Ilana Ettinger

A world without teachers or dock-workers would soon be in trouble, and even one without science fiction writers or ska musicians would clearly be a lesser place. It’s not entirely clear how humanity would suffer were all private equity CEOs, lobbyists, PR researchers, actuaries, telemarketers, bailiffs or legal consultants to similarly vanish.... See more

While working for the internet can be rewarding, it can also be an isolating experience, with little room for error.

We have instinctual responses to help us choose the objects that meet our most basic needs—when we’re hungry, we seek food; when we’re cold, we want warmth. But there is an entire universe of desires for which we have no instinctual basis for choosing one object or another. For these objects of desire, Girard saw that the most important factor in

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Two centuries ago, 84% of Americans worked on (mainly) our own farms in order to feed ourselves (decentralized, inefficient). By a century ago, we worked for a boss in big factories (centralized, more efficient), and today, while many people still work inside of big companies, more and more of us are working for ourselves or in creative jobs while

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“But the Greeks and the Romans both believed in the idea of an external daemon of creativity—a sort of house elf, if you will, who lived within the walls of your home and who sometimes aided you in your labors. The Romans had a specific term for that helpful house elf. They called it your genius—your guardian deity, the conduit of your inspiration.... See more