Self-invention in social media that is perpetually in search of "feedback" is really just the production of communication, which gives value not to the self but to the network that gets to carry more data (and store it, and sell it).

The alternative would seem to be a sort of deep focus in isolation, in which one accepts the incompleteness that comes from being apart from an audience, that comes from not seeking final judgment on what one is doing and letting it remain ambiguous, open-ended, of the present moment and not assimilated to an archive of identity.

Living root bridges are a clear example of hybrid intelligence, blending natural growth with human guidance by shaping tree roots over rivers to form durable, sustainable pathways.

Lifeworld, Olafur Eliasson, 2024

Courrèges’s set design by Theo Mercier, 2023

Sanewashing is the act of minimizing the perceived radical aspects of a person or idea in order to make them appear more acceptable to a wider audience.

Aerotropolis is a combination of giant airport, planned city, shipping facility, and business hub. The aerotropolis approach to urban living is now reshaping life in Seoul and Amsterdam, in China and India, in Dallas and Washington, D.C. The aerotropolis is the frontier of the next phase of globalization, whether we like it or not.

The Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin is a podcast featuring reflective conversations with musicians, artists and creators.

The cozy web is Venkatesh Rao's term for the private, gatekeeper-bounded spaces of the internet we have all retreated to over the last few years.

Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker has announced a new instrument called Orchid.

We have turned competition into connection because it’s the only way we’ve learned that we can get attention.

The problem with quantifying everything is that we can’t ever rest. Our end state is a growth state — a philosophy that defines corporate America boardrooms and shouldn’t inhabit our bedrooms or morning coffee.

The death of personal style, Mina Le, 2024

Six musicians on the key to crafting the perfect runway soundtrack, Chris Erik Thomas, 2024

The good life is one of constantly discovering, pursuing, achieving, and maintaining values.

The Extreme Self: Age of You by Shumon Basar, Douglas Coupland, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, 2021

There’s an even bigger challenge needed to build a lasting business: scaling your taste, not just into a single object, but into an organization that can build and distribute many products that reflect that taste.

A map that lets you discover wikipedia pages around the world