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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...
14 hours ago
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14 hours 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...
Handprinted - Blog
Neocolor Pastels for Mono Screen Printing Monoprinting using an open screen is a wonderfully creative way of using your screen printing...
14 hours ago
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14 hours 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...
Stat Significant
Which Countries Have the Most Unique Taste in Music? A Statistical Analysis Which nations have the most distinct music tastes?
2 days ago
Seth's Blog
The NSE confusions “Nobody wants this” is unlikely. “Somebody will like this” is almost certainly true. “Everyone needs...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
“Nobody wants this” is unlikely. “Somebody will like this” is almost certainly true. “Everyone needs this” is a trap. The work begins with finding the right somebodies, while ignoring the imaginary everyone. Scale is rarely the first signal of important work.
Handprinted - Blog
Meet The Maker: Tina Hagger I'm Tina Hagger, otherwise known as haggytea, a Printmaker based in Faversham, Kent, England. I have...
2 days ago
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2 days ago
I'm Tina Hagger, otherwise known as haggytea, a Printmaker based in Faversham, Kent, England. I have been making linocut prints for about ten years now, and have begun making Tetra Pak prints in the past two years. I make my own work to sell and I also deliver workshops.  I'm...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Idiot Plots Plus! Gavin's podcast, morning routines, and a good chickpea post
3 days ago
Seth's Blog
Project ownership (equity and equity) Since the days of Atari and Apple, the culture of Silicon Valley has been based on the idea of...
3 days ago
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3 days ago
Since the days of Atari and Apple, the culture of Silicon Valley has been based on the idea of programmers and early employees owning equity in the startups they took a chance on. The media is always happy to write about folks who took a shot on stock options and did very well...
escape the algorithm
Have you tried unplugging and plugging yourself back in again? A conversation with David Zvi Kalman
a week ago
Seth's Blog
Throat clearing Simply say it. The first minute of a speech, the first paragraph of a novel or the tuning of the...
a week ago
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a week ago
Simply say it. The first minute of a speech, the first paragraph of a novel or the tuning of the orchestra before they begin… The performance improves if we skip that part. Sometimes, our throat actually needs clearing. But most of the time, we’re hooked on a ritual that doesn’t...
Infinite Scroll
Midweek Scroll: Woke Puritanism Slack Espionage, Evil Scientists, and RIP Hamster Forums
a week ago
Seth's Blog
Ways to alter the structure Cutting Growing Grinding Pruning Irrigating Sanding Cultivating Grafting Pressuring Polishing...
a week ago
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a week ago
Cutting Growing Grinding Pruning Irrigating Sanding Cultivating Grafting Pressuring Polishing Shifting Feeding Bending Welding Celebrating Melting Burning It works better when we choose with intent.
Stat Significant
What's the Perfect Song Length? A Statistical Analysis Investigating the "ideal" song length, and whether such a thing exists.
a week ago
Seth's Blog
Waves and tides It’s easy to be distracted by the wave that’s crashing on the shore. On the other hand, the tide is...
a week ago
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a week ago
It’s easy to be distracted by the wave that’s crashing on the shore. On the other hand, the tide is inexorable. It’s the long-term trend, the one that is quietly happening, over time. Sometimes, a big wave comes along and we lose our focus. It’s urgent. But expecting and working...
Handprinted - Blog
Meet The Maker: Fei Fei I’m Fei, a printmaker and designer working in Beijing. I make cards, prints, and run workshops in...
a week ago
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a week ago
I’m Fei, a printmaker and designer working in Beijing. I make cards, prints, and run workshops in the city.  I have a day job as a brand designer, and I use my spare time to grow my printmaking practice.  Describe your printmaking process. I start with simple sketches in my head...
Infinite Scroll
Podcast: Abundance ft. Derek Thompson My other job besides writing here at Infinite Scroll is hosting The New Liberal Podcast, and this...
a week ago
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a week ago
My other job besides writing here at Infinite Scroll is hosting The New Liberal Podcast, and this week I’m sharing an episode I recorded with Derek Thompson of The Atlantic.
Seth's Blog
Predicting the past It’s not unusual to encounter conflicting weather reports. One site says it’s going to rain, the...
a week ago
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a week ago
It’s not unusual to encounter conflicting weather reports. One site says it’s going to rain, the other insists it won’t. On the other hand, you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. It’s sunny, right now, you can tell. A weather service that said it was...
Infinite Scroll
The Midweek Scroll Substack's growth, RedNote reversal, and MrBeast hitting the wall
2 weeks ago
Seth's Blog
The big sort The phone book was a groundbreaking innovation. For the first time, you could actually look up the...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks 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...
Stat Significant
Which Movies Do People Love to Hate? A Statistical Analysis Which films and actors are famous for being bad?
2 weeks ago
Seth's Blog
Two kinds of instructions The more common, easier to execute sort: Instructions to remind people who already know what to do,...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
The more common, easier to execute sort: Instructions to remind people who already know what to do, what to do. The more essential and harder to create kind: Instructions for people who don’t know what to do. It’s a mistake to assume that just because you know all the steps, the...
Handprinted - Blog
Meet The Maker: Bethan Designs Hi! I’m Beth (Bethan) a printmaker who found a love for linocut relief printing. I’m based in a...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Hi! I’m Beth (Bethan) a printmaker who found a love for linocut relief printing. I’m based in a little village in the middle of Derbyshire.  Describe your printmaking process. My printmaking process probably isn’t as traditional as others, I draw my designs digitally and transfer...
Seth's Blog
Birthing tech No one knows the name of the maternity nurse who helped with the delivery of Marie Curie or...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
No one knows the name of the maternity nurse who helped with the delivery of Marie Curie or Esperanza Spaulding. You might grow up to be a genius, but the team that helped your mom give birth don’t have to be geniuses–they simply have to be pretty good at their craft. The same is...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Vance Memes Plus: Media Literacy (gone) and Production (still here)
2 weeks ago
Seth's Blog
Freelancer as centaur Freelancers looking to build a career have two good options: The lousy options are to insist that...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
Freelancers looking to build a career have two good options: The lousy options are to insist that you don’t use AI, but to be slower, more expensive and not as good as the AI option. Or to do tasks that an AI assigns you. Hiring an AI to work for you and getting very good […]
Anarchy Unfolds
Is anarchy compatible with modern society? Problems of scale and shape in imagining the futures
2 weeks ago
Seth's Blog
“I don’t care” This is difficult. Care requires time and effort, and we can’t care about everything, all the way,...
2 weeks ago
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2 weeks ago
This is difficult. Care requires time and effort, and we can’t care about everything, all the way, all the time. If you’re prepared to care about every element of your work, then you also have to decide to not care about something else. Because caring equally about everything...
