Brian Wiesner

You might divide everything in life into two categories: utility and beauty. These aren’t mutually exclusive, of course—nearly anything could be both: a shirt, a building, a relationship—the difference comes down to intention.

The ones that form and spread great ideas, that build businesses, make music. Connections that let you find the back door and land opportunities you never would’ve otherwise. Connections that plant the right seeds for your future.

Genuine connections are among the few things that shape us.

Connections are like mycelium. It covers the entire earth... See more

I have since grown to spend more time with the flowers, to remember that when everything is buzzing with life, it is a moment to pause. A moment to appreciate. A moment to witness things as they are, now. There will always be time to work the earth—plenty of it if you live where I live—but there is not always time to step outside and enjoy summer;... See more

Major companies spend billions of dollars on advertising each year in order to interrupt people for a chance at getting attention for their products.

Writers get that for free. They have tens of thousands of people raising their hands to say, “Sign me up. I want to read everything you write. You have my attention.”

Then when the writer uses a small... See more

This is all to say: it’s worth listening when a place calls to you. It’s worth thinking about whether the place you live enables your goals or stands in their way. And it’s worth noticing what surroundings speak of enchantment, cultivate the conditions you feel at home in, and aim toward them. Life is more malleable than we think. It’s a surprise... See more

The convenience built into socialising in Spain makes it a low-effort ritual. It’s why the “living for the weekend” mindset doesn’t exist, and why the perennially semi-formal look of the average Spaniard makes it difficult to tell the day of the week by their clothes. Dressing correctly daily, they resist wardrobe categories such as weekday wear... See more

We’re not even on the agency curve. It’s a different curve.

Look, I’m using knowledge and agency a little loosely. LLMs can do more than just regurgitate knowledge; even if you grant them reasoning, though, it still doesn’t feel like humanity emerges from LLM scaleup. They have no curiosity, and don’t ask their own questions.

However, amid the AM -ification of cities and culture, there is light in the darkness. We are beginning to understand what we lose when we reject the night. Policies to keep cities open round-the-clock have been picking up steam since Amsterdam began issuing 24-hour operating licenses in 2013. The idea of cultivating night time economies has since... See more