On Planting Fields

Things tend to get worse as they scale. As startups turn to large corporations, they empty of meaning. The tight social bonds of a village fail in the big city. What goes wrong?

Spaces aren't about getting a clear goal accomplished. A space is a place for non-goal directed, exploratory activity. Like jazz jam sessions, art studios, or conversations with friends. At larger scale, research labs, festivals, and universities count as spaces. Online games like Roblox and Minecraft are spaces. What do I mean by non-goal directed... See more

We use a blanket word for these values: meaning. In a good space, we explore what's meaningful to us—not what's efficacious. Spaces are where you can live expressively, and treat yourself as a source of surprise

Tubes are things which accelerate each person towards their own goal. When you look something up on Google Maps, catch a taxi, or negotiate a win-win contract, that's a tube. Online examples are Google search, Amazon, and various APIs.

Social connections would unravel without spaces. Funnels and tubes tend towards relationships that are transactional, rather than deep or exploratory, because people want to achieve their goals quickly and without risk. Transactions (short-lived, predictable, and simple) are the most minimal kind of relationship, where both parties stay atomized, a... See more

There's another consequence of people's desire to achieve goals quickly and without risk: the elimination of surprise. Funnels and tubes emphasize efficacy and predictability, and these take precedence over other values like creativity, boldness, vulnerability, embodiment, etc.

Funnels are when you're part of a goal someone else invented. Note: It's a funnel even if you like the goal! So: when you find yourself pulled in by the smell of french fries outside McDonald's—that's a funnel.