Infinite Scroll
Trapped in the Platforms Platform lock in and the Open Web
3 weeks ago
Seth's Blog
You might not get a third chance The first impression is vitally important. It positions us, establishes the tone of our relationship...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
The first impression is vitally important. It positions us, establishes the tone of our relationship and earns trust. But we’re human, and it’s unlikely that every first impression will be as useful as we’d like. Fortunately, people can speak up and let us know, particularly if...
Stat Significant
Which Songs Are Frequently Featured in Film and Television? A Statistical Analysis Which songs have become staples of film and television?
3 weeks ago
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...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks 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.
Handprinted - Blog
Meet the Maker: Angela Chalmers Hi, my name is Angela Chalmers. I am a visual artist living in North Yorkshire. I work with...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Hi, my name is Angela Chalmers. I am a visual artist living in North Yorkshire. I work with cameraless photography techniques and the cyanotype process producing 2D and 3D artworks on paper and textiles. Cyanotype dates from the early days of photography and produces beautiful...
Seth's Blog
Across and within Media theory pioneer Harold Innis saw it 70 years ago: Some cultures and ideas are built to spread...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Media theory pioneer Harold Innis saw it 70 years ago: Some cultures and ideas are built to spread across SPACE. And some spread across TIME. It’s the tension between space and time that lead to the rise and fall of societies and cultures, and they’re worth understanding. Clay...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Striking Out General strikes, Opinion Blunders, and Yassified Shrek
3 weeks ago
Seth's Blog
… or the highway Our instincts might not be as good as we hope. Going with your gut is thrilling. It’s personal,...
3 weeks ago
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3 weeks ago
Our instincts might not be as good as we hope. Going with your gut is thrilling. It’s personal, vulnerable and brave. And if it’s getting you what you seek, keep at it. But often, our instincts are a way of hiding, undermined by a lack of knowledge. If you haven’t done the...
Handprinted - Blog
Offset Registration for Multi Block Linocuts Accurate registration can be difficult when printing multi-block linocuts. Offset printing will show...
4 weeks ago
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4 weeks 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...
Infinite Scroll
MAGA as Master Morality How Nietzsche explains our Trumpist moment
4 weeks ago
Stat Significant
How Many Episodes Should You Watch Before Quitting a TV Show? A Statistical Analysis When to quit a subpar TV show, according to the data.
4 weeks ago
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 weeks ago
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4 weeks 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...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: BookTok Perverts Plus! Elon's mania, presidential crypto, and concerning turkey behavior
a month ago
Anarchy Unfolds
Is human society natural? On the human/nature divide and how to overcome it
a month ago
Seth's Blog
Repeat happy accidents Those three words unlock our understanding of innovation and of biological evolution. Successful...
a month ago
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a month ago
Those three words unlock our understanding of innovation and of biological evolution. Successful outcomes often follow unpredicted actions. If we allow ourselves to do things that might not work, we’re far more likely to discover the things that do. And then we can repeat them.
Handprinted - Blog
Meet The Maker: Ian Phillips Hi, I’m Ian Phillips, a printmaker based in Mid Wales. I’m originally from Leicestershire and...
a month ago
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a month ago
Hi, I’m Ian Phillips, a printmaker based in Mid Wales. I’m originally from Leicestershire and studied illustration at Leicester Polytechnic. After graduation I attempted the life of a freelance Illustrator in London, but quite quickly, well after a few years, realised it wasn’t...
Infinite Scroll
Internet Book Club: 'Because Internet' How the internet is changing the English language
a month ago
Stat Significant
Which Old Movies Stand the Test of Time? A Statistical Analysis An exploration of "timeless" films.
a month ago
Seth's Blog
Confusing status with skill The tenured philosophy professor at Princeton might not even be half as effective a teacher as the...
a month ago
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a month 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...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Killing the Internet Encryption dramas, baby mamas, Reddit paywalls and a wholesome AMA
a month ago
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...
a month ago
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a month 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,...
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...
a month ago
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a month 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...
Stat Significant
Do People Actually Hate Coldplay? A Statistical Analysis Examining Coldplay's confusing cultural reputation.
a month ago
Seth's Blog
Two kinds of creative feedback If you’re the client or the boss, it’s possible that someone is going to create creative work for...
a month ago
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a month ago
If you’re the client or the boss, it’s possible that someone is going to create creative work for you. Sooner or later, you’ll get something that doesn’t work. You might want to explain why it’s not good enough. Perhaps you can demonstrate how it doesn’t fit the genre or meet...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Bro Economy Everywhere Plus! Oral Traditions, Woke Chili, and Montoya
a month ago
Seth's Blog
Noticed There’s a delay between the time something goes wrong and when we notice it. Sometimes, it can take...
a month ago
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a month ago
There’s a delay between the time something goes wrong and when we notice it. Sometimes, it can take years. Part of the art of project management is noticing things more quickly. And it helps to acknowledge that by the time we notice something, it’s probably too late to easily...
Anarchy Unfolds
Did we really just get taken over by fascists in less than a month? Red Round-up #2
a month ago
Seth's Blog
The two-minute warning Once life gets busy, it’s sort of inevitable that we begin to sort the work to be done. And the most...
a month ago
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a month ago
Once life gets busy, it’s sort of inevitable that we begin to sort the work to be done. And the most natural sort is to focus on the urgent. After all, if that plate is about to break, it’s hard to watch it fall when you’ve decided to work on something less urgent instead. Which...
Infinite Scroll
JD Vance and Vice Signaling Abandon your values for power and profit
a month ago
Seth's Blog
Rainy day surfer Of course you’re going to get wet, that’s part of the sport. And yet, only the hard core surfers...
a month ago
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a month ago
Of course you’re going to get wet, that’s part of the sport. And yet, only the hard core surfers show up in the rain. If your project is about making things better, organizing the disorganized, connecting the disconnected and building community, you shouldn’t wait until the...
Infinite Scroll
13 Things I Learned Reading a 225 Page Report About the Gaming Industry A quick poll for readers before we get started - you may have noticed there’s a lot of politics...
a month 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...
a month ago
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a month 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....
Handprinted - Blog
Meet the Maker: Dave Buonaguidi Dave Buonaguidi, AKA Real Hackney Dave is a Hackney-based artist who combines the visual and verbal...
a month ago
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a month ago
Dave Buonaguidi, AKA Real Hackney Dave is a Hackney-based artist who combines the visual and verbal language of advertising and propaganda with unique imagery and materials of found objects and ephemera. In a previous life, Dave worked in advertising for over 35 years, founding...
escape the algorithm
Announcing the Escape the Algorithm ᵐⁱᶜʳᵒsupporter Program Welcoming tiny acts of codependence
a month ago
Stat Significant
How Do Music Listening Habits Change With Age? A Statistical Analysis How does music listening change as we grow older?
a month ago
Seth's Blog
Clarity about the benefits Work on climate problems is actually about efficiency. It’s easier and cheaper to avoid sloppiness...
a month ago
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a month ago
Work on climate problems is actually about efficiency. It’s easier and cheaper to avoid sloppiness and side effects than it is to clean the mess up later. And energy sources that don’t burn become cheaper over time. The investment in getting started pays off in cost, health and...
