When Things Take Shape

If I look at things that have turned out well in my life—my relationship, some of my essays, my current career—the "design process" has followed the same pattern. It has been what Christopher Alexander called an "unfolding."

If I look at things that have not turned out as well—my education, the books I've written and hidden on a hard drive in our at... See more

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Figuring it out, again and again

Walking the tightrope of ideals and reality

Sari Azout

Sep 14

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One thing I’ve come to appreciate is that having a vision is not the same as executing it. There is no shortage of ambitious ideas. Time and time again, it is when the rubber of ambition meets the road... See more

If an idea would have a life-cycle i would say: first it manifests as rather abstract feeling, Guided by that feeling you go on search for a form that the feeling can be born into. Once you find a matching shape–the magic happens.

If I look at things that have turned out well in my life (my marriage, some of my essays, my current career) the “design process” has been the same in each case. It has been what Christopher Alexander called an unfolding .1 Put simply:

• I paid attention to things I liked to do, and found ways to do more of that. I made it easy for interesting people

... See more

I wish when I was at my previous startups I had focused more on building and less on winning. Sure, I may not have done exactly what I had thought I wanted, but finding ways to love the process would’ve allowed for better outcomes anyway. What we want is such an abstract idea, built on a foundation of shifting sand, that it is pointless to try to p... See more