Origins

I’m drawn to the idea of an art of living much more so than to the compulsive search for life hacks, regimens of self-improvement, or self-optimization schemes. These too often feel like a doubling down on the insistence that we can always do more if only we apply the right technique. They also suggest that the path to happiness involves the discov... See more

We are surrounded by remarkable technological advancements, advanced tooling and infrastructure. However, without accounting for culture or desire, these tools fall flat, lacking the spark that transforms pure functionality into meaningful creations. Successful design goes beyond the superficiality of aesthetics and the pragmatism of functionality—... See more

The problem you solve for customers is increasingly one they can’t even articulate for themselves . The ones that are easy to understand have already been built and funded over the last 20 years. Building something of true excellence will require a hungrier engagement with the world—and that will have to start with developing superior taste.

Many concepts that sound good on paper are infeasible to implement, or simply don’t produce the expected results. It’s frustrating when that happens, of course, but the pace of experimentation and learning at a startup is unparalleled. I think this is an especially important form of rigor for theorycels like me. Building product forces a different ... See more

AI refactors previous use of humans, and unleashes new use for humans. Two weeks traveling Japan proved to be the perfect setting to contemplate some of the sweeping changes facing our society over the coming years and decades. The smart people I know generally agree that 80% of the work of 80%+ of jobs will be refactored significantly by AI. And

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But at the time, I questioned this approach. Why study semiotics when I could be building a portfolio site? Why pull all-nighters just to endure brutal critiques—tossing the work away and starting over? But the process—thinking, making, critique—proved transformative. The school wasn’t teaching design as ornamentation or styling. Instead, it was an... See more