Prolost
Cameras, Phones, and Log — What’s the Juice? I know, I know, another video about shooting video in log on iPhones? I promise I’ll move on to...
a month ago
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a month ago
I know, I know, another video about shooting video in log on iPhones? I promise I’ll move on to other topics, but two events happening in one week pushed me into making this video: Samsung adding log to the Galaxy s25 Ultra My brother-in-law texting me “Do you have a fix for...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: The Deep State Cometh /r/FedNews, DeepSeek hot takes, and a brutal menswear guy post
a month ago
Seth's Blog
Halfway projects Half a canoe is worth less than no canoe at all. On the other hand, eating half a pear is much...
a month ago
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a month ago
Half a canoe is worth less than no canoe at all. On the other hand, eating half a pear is much better than not having one. You might get 85% of the value from only part of the pear. Some projects only benefit us when they’re finished all the way. Knowing this in advance is […]
Anarchy Unfolds
The rich don't have authority On the myth of power and money
a month ago
Seth's Blog
What’s for breakfast? Peter Drucker didn’t say “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” but reality rarely gets in the way...
a month ago
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a month ago
Peter Drucker didn’t say “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” but reality rarely gets in the way of a good quote. But what does it mean? I think what ‘not Drucker’ meant was that MBA tactics will always be subverted by the power of systems, and that systems disguise themselves...
Infinite Scroll
The UnPopulist: Abundance Politics This week I’m in The UnPopulist with an article about the politics of the abundance agenda:
a month ago
Stat Significant
Are More Celebrities Dying? A Statistical Analysis Are more famous figures dying, and if so, why?
a month ago
Seth's Blog
Organizing for urgent There are many ways to prioritize our time and focus, but the easiest and most vivid way is to do...
a month ago
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a month ago
There are many ways to prioritize our time and focus, but the easiest and most vivid way is to do the urgent things first. If we wait until a house plant is sick before we take care of it, though, it’s too late. Deadlines, loud requests and last-minute interventions are crude...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: All Hail New Media Censorship, platforms, and exactly who are we empowering?
a month ago
Seth's Blog
Analysis = Facts + Interpretation If you fail to show us the facts, it’s difficult to accept your analysis. While it’s tempting to...
a month ago
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a month ago
If you fail to show us the facts, it’s difficult to accept your analysis. While it’s tempting to simply share an interpretation of what’s happening, credibility and persuasion are based on showing your work.
cabel.com
The Snacks & Cereals of 2024 Welcome to 2025. The vibes are a little heavy, so, I’m trying very hard to focus on the things I can...
a month ago
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a month ago
Welcome to 2025. The vibes are a little heavy, so, I’m trying very hard to focus on the things I can control — and yes, that includes remembering to share things that delight me like the latest #new snacks and cereals I find at the grocery store!! Yeah. It’s an age-old, very-odd...
Seth's Blog
Getting clear about brand value Consulting firms rank brands on value. Marketers promise to increase it. But brand value has little...
a month ago
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a month ago
Consulting firms rank brands on value. Marketers promise to increase it. But brand value has little to do with whether a company is famous or even profitable. The accurate measure of brand value is the premium that consumers will spend over the generic. What time, money or risk...
Anarchy Unfolds
To beat fascism, tell better stories On false narratives and the stories we need to tell
a month ago
Seth's Blog
Checking all the boxes The simplest way forward is to see which boxes your target market has and then check all of them....
2 months ago
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2 months ago
The simplest way forward is to see which boxes your target market has and then check all of them. Unfortunately #1: The audience doesn’t publish their actual list of boxes, they conceal many of them. Unfortunately #2: They don’t all have the same boxes. Unfortunately #3: If it...
Infinite Scroll
The Unbearable Cynicism of Trump 2.0 Who cares, nothing matters, cry about it
2 months ago
Stat Significant
Which Music Was Underappreciated in Its Time? A Statistical Analysis What music slipped through the cracks but eventually found its audience?
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
Honesty about better “I don’t want to learn to be better,” is something we rarely admit. We don’t say: I don’t want to...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
“I don’t want to learn to be better,” is something we rarely admit. We don’t say: I don’t want to learn statistics, even though it will dramatically improve my decision making. I don’t want to learn a new programming language, even though it will get me a better job. I don’t want...
Handprinted - Blog
CMYK Screen Printing! CMYK screen printing is a great way of bringing both your photographic and coloured art images to...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
CMYK screen printing is a great way of bringing both your photographic and coloured art images to life through colour separation. This is achieved by layering four colours (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) on top of each other using only 4 screens.  To start, you will need to...
Seth's Blog
Trusting AI For generations, humans have been entrusting their lives to computers. Air Traffic Control,...
2 months ago
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2 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...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: The Ban Cometh TikTok banned, RedNote reversal, TrumpCoin and Gjörfbunkle
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
Don’t steal the revelation Learning is a journey of incompetence. First, we realize that there’s something we don’t know. Then...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Learning is a journey of incompetence. First, we realize that there’s something we don’t know. Then we see that we’re going to be better at it, and we’re not good at it yet. Then we figure it out and we’ve succeeded. Repeat. When we pre-process the information and simply test...
escape the algorithm
So you want to escape the algorithm A primer
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
Building a process culture Process is the investment we make in inefficiency now to prevent errors from costing us later. Jet...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Process is the investment we make in inefficiency now to prevent errors from costing us later. Jet airlines are the safest form of travel ever created, largely because of the inefficient process that we put in place. They’re over tested and over staffed, with checklists and...
Handprinted - Blog
Kathryn Desforges: Meet The Maker I'm Kathryn Desforges, a Devon-born, Yorkshire-based artist with a passion for printmaking, process,...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
I'm Kathryn Desforges, a Devon-born, Yorkshire-based artist with a passion for printmaking, process, and material experimentation. I specialise in etching, lithography and woodcut, and alongside my studio practice, my career as a printmaking technician and tutor intertwines with...
Stat Significant
What Are the Greatest Sequels of All Time? A Statistical Analysis What are the best movie sequels, and why?
2 months ago
Infinite Scroll
Stop Coping About TikTok It's proving that it deserves the ban
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
Good advice The cult of consulting suggests that if you simply had better advice from someone who knew more than...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
The cult of consulting suggests that if you simply had better advice from someone who knew more than you, your problems could be solved. Generally, the advice isn’t really the hard part. There’s endless good advice just a click away. The art is in creating the conditions for...
