Humankind holds power over its creations for one silly reason:

We are now living amidst the omnipresence of work. Even if we aren’t sitting down working, we are prone to continue thinking about it since the physical environment no longer reminds us to shift our mind state. In addition, the always-on nature of our tools means that we are perpetually reachable, as our phones contain the inboxes and schedules of... See more

The mind’s superiority over the iPhone lies not in its computational power, but in its ability to continue thinking well after it has shut the iPhone down. Thought begets thought, and if you allow it to compound enough, it becomes an engine of innovation that produces all kinds of magical things.

An awareness of this is the best way to navigate the omnipresence of work.

Technological progress in the era of knowledge work can be defined by these three things:

Amidst the omnipresence of work, can our minds ever stop identifying with the constant need to produce?

Work, like everything else in nature, follows a circadian rhythm. Intense periods of energy expenditure are followed by requisite periods of rest. The important thing is that the rest must be sustained, and not broken up by intermittent worries and thoughts.

(1) Make it easier to connect with others,

Work has successfully wrapped itself around shiny toys, all of which are housed in an even shinier phone. Whereas my old Blackberry was an unwilling leash handed out to me and my colleagues, the tools of today are gladly accepted and used by people all around the world. We willingly tether ourselves to the constant demands of the workplace, either... See more