Brian Wiesner

But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can give future generations a real-world childhood. We can prioritize play. We can delay entry to social media platforms until at least 16. We can encourage young people to just hang out with each other, without supervision and without smartphones. We can take elements of childhood from previous eras and... See more

Even the sound of the word repels the smartest and most creative among us. You hear it and think, well that isn’t for me. Networking feels icky and so boring. It is something that a gel-haired sales bro does to fool people into buying what they’re selling. Not me.

It’s transactional. It feels daunting and unnatural. Plus, imagine mustering up the... See more

In studies of peer groups, Laura L. Carstensen, a psychology professor who is the director of the Stanford Center on Longevity in California, observed that people tended to interact with fewer people as they moved toward midlife, but that they grew closer to the friends they already had.

Where a city is positioned on this AM <-> PM scale fundamentally influences not only it’s sleep cycle, but informs it’s core identity of the city, and the people who live there. The AM city sees itself as disciplined and regimented, addicted to the dopamine of early morning workouts, fuelled by caffeine and nourished by Açaí breakfast bowls.... See more

In many ways, we are very similar to mycelium.

We need the right conditions to survive and a constant flow of oxygen. We need to communicate to grow.

We need to connect to live.

A good connection is how quickly your world can change when you meet the right person.

This is the backdrop of the whole phone as an extension of arm thing. The way that we experience time is completely warped now. Time has been compressed to the past and present and future all at once as we interact with everything all of the time across every time period, as Douglas Rushkoff discusses in his (very good book!) Present Shock .

Murthy offers a strategy to address loneliness that begins with building up the infrastructure that enables social connection. That includes physical infrastructure, such as parks and libraries, and also social infrastructure to weave together volunteers or enthusiasts with similar interests. Once again, Britain provides a model.

The English town of... See more

Do Yourself a Favor and Go Find a ‘Third Place’

We need physical spaces for serendipitous, productivity-free conversation.