship. They exist...
a year ago
68
a year ago
That’s sort of an oxymoron. The original figureheads were carved into the bow of a ship. They exist to express the spirit of the boat and to demonstrate its power and resilience. Here’s an AI recreation of the most famous one: The sailors were wise enough to understand that the...
Seth's Blog
Multiple choice “None of the above” is often the best option. We’re regularly confronted with multiple-choice...
10 months ago
92
10 months ago
“None of the above” is often the best option. We’re regularly confronted with multiple-choice questions. The foundation is already established, the options are already limited, do you want this or that? But the real questions lie in the assumptions that happened before you were...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Dead CEOs and Conservative Progressives Plus! Hawk Tuah crypto scandal, gift guide season, and a good Spotify Wrapped
6 months ago
Seth's Blog
Goals and expectations [a note to a frustrated friend, just starting out on a long career] There are three reasons that our...
a year ago
21
a year ago
[a note to a frustrated friend, just starting out on a long career] There are three reasons that our goals might not be achieved. In order of palatability, they are: Perhaps the goals are too lofty, too based on chance, unlikely for anyone to achieve, surrounded by barriers that...
Seth's Blog
Credulous Where do con men come from? There are three conditions that need to be met: First, there needs to be...
3 months ago
20
3 months ago
Where do con men come from? There are three conditions that need to be met: First, there needs to be rising societal pressure to get ahead, cut the line and find a win. Second, there needs to be people willing to set aside their ethical principles to take advantage of others in...
Handprinted - Blog
Block Printing Registration Using Measure Pattern Tape and Madder, Cutch and Co Inks Measure Pattern Tape is a really useful bit of kit for your printmaking projects. This adhesive...
4 months ago
42
4 months ago
Measure Pattern Tape is a really useful bit of kit for your printmaking projects. This adhesive ruler tape can be stuck onto your printing surface or board to help lay out your designs accurately. It's self-adhesive and we've even found it can be lifted up and re-used a couple of...
Open Culture
When the Grateful Dead Played at the Egyptian Pyramids, in the Shadow of the Sphinx (1978) In September of 1978, the Grateful Dead traveled to Egypt and played three shows at the Great...
11 months ago
96
11 months ago
In September of 1978, the Grateful Dead traveled to Egypt and played three shows at the Great Pyramid of Giza, with the Great Sphinx looking over their shoulders. It wasn’t the first time a rock band played in an ancient setting. Pink Floyd performed songs in the middle of the...
Seth's Blog
The 500 ways There are thousands of ways to express encouragement and enthusiasm and support. Few of them require...
over a year ago
82
over a year ago
There are thousands of ways to express encouragement and enthusiasm and support. Few of them require a blood oath or even much inconvenience. “I’m thrilled that you’re contributing.” “Can’t wait to see how this turns out.” “I know someone who really needs to hear about this.” “Go...
Seth's Blog
Focusing attention is a skill Where we choose to direct our gaze determines not only what we learn or believe, but how we choose...
a year ago
30
a year ago
Where we choose to direct our gaze determines not only what we learn or believe, but how we choose to see the world. Typing is a skill. Juggling is a skill. So is project management. It’s easy to overlook the fact that we can get better at what we think about, create and consume....
Seth's Blog
Signal and noise If the signal is very weak and the noise is large, it’s easy to imagine that there’s no signal at...
a year ago
29
a year ago
If the signal is very weak and the noise is large, it’s easy to imagine that there’s no signal at all. AI and computers can be used as lenses now, which means we can strip away the noise and see things that we certainly didn’t expect. Dina Katabi at MIT can point a radio antenna...
Seth's Blog
Discernment in creativity The hard part isn’t good ideas. It never has been. The hard part is choosing. Ask GPT for ten...
a year ago
28
a year ago
The hard part isn’t good ideas. It never has been. The hard part is choosing. Ask GPT for ten subtitles for your book, or sixteen ways to hold a surprise party, and you’ll be delighted at how useful they are. Ask Dreamstudio or Kittl for some logo designs, same thing. There is...
Open Culture
A Stylish 2,000-Year-Old Roman Shoe Found in a Well When the Romans pushed their way north into the German provinces, they built (circa 90 AD) the...
2 months ago
6
2 months ago
When the Romans pushed their way north into the German provinces, they built (circa 90 AD) the Saalburg, a fort that protected the boundary between the Roman Empire and the Germanic tribal territories. At its peak, 2,000 people lived in the fort and the attached village, and it...