Anarchy Unfolds
We Don't Need Conspiracies The real stories behind our problems are scary enough
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
“That will never work” Every successful SNL sketch, every bestselling book, every landslide-winning candidate… every single...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Every successful SNL sketch, every bestselling book, every landslide-winning candidate… every single one… had skeptics. Someone in the writer’s room, or on the editorial board or even an investor looked at what was on offer and said, “no.” Not just, “I’m sorry, this doesn’t match...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Zuck Kisses the Ring Plus! A collection of LA wildfire takes
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
Slow down to speed up Almost all car crashes would be avoided if the driver were just going a bit slower. (That’s why it’s...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Almost all car crashes would be avoided if the driver were just going a bit slower. (That’s why it’s more accurate to call them “crashes” and not “accidents.”) That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have bold plans. That’s essential. It’s the last-second shortcuts that get us into...
Handprinted - Blog
Meet the Maker: Julia Triay Hi! I'm Julia Triay, I'm an illustrator and printmaker from Mallorca, Spain based in Norwich. I...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Hi! I'm Julia Triay, I'm an illustrator and printmaker from Mallorca, Spain based in Norwich. I moved to Norwich 8 years ago to study illustration. I fell in love with this fine city and made it my home. I recently quit my job to become a full time illustrator, which has been a...
Stat Significant
Which Celebrities Popularized (or Tarnished) Baby Names? A Statistical Analysis Which public figures impacted baby naming trends?
2 months ago
Infinite Scroll
Why Are So Many Online Trads Still Single? We asked single trads to tell us their secrets
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
Situational spending Money is a story. But money is also an exchangeable commodity, valued by different people in...
2 months ago
33
2 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...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Meta Swallows the Slop Plus: Elon's alter ego and Autistic Stew
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
The value of artifacts An artifact is an object that holds or signifies an idea. A book on paper is an artifact: it’s the...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
An artifact is an object that holds or signifies an idea. A book on paper is an artifact: it’s the object plus the words. Now that you can get the words in many other ways, the value of the book is changed. A wedding ring is an artifact. If lost, it has sentimental value far […]
Stat Significant
6 Reasons to Be (Cautiously) Optimistic About Movies in 2025: A Statistical Analysis Six reasons to be optimistic about the film industry.
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
Collectibles (and list updates) The Strategy Deck that I made to go with my book has developed a real following. It’s a powerful way...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
The Strategy Deck that I made to go with my book has developed a real following. It’s a powerful way to break a creative logjam. Taking out the deck in a meeting lowers resistance and increases a sense of possibility and playfulness. I’ve just gone back to press for a fourth...
Handprinted - Blog
Projects for the Year Ahead Are you looking to start the year by learning a new skill or starting a fresh project? Perhaps you...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Are you looking to start the year by learning a new skill or starting a fresh project? Perhaps you just need a boost of inspiration? We've put together some projects to get you going for the year ahead. Introduction to Linocut Did you get some new tools for Christmas and you'd...
Seth's Blog
Find the others New years bring resolutions, but those resolutions rarely stick. Creating change is difficult, and...
2 months ago
47
2 months ago
New years bring resolutions, but those resolutions rarely stick. Creating change is difficult, and it’s hard to do it alone. New years remind us that we might need a better strategy. A philosophy of becoming, a clear vision on where we’re going (and why). Here’s an invitation to...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: MAGA's Civil War The MAGA Civil War and a recap of recaps
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
The reality of meliorism Nearly 150 years ago, George Eliot gave us a name for our project. She pointed out that we could...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Nearly 150 years ago, George Eliot gave us a name for our project. She pointed out that we could ameliorate the problems of the human condition, day by day, year by year, toward better. Max Roser highlighted three sentences that seem like they can’t all be true: “The world is...
Infinite Scroll
Infinite Scroll Podcast: Substack founder Hamish McKenzie An interview on where Substack sits in the digital media ecosystem
2 months ago
Seth's Blog
Fiblets Organizations lie all the time. Big lies, sometimes, but usually small ones. Is the call volume...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Organizations lie all the time. Big lies, sometimes, but usually small ones. Is the call volume actually unusually heavy? Did a chef really prepare this meal just for me? These fiblets are so common that they become part of the culture, a trope that lets the user know that this...
Infinite Scroll
A User's Guide to Building a Subculture How communities form online
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
Taxonomy as a service When the truck makes a delivery at the nearby True Value hardware store, Danny needs to figure out...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
When the truck makes a delivery at the nearby True Value hardware store, Danny needs to figure out which shelf to put it on. Should the extension cords go next to the hoses? After all, they both do the same thing, one with electricity and one with water… The purpose of putting...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: X-ocracy Now The government is now run by Elon Musk's X
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
The challenge of excess capacity Marketing as we know it happened because of machines. Machines made factories dramatically more...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Marketing as we know it happened because of machines. Machines made factories dramatically more efficient, which meant that producers could no longer easily sell everything they made. When you go from making four ceramic plates a day to 4,000, your capacity starts to look like a...
Ian Betteridge
Weeknote, Monday 23rd December A week off work, yay! Obviously that has not stopped me checking and replying to a few emails. My...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
A week off work, yay! Obviously that has not stopped me checking and replying to a few emails. My team were also attempting to get me to help them cheat at the work Christmas quiz using WhatsApp. Shamefully, they didn’t even win. I had my first face to face physio session about...
Seth's Blog
Leading side by side Orchestras are difficult. One reason is that we’re really good at noticing when they’re out of tune....
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Orchestras are difficult. One reason is that we’re really good at noticing when they’re out of tune. Just a tiny bit off changes our perception of the sound. The other reason is that if the performers wait for a leader in their section to go first, every entrance and every attack...
Anarchy Unfolds
Age of Empires but make it Solarpunk My favorite strategy game re-imagined
3 months ago
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...
3 months ago
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3 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...
escape the algorithm
ETA's Best links of 2024 Relinking some Links links
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
The thought that counts Well, maybe not. In 2024, worldwide gift card sales will pass a trillion dollars for the first time....
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Well, maybe not. In 2024, worldwide gift card sales will pass a trillion dollars for the first time. It’s a good grift. Surveys show that the buyer spends about 21% less per gift than they do when they actually buy something, while the recipients of the gift find themselves...
Infinite Scroll
Flat Earthers and Belief in Belief What flat earthers can teach us about politics
3 months ago
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...
3 months ago
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3 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...
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...
3 months ago
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3 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 […]
Handprinted - Blog
In the Studio 2024 What a busy year in the studio! Thank you to everyone who has joined us for a workshop, event or...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
What a busy year in the studio! Thank you to everyone who has joined us for a workshop, event or open access studio session. Let's take a look at what's being going on in the Handprinted Studio in 2024: WORKSHOPS 2024 has been packed with workshops, taught by our team as well as...
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...
