Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born
Henrik Karlssonhenrikkarlsson.xyzSaved by Keely Adler and
Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born
The mental states where new ideas can be born are hard to open up. And they are continually collapsing. The things you have to do to keep them from caving in will make people frown upon you—your tendency for isolation, working deep in the night, breaking norms. The zone is a place at the margin of society. But strangely enough, this fragile margin... See more
Henrik Karlsson • Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born
The Knight: As you know, I am afraid of emptiness, desolation and stillness. I cannot bear the silence and isolation.
Death: Emptiness is a mirror turned to your own face.
Henrik Karlsson • Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born
If you want to do great work you have to interface with others—learn what they have figured out, find collaborators who can extend your vision, and other support. The trick is doing this without losing yourself. What solitude gives you is an opportunity to study what personal curiosity feels like in its undiluted form, free from the interference of... See more
Henrik Karlsson • Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born
Nearly everyone who does great work has some episode of early solitary work. As the philosopher Bertrand Russell remarked, the development of gifted and creative individuals, such as Newton or Whitehead, seems to require a period in which there is little or no pressure for conformity, a time in which they can develop and pursue their interests no... See more
Henrik Karlsson • Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born
What solitude gives you is an opportunity to study what personal curiosity feels like in its undiluted form, free from the interference of other considerations. Being familiar with the character of this feeling makes it easier to recognize if you are reacting to the potential in the work you are doing in a genuinely personal way, or if you are... See more
Henrik Karlsson • Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born
He could interface with the mathematical community with integrity because he had a deep familiarity with his inner space. If he had not known the shape of his interests and aims, he would have been more vulnerable to the standards and norms of the community—at least he seems to think so.
Henrik Karlsson • Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born
Even if you know what it feels like to be completely open to where your curiosity wants you to go, like Grothendieck, it is a fragile state. It often takes considerable work to keep the creative state from collapsing, especially as your work becomes successful and the social expectations mount. When I listen to interviews with creative people or
... See moreHenrik Karlsson • Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born
In order to create something, Bergman had to go sub-Bergman, to the place in the mind where no name exists, where nothing is as yet nailed down, where one thing can morph into another, where boundlessness prevails. The workbook is this place—in it, Bergman could put anything he wanted, the entries he made there could be completely inane, cringingly... See more
Henrik Karlsson • Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born
What solitude gives you is an opportunity to study what personal curiosity feels like in its undiluted form, free from the interference of other considerations. Being familiar with the character of this feeling makes it easier to recognize if you are reacting to the potential in the work you are doing in a genuinely personal way, or if you are
... See more