Agalia Tan

It succeeds because the company was founded on a strong sense of taste, and its employees work hard to protect the original vision. That means pushing each other to make objects that test their creative abilities and earn enough revenue to ensure that the vision survives.

Is consumerism ingrained in my very being, or does an algorithm steer me toward materialism? Why do we admire empty spaces as status symbols, yet criticize the rich for seeming disconnected from society and living exclusive lives? Perhaps a snapshot of a lavish hotel room holds more allure because it promises something tangible, unlike the depth of... See more

Said differently, we try to measure what we value.

But we inevitably end up valuing what we measure.

And what can be measured tends to be...the mechanical stuff.

Not only do numbers not capture what matters, they are also extremely open to manipulation.

Strangely enough, if you want to make something that will appeal to future generations, one way to do it is to try to appeal to past generations.

Applying universal logic gives our experiences a certain weight and our lives a certain order. I assume this is why we’re so drawn to recasting our life stories into tidy narratives and lessons to be shared with others. But in doing this we risk underestimating chaos, nuance, idiosyncrasy, and the occasional dose of self-delusion.

The irony of organizing your life around mistake-avoidance is that, rather than making you feel calmer, it keeps you in an anxious state, ratcheting up the stakes of your life until you’re moving through it like you would a decision tree, each notable occurrence redirecting you toward a different destination. We’re meant to be. Wait no, we’re doome... See more

Software engineer Kent Beck on why creators struggle to release projects (and why people in general don't take action):

"By far the dominant reason for not releasing sooner was a reluctance to trade the dream of success for the reality of feedback."

ChatGPT allows you to automate tedious thoughts. Whenever you are mildly curious about a question or annoyed at not having a piece of information, you can delegate that labor to ChatGPT.

It’s the same logic that powers Erewhon, or Soho House, or influencer-run startups. You’re not paying for the thing. You’re paying for the removal of difficulty . The filtered lighting. The social cachet. The sense that this world still makes sense!