Jacob Pettit
@jfpettit
Jacob Pettit
One of the most intelligent case studies in design is the Chinese tea cup. They’re made without handles simply because if it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot to drink.
Humans naturally want to add more. Add a cardboard sleeve, add a warning on the outside of the cup, add a handle. The result of all these things never cools down the actual contents.
... See moreKurt Vonnegut, talking about when he tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope:
“Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of
... See moreThe Creatine Alertness Edition
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"There are no solutions in life, only tradeoffs." — Thomas Sowell
You cannot process thoughts or develop perspective while endlessly consuming content, so periodically disconnect from the web, dwell some days in darkness, and then you’ll awaken new insights, for it is only when night obscures the world that it reveals the galaxy. -Gurwinder
It seems odd to look at achievement through this lens, not as the thing the newspapers tell us it is, but – very often – as a species of mental illness. Those who put up the skyscrapers, write the bestselling books, perform on stage, or make partner may, in fact, be the unwell ones. Whereas the characters who – without agony – can bear an ordinary... See more
The School of Life • Overcoming the Need to Be Exceptional
23 Truths I Wish I Knew at 23
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Overchoice and How to Avoid it
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Most of our everyday choices are between similar things; what movie to watch, what brand of toothpaste to buy. Fredkin’s paradox states that the more similar two choices seem, the less the decision should matter, yet the harder it is to choose between them. As a result, we often spend the most time on the decisions that matter least.