3 months ago
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3 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...
Stat Significant
What Are the Most Commonly Used Movie Clichés? A Statistical Analysis Exploring the cliché phrases that dominate movies.
3 months ago
Infinite Scroll
Infinite Scroll Podcast: Worst Tweets ft. Andrew Heaton It's possible that we might be too online
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
The fame/trust inversion A generation ago, the Generals ruled. General Motors, General Foods, General Mills, General...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
A generation ago, the Generals ruled. General Motors, General Foods, General Mills, General Dynamics… they were big, and they had a lot to lose. As a result, people trusted them to show up and keep their promises–it just wasn’t worth letting a few people down at the risk of their...
Infinite Scroll
Worst Tweets of 2024 - Dishonorable Mentions All of the most horrifying posts on Twitter that didn't make the final bracket
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
If they know, they should tell us Asymmetrical information creates real problems. And fixing the flow of useful proxies benefits both...
3 months ago
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3 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...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Eternal September Plus: A little TPOT and a very good Christmas song
3 months ago
Ian Betteridge
Weeknote, Sunday 15th December
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
Change your shoes Like all good metaphors, it might be practical too. Your ‘shoes’ are the point of greatest leverage....
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Like all good metaphors, it might be practical too. Your ‘shoes’ are the point of greatest leverage. The spot where you have traction and engage with the world most directly. For a freelancer, it might be the way you engage with customers, or your software tools. It might be the...
Ian Betteridge
Ten Blue Links, “I am your BFDL” edition 1. Tech benevolent dictators are still… dictators in the tech community there is a concept of the...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
1. Tech benevolent dictators are still… dictators in the tech community there is a concept of the “benevolent dictator for life”. This is a leadership model where one person, usually the founder, has the final say on decisions. They guide the project’s direction, relying on their...
Seth's Blog
The opportunity for AI formbots Forms are a convenient way for bureaucracies to collect information. They’re convenient because they...
3 months ago
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3 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...
Handprinted - Blog
Meet the Maker Round-Up 2024! It has been another incredible year of printmaking inspiration. We've put together a round-up of all...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
It has been another incredible year of printmaking inspiration. We've put together a round-up of all our fantastic Meet the Maker artists from 2024, alongside their advice or inspiration for other printmakers. Read through for a wholesome dose of printmaking magic, and click...
Seth's Blog
Better at being better In most competitive markets, when an organization offers a new benefit, others will quickly move to...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
In most competitive markets, when an organization offers a new benefit, others will quickly move to match it. This means that it’s hard to justify the hard work of creating something better, because it’s just going to become a new standard. It doesn’t pay for a credit card...
Stat Significant
The Rise and (Overstated) Fall of Radio. A Statistical Analysis Examining radio's rapid adoption and surprising cultural endurance.
3 months ago
Infinite Scroll
Worst Tweets 2024 - Preliminary Rounds Vote on which bad takes will make the 2024 bracket!
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
How many sparks? That’s the tempting question. How much hustle, hoopla and initiative do we need to get this idea...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
That’s the tempting question. How much hustle, hoopla and initiative do we need to get this idea ignited in the marketplace… But the much better question is: How much kindling do we have? Kindling doesn’t happen all at once. It’s the result of investments over time. We can earn...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Dead CEOs and Conservative Progressives Plus! Hawk Tuah crypto scandal, gift guide season, and a good Spotify Wrapped
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
Complaints The best way to complain is to make things better. Complaining can be a form of intimacy. It’s a...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
The best way to complain is to make things better. Complaining can be a form of intimacy. It’s a useful way to explain our behavior. And best of all, it gives us a way to communicate as we work to create community action. The rest sort of complaint requires generosity and...
Ian Betteridge
Weeknote, Sunday 8th December 2024 This time of year, work becomes a tension between two opposing forces: the inevitable winding down...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
This time of year, work becomes a tension between two opposing forces: the inevitable winding down of the year, as fewer projects appear and people begin to drift away, and the equally inevitable rush to get whatever remains to be done. It’s a tension that keeps me awake at night...
Seth's Blog
What if they’re right? We spend a lot of time in our own heads, certain that our path and our method make sense. We often...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
We spend a lot of time in our own heads, certain that our path and our method make sense. We often become more certain in the face of criticism or even suggestions. This confidence is essential, as it allows us to lean into our project. Once in a while, though, it might help to...
Anarchy Unfolds
Food Waste is Bad Actually How we frame the problem makes all the difference
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
You’ve already failed No project is going to exactly match every hope you have for it. And even before you ship the work,...
3 months ago
32
3 months ago
No project is going to exactly match every hope you have for it. And even before you ship the work, you’ve already succeeded. No project is totally worthless. So, given that failure and success are on a spectrum, at least partly out of our control, the real question is: Now that...
Ian Betteridge
Ten Blue Links, “rapid evolution of form” edition 1. Why should Trump deliver for anyone but Trump? This Bloomberg piece forgets one important fact:...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
1. Why should Trump deliver for anyone but Trump? This Bloomberg piece forgets one important fact: Donald Trump is not going to be on the ticket next time. He doesn’t have to deliver a dime for ordinary voters, and will act accordingly.  2. You can now sync Apple Passwords with...
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....
3 months ago
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3 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...
Open Culture
The 63 Cuisines of China Explained in 40 Minutes: A Complete Primer Wherever in the world you grew up, you probably grew up with an inaccurate idea of Chinese food. For...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Wherever in the world you grew up, you probably grew up with an inaccurate idea of Chinese food. For Americans, it can come as a shock to hear that such familiar dishes as chop suey and General Tso’s chicken are unknown in China itself. By the same token, almost every country in...
Seth's Blog
Who owns your words? There are many ways to ask and answer this question. Authorship used to be rare, but now, all of us...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
There are many ways to ask and answer this question. Authorship used to be rare, but now, all of us write something. If you’re putting your words on a social media platform, you might be surprised to discover that they could disappear at any moment. Some platforms acknowledge...
Open Culture
Explore an Online Archive of 2,100+ Rare Illustrations from Charles Dickens’ Novels As Christmastime approaches, few novelists come to mind as readily as Charles Dickens. This owes...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
As Christmastime approaches, few novelists come to mind as readily as Charles Dickens. This owes mainly, of course, to A Christmas Carol, and even more so to its many adaptations, most of which draw inspiration from not just its text but also its illustrations. That 1843 novella...
Stat Significant
Unpacking the Rise of Fan Fiction: From 'Star Trek' to 'Twilight'—A Statistical Analysis An exploration of modern fan fiction and the unique demography of its participants.
3 months ago
Infinite Scroll
How Gay Marriage Ruined Democratic Activism The end of Moral Triumphalism
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
Elites (vs. elitism) Tom Brady is an elite athlete. Few have even approached the stats he had playing football. And...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Tom Brady is an elite athlete. Few have even approached the stats he had playing football. And Catherine Walker, NSTA Science Teacher of the Year, is an elite, because her pedagogy and understanding give her the ability to create better outcomes for her students. There’s a...