Open Culture
An Introduction to The Babylonian Map of the World–the Oldest Known Map of the World Taking a first glance at the Babylonian Map of the World, few of us could recognize it for what it...
11 months ago
44
11 months ago
Taking a first glance at the Babylonian Map of the World, few of us could recognize it for what it is. But then again, few of us are anything like the British Museum Middle East department curator Irving Finkel, whose vast knowledge (and ability to share it compellingly) have...
Seth's Blog
Variety and the long tail In a We Are All Weird universe, there are two sorts of cultural disappointments. The first has been...
a year ago
30
a year ago
In a We Are All Weird universe, there are two sorts of cultural disappointments. The first has been around since the dawn of cable: We don’t all watch the same thing. We don’t all talk about it, hits aren’t really hits, not like they used to be. There’s no comparison in the reach...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: New Popes and Cooked Kids Plus! Meme Wars and 16th Century TMZ
a month ago
Open Culture
The Ark Before Noah: Discover the Ancient Flood Myths That Came Before the Bible The Lord said to Noah, there’s going to be a floody, floody; then to get those children out of the...
2 months ago
20
2 months ago
The Lord said to Noah, there’s going to be a floody, floody; then to get those children out of the muddy, muddy; then to build him an arky, arky. This much we heard while toasting marshmallows around the campfire, at least if we grew up in a certain modern Protestant tradition....
Seth's Blog
Winging it Tech and culture have enabled a new sort of informality. Not simply the end of suits and ties and...
6 months ago
42
6 months ago
Tech and culture have enabled a new sort of informality. Not simply the end of suits and ties and heels at work, but the office itself is fading away. But there’s a difference between being informal and being in such a hurry to get to the next thing that we don’t take this thing...
Open Culture
Jean-Paul Sartre Rejects the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964: “It Was Monstrous!” In a 2013 blog post, the great Ursula K. Le Guin quotes a London Times Literary Supplement column by...
10 months ago
58
10 months ago
In a 2013 blog post, the great Ursula K. Le Guin quotes a London Times Literary Supplement column by a “J.C.,” who satirically proposes the “Jean-Paul Sartre Prize for Prize Refusal.” “Writers all over Europe and America are turning down awards in the hope of being nominated for...
Seth's Blog
Five lessons from week one of This is Strategy Once you decide to write a book about strategy, it raises the bar for having a strategy for the...
8 months ago
54
8 months ago
Once you decide to write a book about strategy, it raises the bar for having a strategy for the launch. People generally focus far too much on the launch of a project. Rocketships need a perfect launch, because just about everything after the launch is simply ballistic. But most...
Seth's Blog
(Free) subscription drive Every four years, give or take, I make a big but cheap ask: Consider subscribing to this blog. If...
a year ago
31
a year ago
Every four years, give or take, I make a big but cheap ask: Consider subscribing to this blog. If you’re already a subscriber, please ask five colleagues or friends to subscribe. It’s free. You can subscribe by email by putting your email address in the little box. Click below if...
Seth's Blog
Generational shifts in punditry In 1970, when Walter Cronkite was narrating current events for the United States, he was 54 years...
a year ago
49
a year ago
In 1970, when Walter Cronkite was narrating current events for the United States, he was 54 years old. Hitchcock made his last film when he was 77. When there’s a limited number of slots for narrators to fill, they can stick around for a long time. One of the overlooked cultural...
Open Culture
Hear the Letter of Gratitude That Albert Camus Wrote to His Teacher After Winning the Nobel Prize,... When Albert Camus won the Nobel Prize, he wrote a letter to one of his old schoolteachers. “I let...
2 weeks ago
10
2 weeks ago
When Albert Camus won the Nobel Prize, he wrote a letter to one of his old schoolteachers. “I let the commotion around me these days subside a bit before speaking to you from the bottom of my heart,” the letter begins. “I have just been given far too great an honor, one I neither...
Seth's Blog
Productive assets and useful flows Assets are ownable. They are devices, skills, connections or properties that allow us to amplify our...
over a year ago
64
over a year ago
Assets are ownable. They are devices, skills, connections or properties that allow us to amplify our effort and do our work with more impact. A drill press is an asset, so is your law degree. The permission you have to talk with your customers, the benefit of the doubt you get...
Seth's Blog
A new cooperative workshop My colleague Ava Morris is running her Song of Significance Workshop on Friday, October 6. It’s...
a year ago
23
a year ago
My colleague Ava Morris is running her Song of Significance Workshop on Friday, October 6. It’s powerful, effective and personal. It runs worldwide, in Zoom, and it’s completely interactive–every participant participates. This will be the third session… the first two got rave...
