A quiet afternoon...

“…buildings should have enough care, complexity and emotional intelligence built into them that the people who pass them by every day are nourished by them.“ Thomas Heatherwick

The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it. —John Ruskin

Startups solve for efficiency. Places solve for thoroughness. Startups solve a specific problem as profitably as possible. Places manage all aspects of being human as thoroughly as possible. Startupping is a finite game. Placemaking is an infinite game. Trying to run the same playbook for both is a mistake.

Venkatesh Rao • Placemaking vs. Mission-Shaping - By Venkatesh Rao

Of course the thing about beginning again — about starting over midway through is that you have to be willing to watch yourself die.

I learned that from writing this newsletter.

Next week, it will be three years since I launched The Cereal Aisle, and I think the most important thing I have learned in the time since is that rebirth is on the other sid... See more

What would’ve happened if you hadn’t given the brief for High Speed 2 to a load of engineering firms who immediately focused on speed, time, distance, capacity? What if you’d given the brief to Disney instead?

I guess that’s the beauty of adding value; the more you create, the more others are inspired to create in return. The cycle repeats itself. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a world of more value not more stuff?

https://nouvot.substack.com/p/less-volume-more-value

I think bookstores turned out to be weirdly sticky simply because people like being in bookstores. Going to a bookstore is an aesthetic experience. It's fun. It's something to do with your family. It is a pleasant feeling to be surrounded by physical books. It is a pleasant feeling to browse. It is a pleasant feeling to be the kind of person who go... See more