Nikos Kakavoulis

Generalists own the future

In ancient Athens, when Socrates was around, citizens were expected to be generalists. A man was a farmer, a lawyer, a defendant, a juror, a congressman, and a warrior all in one. It was a golden age of culture, and it was enabled by the generalist nature of that society. The British classicist H.D.F. Kitto wrote that the... See more

Sovereignty

The essential challenge for publishers now is how to establish sovereignty

Just like countries, publishers have different levels of sovereignty. Countries like the United States and China have a high degree of sovereignty. A small country like, say, Belgium voluntarily gives up large chunks of sovereignty for practical reasons.

For a... See more

From sculpting to gardening

Another way to think about this is to consider the difference between a sculptor and a gardener. A sculptor takes a block of marble and turns it into a work of art. Every line and curve in a sculpture is there because the sculptor decided to put it there with her hands.

A garden is different. A gardener can’t directly... See more

There’s a running joke on TikTok: “Excellent use of free will.” It’s what people comment when someone has devoted time to something unnecessary and occasionally brilliant — a man who covers popular songs on a DIY organ made of rubber chickens, a woman who shaves her head to spin a yarn hat from her own hair, a guy who spent 21 years making a balsa... See more