Agalia Tan

I just try to resist when my participation feels coerced, unconsciously or otherwise.

This is the root of Klein’s theory. “The beauty myth is always actually prescribing behavior and not appearance,” she wrote in 1990, meaning it’s less about how close a woman hews to the beauty standards than the fact that she believes she’s never close enough, and acts accordingly. “Competition between women has been made part of the myth so that ... See more

a principle isn’t a principle until it costs you something

These anxieties reminded me of what Naomi Klein once called “the typical beauty myth double bind.” Here’s how she described it: “No matter what a woman’s appearance may be, it will be used to undermine what she is saying and taken to individualize—as her personal problem—observations she makes about aspects of the beauty myth in society.” That is, ... See more

Having a beginner’s mind doesn’t mean being naïve. It means resisting the reflex to slot new inputs into old categories. When we approach a system—or a person—as if we already understand it, we stop noticing what doesn’t fit. Complexity gets filtered out in favor of confirmation. And then we mistake recognition for understanding.

Beginner’s mind is ... See more

We need to treat alignment not as a prerequisite, but as a process. “Getting it” isn’t a static quality—it’s a product of access, timing, exposure, and experience.

One method is to design for shared sensemaking. That might mean narrating your mental model instead of assuming it’s obvious. It might mean making space for dissent even when time feels t... See more

Who do you secretly envy—and what does that reveal about what you truly value?

Banker and archaeologist John Lubbock on the value of downtime:

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time."