Elena

The architecture of digital platforms encourage us to consume information because it’s in front of us, not because it’s relevant. On Twitter, nothing has to be remembered, studied, applied, or reflected on. It’s an environment that promotes distracted thinking and superficial learning.

When the traveler wants a big experience, he goes to a big city to see big things. But when he wants an “ authentic” experience, he must eschew the most well-trodden places, possibly the cities themselves, to find it. He must seek out places that have not yet been touched by “tourism”, he must find the people and places that still have remoteness —... See more

I feel such intense gratitude when I read a book by someone who, for a brief moment, makes me feel less alone in the world and makes these complicated things in my brain feel a little easier to understand.

Craft doesn't require innovation or a big show, but the curiosity to consistently study your materials and practice your techniques. It's knowing that big moments are made of tiny ones. That every second counts. For a chef, it might be peeling the mushroom skin even if clients will barely notice. For a designer, it might be organizing files even if... See more

The concept of efficiency — how much one can accomplish per unit of time (or per dollar, etc.) — requires a quantitative numerator as well as a denominator. It requires a metric. Therefore, it tells us nothing about results we cannot quantify or measure. When we gear our society around efficiency, we produce more and more of the measurable, while t... See more

In a sense, it’s the weird that is truly normal. It’s how people actually are, what they really care about, think about. So in a sense you’re getting them out of the weird. The weird is the stage presence we put on, and all the puffery and unwillingness to say what you really think, because my confirmation hearing, whatever. So once you stop seeing... See more

For starters, the value of creative work will shift from outcomes to process and ingenuity. The original idea, the judgment, the innovations in process, and the story become more important than ever. As any art collector knows, in a fine art gallery, a piece is valued based on its lineage, its originality, and the trials and tribulations of the ar

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One of my (many) contrarian beliefs is that we do not have strong enough preferences. We often blame social media or the speed of information as the reason why we’re easily distracted, but the real reason behind our inability to focus has less to do with the sheer quantity of media and more to do with our laziness when it comes to distinguishing wh... See more