Humans In The Loop

Subtle translations allow people from different walks of life, in different parts of the economy, to communicate and coordinate efforts. They break down barriers that would normally take months or years of effort to break down.

What if instead of setting quantitative goals, I focused on how I wanted to feel on the other side? 

In the case of my OneNote course, I wanted to end each day feeling productive, proud, and confident that I’d covered each lesson extensively. 

The change was immediate. Some days, I felt especially creative and filmed ten videos in a row. On other... See more

But us humans, we’re scared too. Which makes us defensive and write think-pieces like "Will AI replace the artist? Wait dang it I wrote that one nvm.

The more we talk about how we are not AI, the more robotic we become.

"Trust us, we're human and here's why," we keep saying — that nobody can deny!

The truth hides in the subtext and makes me wonder,... See more

How can we go from accumulating insights to embodying and integrating learnings?

First-principles thinking, or thinking from first principles, sounds a lot more complicated than it is. It’s simply a technique for approaching problems with a beginner’s mind. Instead of working within assumptions and what people around you “know” to be true, you do the hard work of figuring out what’s actually true and, thus, what’s truly... See more

"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books (Dostoevsky and Dickens) that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who ever had been alive. Only if we face these open wounds in ourselves... See more

Here are eight imperatives—all of them drawing strength and sustenance from the humanities:

1. We need a way of defining and pursuing progress that doesn’t reduce that concept to something that only comes from a digital device.


2. We desperately need access to values and wisdom that aren’t corrupted by the relentless financial metrics and imposed

... See more

as humans, we tend to do whatever it takes and to use any justification to keep busy, even if the task is meaningless. In the words of the scientists behind the study: “Our research suggests that many purported goals that people pursue may be merely justifications to keep themselves busy.”

We live in a knowledge economy. What you know—and your ability to bring it to bear in any given circumstance—is what creates economic value for you. This was primarily driven by the advent of personal computers and the internet, starting in the 1970s and accelerating through today.

But what happens when that very skill—knowing and utilizing the... See more