Agalia Tan

Develop a keen sense of what you love . Be devoted to the art of finding great and small loves, of nurturing old loves, and kindling new ones.

There is no such thing as closeness without friction.

Technology doesn’t just make old tasks easier —it creates entirely new standards.

Before washing machines, families washed clothes maybe twice a year.

After that, weekly laundry became the norm.

Technology doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

We respond to technology.

I’ve personally felt this shift.

One of the litmus tests I use before releasing any work is—is ... See more

Ours is a culture based on excess, on overproduction; the result is a steady loss of sharpness in our sensory experience. All the conditions of modern life - its material plenitude, its sheer crowdedness - conjoin to dull our sensory faculties.... What is important now is to recover our senses. We must learn to see more, to hear more, to feel more

a post-90s dynamic in dating: the commodification of people on dating apps, just another place to find made-to-order goods. The matchmaking service that Lucy provides does much the same thing, filtering out and matching candidates by numbers on a spreadsheet: age, weight, height, income. Characters constantly talk about feeling valuable, which here... See more

It is tempting to make shortcuts. When writing or doing art or building software (or in any other way constructing paths for people to walk on), you can typically earn more if you cater to the marginal user, the one who is on the fence. But the marginal user is the least patient and least interested, so you have to simplify, reduce friction, make t... See more

"The end of a melody is not its goal."

The joys of yes, this.

Boundaries not as keeping things out, but as holding our dreams a bit more softly.

Step in to this moment that I’ve made for you. For what it is you need.