provocations
provocative ideas, musings, and statements to mull on
sari and
provocations
Expanded supply creates expanded demand, which in turn feeds even more supply. Over time, people learn. They discover more about what's aesthetically possible and more about what they like. Exposure changes tastes.
Virginia Postrel, The Substance of Style
Reaching 95%-ile isn't very impressive because it's not that hard to do. I think this is one of my most ridiculable ideas. It doesn't help that, when stated nakedly, that sounds elitist. But I think it's just the opposite: most people can become (relatively) good at most things.
Atul Gawande • 95%-Ile Isn't That Good
"You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another." — Ernest Hemingway
As a practical matter, I think it's easier to see ugliness than to imagine beauty. Most of the people who've made beautiful things seem to have done it by fixing something that they thought ugly. Great work usually seems to happen because someone sees something and thinks,
I could do better than that.
I could do better than that.
Paul Graham • Taste for Makers
"There are no solutions in life, only tradeoffs." — Thomas Sowell
Frank by Seth Brown
The Misalignment Museum
People worry that computers will get too smart and take over the world, but the real worry is that they’re too stupid and they’ve already taken over the world. -Pedro Domingos