Open Culture
Behold a Digital Restoration of 655 Plates of Roses & Lilies by Pierre-Joseph Redouté: The Greatest... Pierre-Joseph Redouté made his name by painting flowers, an achievement impossible without a...
7 months ago
48
7 months ago
Pierre-Joseph Redouté made his name by painting flowers, an achievement impossible without a meticulousness that exceeds all bounds of normality. He published his three-volume collection Les Roses and his eight-volume collection Les Liliacées between 1802 and 1824, and a glance...
Open Culture
Watch the Very First YouTube Video, “Me at the Zoo,” Now 20 Years Old Given the dominance YouTube has achieved over large swathes of world culture, we’d all expect to...
a week ago
6
a week ago
Given the dominance YouTube has achieved over large swathes of world culture, we’d all expect to remember the first video we watched there. Yet many or most of us don’t: rather, we simply realized, one day in the mid-to-late two-thousands, that we’d developed a daily YouTube...
Seth's Blog
Long-term selfish (and the circles of us and now) Whenever we make a choice, we do our best. We make a decision based on our interests. In other...
4 months ago
39
4 months ago
Whenever we make a choice, we do our best. We make a decision based on our interests. In other words, it’s selfish. So what makes a choice a selfish act worth addressing? There are two circles: the circle of us and the circle of now. A selfish toddler keeps both circles very...
Seth's Blog
All of it, all at once The smartphone is the most expensive device most people own, and the one they use the most. Here’s...
4 months ago
26
4 months ago
The smartphone is the most expensive device most people own, and the one they use the most. Here’s everything you can’t have, can’t afford and won’t get, right here. Here’s everyone you want to have an argument with, one click away. Here is every piece of bad news we can imagine,...
Seth's Blog
Moving toward ease “Ease” isn’t the same as “easy.” In fact, they’re often at odds. Easy work is hardly worth our...
8 months ago
58
8 months ago
“Ease” isn’t the same as “easy.” In fact, they’re often at odds. Easy work is hardly worth our effort. It can deaden us instead of giving us the chance to bring our best selves to life. Ease, on the other hand, is the feeling of doing something worthwhile, and doing it well. When...
Open Culture
How Art Gets Stolen: What Happened to Egon Schiele’s Painting Boats Mirrored in the Water After Its... George Clooney may be better regarded as an actor than as a director, but his occasional work in the...
9 months ago
53
9 months ago
George Clooney may be better regarded as an actor than as a director, but his occasional work in the latter capacity reveals an admirable interest in lesser-dramatized chapters of American history. His films have found their material in everything from the early years of the NFL...
Seth's Blog
Peak infrastructure Community resources are easy to take for granted. Unevenly distributed, they’re the sort of thing we...
a year ago
85
a year ago
Community resources are easy to take for granted. Unevenly distributed, they’re the sort of thing we miss only when they’re gone. Invisible things are easy to ignore. I was stunned to see a sign in Connecticut that listed the names of dozens of highway workers who had been killed...
Seth's Blog
Walking the city, walking the world Last week, I passed 800 people as I walked my way through New York. I decided to look at the folks I...
a year ago
26
a year ago
Last week, I passed 800 people as I walked my way through New York. I decided to look at the folks I was walking near. Of those 800 people, not one was as conventionally attractive as a movie star. Few looked like the images I saw on the billboards I passed. Most wouldn’t be cast...
Seth's Blog
The big sort The phone book was a groundbreaking innovation. For the first time, you could actually look up the...
3 months ago
25
3 months ago
The phone book was a groundbreaking innovation. For the first time, you could actually look up the person you were seeking to reach. At about the same time, the department store arrived. You could actually have a shot at finding what you were hoping to buy. TV Guide was, at one...
Seth's Blog
The Coney Island problem Disney theme parks created more than 20 billion dollars in revenue last year. Coney Island, not so...
a year ago
44
a year ago
Disney theme parks created more than 20 billion dollars in revenue last year. Coney Island, not so much. Coney Island is dozens of small honky tonk vendors and attractions, an ecosystem, not a corporation. Independent local stores got hammered by the more organized stores in the...
Seth's Blog
The Net Promoter Score More than two-thirds of the companies surveyed said that they used NPS methodology with their...
a year ago
79
a year ago
More than two-thirds of the companies surveyed said that they used NPS methodology with their customers. Some are using it to measure employee satisfaction as well. The P stands for ‘promoter’, but of course, it doesn’t actually measure promotion. If that many of your customers...