Open Culture
Scientists Discover that Ancient Egyptians Drank Hallucinogenic Cocktails from 2,300 Year-Old Mug Bes mug by USF Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx) on Sketchfab If ZZ Top have a favorite...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Bes mug by USF Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx) on Sketchfab If ZZ Top have a favorite ancient Egyptian deity, that deity is surely Bes, whom the New York Times’ Alexander Nazaryan quotes curator and scholar Branko van Oppen de Ruiter as calling “a beer drinker and a...
Infinite Scroll
Infinite Scroll x GiveDirectly Read to the end for an AI cokehead
3 months ago
Open Culture
Beautiful 19th Century Maps of Dante’s Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise & More Even the least religious among us speak, at least on occasion, of the circles of hell. When we do...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Even the least religious among us speak, at least on occasion, of the circles of hell. When we do so, we may or may not be thinking of where the concept originated: Dante’s Divina Commedia, or Divine Comedy. We each imagine the circles in our own way — usually filling them with...
Seth's Blog
Searching for stars It’s easy to imagine that talent is a magical gift, and that we’ll know it when see it (and that you...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
It’s easy to imagine that talent is a magical gift, and that we’ll know it when see it (and that you have it or you don’t). And yet, over the years, Star Search has rejected each of these musicians, picking someone else to win the competition: One could argue that they’re simply...
Open Culture
The Golden Guide to Hallucinogenic Plants: Explore the 1977 Illustrated Guide Created by Harvard’s... I mean, the idea that you would give a psychedelic—in this case, magic mushrooms or the chemical...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
I mean, the idea that you would give a psychedelic—in this case, magic mushrooms or the chemical called psilocybin that’s derived from magic mushrooms—to people dying of cancer, people with terminal diagnoses, to help them deal with their — what’s called existential distress. And...
Ian Betteridge
20241202 Ten Blue Links, the late late late show edition! Technically this is eight blue links, because I spent the weekend in Bristol and we’re getting...
3 months ago
28
3 months ago
Technically this is eight blue links, because I spent the weekend in Bristol and we’re getting towards Christmas. Next week: five blue links and a bag of wine gums. 1. RIP ChromeOS (sort of) Odd as it sounds today, when I talk a lot about user privacy and avoiding cloud services,...
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...
3 months ago
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3 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
Discover Hannah Arendt’s Syllabus for Her 1974 Course on “Thinking” If you’ve read one work of Hannah Arendt’s, it’s probably Eichmann in Jerusalem, her account of the...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
If you’ve read one work of Hannah Arendt’s, it’s probably Eichmann in Jerusalem, her account of the trial of the eponymous Nazi official — and the source of her much-quoted phrase “the banality of evil.” That book came out in 1963, at which time Arendt still had a dozen...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: MrBeast Games The System Plus! A Momfluencer Horror Story and an Important Orca Update
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
Thinking about jobs Since I was born, the planet has invented 6 billion jobs. Technology is said to threaten the...
3 months ago
41
3 months ago
Since I was born, the planet has invented 6 billion jobs. Technology is said to threaten the replacement of human labor, yet, somehow we’ve found useful activities for a rapidly growing population. Coordinated without a coordinator, people go to work each day, often doing...
Infinite Scroll
Why You Should Read Web Fiction A beginner's guide to an underappreciated format
3 months ago
Seth's Blog
Books and more, winter 2024 They’re a gift that lasts forever, because your friend will remember what they learned and how they...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
They’re a gift that lasts forever, because your friend will remember what they learned and how they felt… and they can keep it on their bookshelf or hard drive as a reminder in case they forget… Amazon chose This is Strategy for a Kindle deal today. It’s only $4. Also, the...
Open Culture
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Creative Process: A Look Inside the Books & Techniques That Allowed His Art... The story of Jean-Michel Basquiat has its unfortunate aspects: not just his premature death, but...
3 months ago
38
3 months ago
The story of Jean-Michel Basquiat has its unfortunate aspects: not just his premature death, but also the aggressive marketing of his work and persona in the years leading up to it. He became a vogue artist of the eighties in part because he could be taken as an unfiltered voice...
Seth's Blog
Bongo 4 – Thinking about power users (skive!) Power users are tempting. They know what they want, they’re happy to share their preferences and...
3 months ago
39
3 months ago
Power users are tempting. They know what they want, they’re happy to share their preferences and they show up. But power users can also be a trap, because their specific needs might not match the market you seek to serve. When you pick your customers, you pick your future. Brooke...
Open Culture
The Illustrated Version of “Alice’s Restaurant”: Watch Arlo Guthrie’s Thanksgiving Counterculture... Alice’s Restaurant. It’s now a Thanksgiving classic, and something of a tradition around...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
Alice’s Restaurant. It’s now a Thanksgiving classic, and something of a tradition around here. Recorded in 1967, the 18+ minute counterculture song recounts Arlo Guthrie’s real encounter with the law, starting on Thanksgiving Day 1965. As the long song unfolds, we hear all about...
Seth's Blog
The long walk Before buying a house, it makes sense to spend a day on foot, walking around the neighborhood....
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Before buying a house, it makes sense to spend a day on foot, walking around the neighborhood. You’ll notice things you might have missed in a car. Before starting a business, spend a few shifts working the cash register at a similar establishment. And before going into...
Open Culture
Ken Burns’ New Documentary on Leonardo da Vinci Streaming Online (in the US) for a Limited Time A quick heads up: The filmmaker Ken Burns has just released his new documentary on Leonardo da...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
A quick heads up: The filmmaker Ken Burns has just released his new documentary on Leonardo da Vinci. Running nearly four hours, the film offers what The New York Times calls a “thorough and engrossing biography” of the 15th-century polymath. Currently airing on PBS, the film can...
escape the algorithm
The perfect pecan pie will never exi— Cutting a slice of longing
4 months ago
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Something Wicked This Way Comes Theater Kids, BlueSky momentum, and Kai Cenat's big month
4 months ago
Seth's Blog
Understanding pricing The money we exchange for a service or item isn’t based on how much it cost to make, how hard it was...
4 months ago
42
4 months ago
The money we exchange for a service or item isn’t based on how much it cost to make, how hard it was to produce or how much the producer likes it. That’s hard to hear, because when we make something, we spend most of our time thinking about those very things. Price is based on...
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...
4 months ago
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4 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...
The Great Discontent...
Britt Reilly Britt Reilly's work lives at the intersection of immersive visual arts, historic architecture and...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Britt Reilly's work lives at the intersection of immersive visual arts, historic architecture and preservation, and modernist design. Britt is the executive director and collections curator at the Irving & Aaronel deRoy Gruber Foundation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and when we...
