He is careful of what he reads, for that is what he will write. He is careful of what he learns, for that is what he will know."

— Annie Dillard

the world contains many kinds of infinities and so much nonsense, that when you find something that means something in this chaos, realize what incredible luck it is to encounter something so so rare and beautiful.

Therefore, creativity does not happen inside people’s heads, but in the interaction between a person’s thoughts and a sociocultural context. It is a systemic rather than an individual phenomenon.

One interpretation of Bourdieu is that we like things when it benefits us to like them. Tastes are just a matter of:

Understanding the consequences of liking stuff in your social context, and

Having the cultural knowledge of how to like things “correctly”.

Basically, your brain does game theory: Do the cool people around you like potatoes? Would you b... See more

Liked doesn’t get you promoted, though. People promote a brand or activity when it increases their status or the affiliation they have with others, not because they owe you something.

How do we keep the audience’s attention? Certainly not by giving them more information but, on the contrary, by withholding information—by withholding all information except that information in the absence of which would make the progress of the story incomprehensible.”

Expansion. That is the idea the novelist must cling to. Not completion. Not rounding off, but opening out.”

Long books, when read, are usually overpraised, because the reader wishes to convince others and himself that he has not wasted his time.”

There is no ideal condition for creativity. What works for one person is useless for another. The only criterion is this: Make it easy on yourself. Find a working environment where the prospect of wrestling with your muse doesn’t scare you, doesn’t shut you down. It should make you want to be there, and once you find it, stick with it. To get the c... See more