Marian's Blog
LED Matrix Materials Guide I built an LED matrix out of 256 WS2812 LEDs. This post will describe which materials I used and...
over a year ago
33
over a year ago
I built an LED matrix out of 256 WS2812 LEDs. This post will describe which materials I used and which I tried with no success so you don’t have to. Case For the case, I used a custom made photo frame. The main purpose of the case is to look good, which is...
Seth's Blog
Bye now The difference between ‘buy now’ and ‘bye now’ is very thin. Sometimes, when we push very hard for a...
9 months ago
54
9 months ago
The difference between ‘buy now’ and ‘bye now’ is very thin. Sometimes, when we push very hard for a commitment, we break the trust we’ve earned. For a while, you might not notice the broken trust, because we’re encouraged to keep pushing, treating every individual as a walking...
Ian Betteridge
When dealing with Musk, Labour needs to understand the world has changed There are plenty of objections to preventing Elon Musk from donating to Reform. The first is it’s...
6 months ago
65
6 months ago
There are plenty of objections to preventing Elon Musk from donating to Reform. The first is it’s politically motivated. A party shouldn’t (the theory goes) use its power in government specifically to target another party. Of course, Labour could do this in a way which prevented...
Open Culture
James Earl Jones (RIP) Reads Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” Note: With the sad passing of James Earl Jones, at age 93, we’re bringing back a post from our...
9 months ago
51
9 months ago
Note: With the sad passing of James Earl Jones, at age 93, we’re bringing back a post from our archive–one featuring Jones reading two great American poets, Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman. These readings first appeared on our site in 2014. For all its many flaws the original...
Anarchy Unfolds
Is human society natural? On the human/nature divide and how to overcome it
4 months ago
Seth's Blog
“I don’t like it” Everyone is entitled to their own taste. But this isn’t the helpful answer to the question, “is this...
a year ago
25
a year ago
Everyone is entitled to their own taste. But this isn’t the helpful answer to the question, “is this good?” Whether it suits your taste might be irrelevant. “It doesn’t resonate with me” is not the same as “No one will like this.” The professional understands that they need...
Open Culture
The World Record for the Shortest Math Article: 2 Words In 2004, John Conway and Alexander Soifer, both working on mathematics at Princeton University,...
a month ago
20
a month ago
In 2004, John Conway and Alexander Soifer, both working on mathematics at Princeton University, submitted to the American Mathematical Monthly what they believed was “a new world record in the number of words in a [math] paper.” Soifer explains: “On April 28, 2004 … I submitted...
Seth's Blog
Simple and painless productivity On the factory floor, productivity increases are relentlessly implemented, often without regard for...
2 months ago
28
2 months ago
On the factory floor, productivity increases are relentlessly implemented, often without regard for worker satisfaction. For people working with a laptop, though, they are often seen as optional lifestyle choices instead of ways to significantly boost how much we can get done–and...
Seth's Blog
Eight marketing maxims
a year ago
Seth's Blog
The distribution of character Along the way, we have been taught to associate character skills like honesty, rationality,...
11 months ago
64
11 months ago
Along the way, we have been taught to associate character skills like honesty, rationality, agreeableness, grit and care with surface metrics like wealth or power. That’s almost certainly incorrect. And if we make assumptions based on vague measures of class, we’re going to get...
Open Culture
How 2001: A Space Odyssey Became “the Hardest Film Kubrick Ever Made” Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey has been praised in all manner of terms since it came out...
10 months ago
55
10 months ago
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey has been praised in all manner of terms since it came out more than half a century ago. An early advertising campaign, tapping into the enthusiasm of the contemporary counterculture, called it “the ultimate trip”; in the equivalently trendy...
Seth's Blog
Vocal fatigue Most of us talk, some of us do it for a living. When your voice is on the fritz, it can affect your...
9 months ago
55
9 months ago
Most of us talk, some of us do it for a living. When your voice is on the fritz, it can affect your entire body as well as the way you approach your day. I’ve read all 25+ of my audiobooks myself, and I used to be able to complete each one in a day […]
Seth's Blog
Just the right length Pop songs are 200 seconds long because the mechanical properties of 78 and 45 rpm records can...
a month ago
14
a month ago
Pop songs are 200 seconds long because the mechanical properties of 78 and 45 rpm records can deliver one song with decent fidelity of that length. They can’t handle ten minutes, and one minute is too short to charge for. The number of books carried by a local bookstore was the...