Anarchy Unfolds
May all roads lead to solarpunk Letters to an anarchist - Part 8
4 months ago
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...
4 months ago
41
4 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
Is there a market(place)? Not all needs have a market (yet). A market is a category. A market is a place with competition. In...
4 months ago
38
4 months ago
Not all needs have a market (yet). A market is a category. A market is a place with competition. In a market, people have habits and budgets and social pressure to engage. There are buyers and sellers. In many cultures, there’s a market for all the items that go with a...
Open Culture
14 Self-Portraits by Pablo Picasso Show the Evolution of His Style: See Self-Portraits Moving from... 15 years old (1896) It’s possible to look at Pablo Picasso’s many formal experiments and periodic...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
15 years old (1896) It’s possible to look at Pablo Picasso’s many formal experiments and periodic shifts of style as a kind of self-portraiture, an exercise in shifting consciousness and trying on of new aesthetic identities. The Spanish modernist made a career of sweeping...
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...
4 months ago
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4 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
Comfortable with the fuzziness Atmospheric conditions on Earth limit visibility on a perfect day to less than 200 miles. Time works...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Atmospheric conditions on Earth limit visibility on a perfect day to less than 200 miles. Time works the same way. When we’re doing the same thing, in the same way, our perception of what will happen next can feel crystal clear. Plant some apple seeds in your backyard, and you’re...
Infinite Scroll
Revolt and the Reversal of Trust The digital roots of Trump's surprising youth popularity
4 months ago
Seth's Blog
Game design and strategy (Bongo part 3) What’s it for? Making something fun is a good place to start if you’re building a casual word game...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
What’s it for? Making something fun is a good place to start if you’re building a casual word game like Bongo. But it’s not enough. Lots of things are fun, for a while, but that doesn’t meant that they’re worth the investment of time and money it takes to build them. From the...
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...
4 months ago
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4 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
When the media is ready (Bongo part 2) Media isn’t a magazine or a website. It’s a system. We can learn to see the system and contribute to...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Media isn’t a magazine or a website. It’s a system. We can learn to see the system and contribute to it with leverage. There are three elements to consider in a media system that’s worth a professional creator’s time: Systems are changed by technology. When desktop publishing...
Open Culture
An Introduction to the Astonishing Book of Kells, the Iconic Illuminated Manuscript Whatever set of religious or cultural traditions you come from, you’ve probably seen a Celtic cross...
4 months ago
42
4 months ago
Whatever set of religious or cultural traditions you come from, you’ve probably seen a Celtic cross before. Unlike a conventional cross, it has a circular ring, or “nimbus,” where its arms and stem intersect. The sole addition of that element gives it a highly distinctive look,...
Seth's Blog
Compared to what? Emotions are often tied to events and events feel absolute. But events are rarely absolute. They’re...
4 months ago
40
4 months ago
Emotions are often tied to events and events feel absolute. But events are rarely absolute. They’re almost always relative. How does this compare to what I was expecting? How does it compare to what others like me are experiencing? How does it compare to yesterday? When we change...
Open Culture
Discover the CIA’s Simple Sabotage Field Manual: A Timeless Guide to Subverting Any Organization... I’ve always admired people who can successfully navigate what I refer to as “Kafka’s Castle,” a term...
4 months ago
40
4 months ago
I’ve always admired people who can successfully navigate what I refer to as “Kafka’s Castle,” a term of dread for the many government and corporate agencies that have an inordinate amount of power over our permanent records, and that seem as inscrutable and chillingly absurd as...
Handprinted - Blog
Inking Methods for Etching Once you've made an etching plate, you may be ready to print an edition - or you might want to proof...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Once you've made an etching plate, you may be ready to print an edition - or you might want to proof it to decide on further edits. Taking a print is the only way you’ll be able to see how your plate is progressing. This blog is part of a series featuring tips and techniques to...
Stat Significant
Do People Actually Hate 'Forrest Gump'? A Statistical Analysis Examining the legacy of 'Forrest Gump.'
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...
4 months ago
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4 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...
Anarchy Unfolds
The hope of anarchy Letters to an anarchist - Part 6
4 months ago
Open Culture
Explore the World’s First 3D Replica of St. Peter’s Basilica, Made with AI In the trailer below for the world’s first 3D replica of St. Peter’s Basilica, Yves Ubelmann speaks...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
In the trailer below for the world’s first 3D replica of St. Peter’s Basilica, Yves Ubelmann speaks of using “AI for Good,” which isn’t just an ideal, but also the name of a lab at Microsoft. Microsoft and Ubelman’s digital-preservation company Iconem were two of the participants...
Seth's Blog
The nature of traps Our culture is filled with man-made traps, situations worth avoiding. They have three elements:...
4 months ago
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4 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
The Final Days of Leo Tolstoy Captured in Rare Footage from 1910 114 years ago today (November 20, 1910), Leo Tolstoy—the author who gave us two major Russian...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
114 years ago today (November 20, 1910), Leo Tolstoy—the author who gave us two major Russian classics Anna Karenina and War & Peace—died at Astapovo, a small, remote train station in the heart of Russia. Pneumonia was the official cause. His death came just weeks after Tolstoy,...
Seth's Blog
“I changed my mind” Who is “I” and how does that “I” have the power to change the mind in question? What actually...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Who is “I” and how does that “I” have the power to change the mind in question? What actually happens is this: If you are brave enough to have your mind changed, experience can do that. But it’s rarely as conscious an intentional act as we give ourselves credit for.
Open Culture
How Magician David Copperfield Made the Statue of Liberty Disappear (1983) In April, 1983, 50 million television viewers watched the illusionist David Copperfield make the...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
In April, 1983, 50 million television viewers watched the illusionist David Copperfield make the Statue of Liberty disappear, straight into thin air. If you’re north of 50, you perhaps remember the spectacle. How did he do it? 40 years later, the YouTube channel Mind Blown Magic...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Suckered Yet Again Influencer boxing, BlueSky winning, and incredible calendar confessions
4 months ago
Seth's Blog
On whining It’s not just for little kids, and it might not be a bug in our culture. Whining might be a feature,...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
It’s not just for little kids, and it might not be a bug in our culture. Whining might be a feature, something that all humans have a desire to do, regardless of our age or position. Let’s define whining as a complaint about a situation that’s not easily addressed, often a...
Open Culture
Bertrand Russell’s Ten Commandments for Living Virtuously (1930) Image by J. F. Horrabin, via Wikimedia Commons Bertrand Russell may have lived his long life...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Image by J. F. Horrabin, via Wikimedia Commons Bertrand Russell may have lived his long life concerned with big topics in logic, mathematics, politics, and society, but that didn’t keep him from thinking seriously about how to handle his own day-to-day relationships. That hardly...
