beautiful abstractions of life.

I started trying to write a novel because I so loved novels and the solace they provided me. It is obvious in hindsight that doing so would fundamentally change the way I related to books. All of a sudden, I started paying attention to how the magic trick was done. And once I started, I couldn’t stop. Seeing didn’t diminish my pleasure per se, but ... See more

A factory is a complex web of capital, know-how, labor, networks, and logistic chains

Outside the window, as I run toward the gate, a Boeing 747 lands. How many people had to work together for that to happen? In the café next to the gate—I came 5 minutes early anyway—I exchange a word with the barista, who turns out to be from Sri Lanka. The coffee he grinds was grown in Ethiopia.