Blog - Mac Pierce
Fort Emplacements and FDM: making Castle Doctrine How I made Castle Doctrine, a 1:1 scale fully 3D-Printed American Revolutionary War era cannon.
over a year ago
Seth's Blog
Skipping the good days Part of the luxury of living near the ocean or the mountains is that you can be picky. If the surf...
over a year ago
74
over a year ago
Part of the luxury of living near the ocean or the mountains is that you can be picky. If the surf or the powder isn’t great, leave it for the tourists. Good is insufficient, wait for the great moments… When we’re young, or the project is going really well, it’s easy to waste the...
Seth's Blog
All customers are the same [and all customers are different.] Customers are why you’re here. They pay the bills and they are...
a year ago
40
a year ago
[and all customers are different.] Customers are why you’re here. They pay the bills and they are the primary driver of your growth. But each adds a different amount of value to your organization and the journey you’re on. The customer who spends 100x as much as the average...
Not Boring by Packy...
Weekly Dose of Optimism #132 Curing Blindness, Genetic Womb Treatment, Evo 2, AI co-scientist, Topological Qubits, Robots
4 months ago
Seth's Blog
Bongo is here And you can be the first on your block to play it. It’s free. Click here to see today’s game. Over...
7 months ago
49
7 months ago
And you can be the first on your block to play it. It’s free. Click here to see today’s game. Over the next week, I’m going to do a few bonus posts to explain how we thought about the creation and game design and marketing of this new project. The last eighteen months of...
Open Culture
How an Ancient Roman Shipwreck Could Explain the Universe In a 1956 New Statesman piece, the British scientist-novelist C. P. Snow first sounded the alarm...
10 months ago
36
10 months ago
In a 1956 New Statesman piece, the British scientist-novelist C. P. Snow first sounded the alarm about the increasingly chasm-like divide between what he called the “scientific” and “traditional” cultures. We would today refer to them as the sciences and the humanities, while...
Open Culture
The Hand: An Anti-Totalitarian Animation, Banned for Two Decades & Now Considered One of the... For obvious reasons, most art produced under oppressive regimes comes off as painstakingly...
8 months ago
55
8 months ago
For obvious reasons, most art produced under oppressive regimes comes off as painstakingly inoffensive. For equally obvious reasons, the rare works that criticize the regime tend to do so rather obliquely. This wasn’t so much the case with The Hand, the most famous short by Czech...
Seth's Blog
The 77% threshold When the gas car was first introduced, it couldn’t compete with horses. After all, we’d had...
over a year ago
82
over a year ago
When the gas car was first introduced, it couldn’t compete with horses. After all, we’d had thousands of years to optimize our systems around horseback, and this new technology was still nascent. Roads were rare, gas stations were scarce and the cars themselves were unreliable....
Open Culture
How Rasputin Inspired the “Fictitious Persons” Disclaimer Commonly Seen in Movies “This is a work of fiction,” declares the disclaimer we’ve all noticed during the end credits of...
7 months ago
58
7 months ago
“This is a work of fiction,” declares the disclaimer we’ve all noticed during the end credits of movies. “Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.” In most cases, this may seem so trivial that it hardly merits a mention, but the...
Seth's Blog
Sanding off all the edges It’s easier than ever. Solvents, power tools, market research, AI, committee meetings, online...
a year ago
29
a year ago
It’s easier than ever. Solvents, power tools, market research, AI, committee meetings, online reviews and ennui are all aligned in one direction. To fit all the way in. Of course, once you sand off all the edges, it’s hard to get traction. Hard to find the texture or anything...
Open Culture
Behold The Drawings of Franz Kafka (1907–1917) Runner 1907–1908 UK-born, Chicago-based artist Philip Hartigan has posted a brief video piece...
a year ago
52
a year ago
Runner 1907–1908 UK-born, Chicago-based artist Philip Hartigan has posted a brief video piece about Franz Kafka’s drawings. Kafka, of course, wrote a body of work, mostly never published during his lifetime, that captured the absurdity and the loneliness of the newly emerging...
Seth's Blog
Are you weather? The thunderstorm doesn’t know we exist. Rain dances and wishes are ineffective at bringing or...
a year ago
96
a year ago
The thunderstorm doesn’t know we exist. Rain dances and wishes are ineffective at bringing or preventing a storm, because it isn’t caused by our actions. Metaphorical weather is tempting to mistake as a response. When someone cuts us off in traffic or doesn’t engage with us the...