Infinite Scroll
Infinite Scroll on Offline with Jon Favreau A chat about online media ecosystems
4 months ago
Seth's Blog
How to buy a lottery ticket There are lots of cultural lotteries around us. The next pop song, the book that everyone is talking...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
There are lots of cultural lotteries around us. The next pop song, the book that everyone is talking about, the blog post or video that goes viral… it even applies to who gets into a famous college or is selected by the AI screening for a good job. The usual advice is: Fit in....
Ian Betteridge
Ten Blue Links, “I’m sorry about the politics” edition 1. The Reach saga rumbles on I’ve banged on about the parlous strategy of Reach plc before, but the...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
1. The Reach saga rumbles on I’ve banged on about the parlous strategy of Reach plc before, but the departures from its senior editorial ranks will continue to make a bad strategy worse. What makes this situation more difficult for the company is its board, which is free of any...
Seth's Blog
Sincerity is expected Well, not always. That’s why it’s so important. We don’t expect an actor to tell the truth. That’s...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Well, not always. That’s why it’s so important. We don’t expect an actor to tell the truth. That’s their job. Musicians and other performers are playing a role. And social niceties encourage us to put on a smile and share appreciation, even in situations where it might not be...
Anarchy Unfolds
Paths to peace Letters to an anarchist - Part 4
4 months ago
Infinite Scroll
On Consumption vs Production How to improve yourself and be happier, online or offline
4 months ago
Seth's Blog
Take good notes Facts are important, but facts don’t create learning. Stories do. A story fits into (and changes)...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Facts are important, but facts don’t create learning. Stories do. A story fits into (and changes) our understanding of the world. Good teachers are storytellers, and storytellers are teachers. Notes, then, aren’t recitations of facts. They’re story prompts. A good note reminds...
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...
4 months ago
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4 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...
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...
4 months ago
Seth's Blog
Catastrophizing toward action A friend found a knobby growth near his knee. After a few doctor visits, it was diagnosed as cancer....
4 months ago
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4 months ago
A friend found a knobby growth near his knee. After a few doctor visits, it was diagnosed as cancer. A cancer diagnosis is a self-sufficient catastrophe–few people need more than that to start taking immediate action. At the same time, we live in a media culture where catastrophe...
Open Culture
Explore Burj Al Babas, Turkey’s Abandoned Town of 587 Disney-Style Castles Burj Al Babas might have been constructed expressly to attract the attention of the internet....
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Burj Al Babas might have been constructed expressly to attract the attention of the internet. “Sitting near the Black Sea, the town is full of half-finished, fully abandoned mini castles — 587 of them to be exact,” write Architectural Digest’s Katherine McLaughlin and Jessica...
Handprinted - Blog
Meet the Maker: Keith A. Pettit I am Keith A. Pettit an artist, printmaker and sculptor, born and bred in a small corner of Sussex....
4 months ago
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4 months ago
I am Keith A. Pettit an artist, printmaker and sculptor, born and bred in a small corner of Sussex. I left school and started work with a signwriter. I thought I was learning a trade for life - alas I was unaware of the digital revolution that was sweeping all before it. I've...
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...
4 months ago
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4 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....
Stat Significant
The Rise of Nicole Kidman, Pop Culture Folk Hero: A Statistical Analysis Charting Nicole Kidman's recent career renaissance and rejection of industry norms.
4 months ago
Open Culture
A New 3D Scan, Created from 25,000 High-Resolution Images, Reveals the Remarkably Well-Preserved... Photos on this page courtesy of the Falklands Maritime Heritage  Few who hear the story of the...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Photos on this page courtesy of the Falklands Maritime Heritage  Few who hear the story of the Endurance could avoid reflecting on the aptness of the ship’s name. A year after setting out on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914, it got stuck in a mass of drifting ice...
Seth's Blog
Broken (and not worth fixing) In one corner of the parking garage near my office, car satellite radio doesn’t work. This is...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
In one corner of the parking garage near my office, car satellite radio doesn’t work. This is clearly broken, but it’s also not a problem. Certainly not a problem worth anyone’s attention when there are so many other problems to be addressed. Problems, by definition, can be...
Open Culture
The Mushroom Color Atlas: An Interactive Web Site Lets You Explore the Incredible Spectrum of Colors... Enter the Mushroom Color Atlas, and you can discover the “beautiful and subtle colors derived from...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Enter the Mushroom Color Atlas, and you can discover the “beautiful and subtle colors derived from dyeing with mushrooms.” Featuring 825 colors, each associated with different types of mushrooms, the interactive atlas lets you appreciate the broad spectrum of colors latent in the...
Seth's Blog
A thoughtful review Thanks to Francis Wade for emailing me this review of THIS IS STRATEGY. Francis works in strategy,...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Thanks to Francis Wade for emailing me this review of THIS IS STRATEGY. Francis works in strategy, and I’m so delighted the book resonated the way it did. Case: You are a corporate strategic planner – someone immersed in defining a future for your organization. But lately, you...
Infinite Scroll
Weekly Scroll: Elon's Endgame Plus! Livestreamers in jail, confused Catholics, and the Immigrant Song
4 months ago
Seth's Blog
Unforced errors In hospitality and customer service, perfect is elusive. Someone is going to miss a shift, have a...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
In hospitality and customer service, perfect is elusive. Someone is going to miss a shift, have a bad day, or fail to understand a situation. But there’s a second kind of error, the one that’s far more common. When management makes bad choices, or underinvests in systems,...
Open Culture
Stanley Kubrick’s Annotated Copy of Stephen King’s The Shining The web site Overlook Hotel has posted pictures of Stanley Kubrick’s personal copy of Stephen King’s...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
The web site Overlook Hotel has posted pictures of Stanley Kubrick’s personal copy of Stephen King’s novel The Shining. The book is filled with highlighted passages and largely illegible notes in the margin—tantalizing clues to Kubrick’s intentions for the movie. The site...
Anarchy Unfolds
To change everything, start anywhere Letters to an anarchist - Part 2
4 months ago
Open Culture
Bertrand Russell’s 10 Commandments for Living in a Healthy Democracy Image by J. F. Horrabin, via Wikimedia Commons Bertrand Russell saw the history of civilization as...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Image by J. F. Horrabin, via Wikimedia Commons Bertrand Russell saw the history of civilization as being shaped by an unfortunate oscillation between two opposing evils: tyranny and anarchy, each of which contains the seed of the other. The best course for steering clear of...
Seth's Blog
“What should I do now?” We’ve forgotten how often society had an answer for that question. Perhaps our shift away from a...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
We’ve forgotten how often society had an answer for that question. Perhaps our shift away from a dictated answer not only gives us freedom, it also creates ennui and fear. The culture of a generation or two ago told you where to study, what to study, how to cut your hair, what to...