Thomas

We are so focused on evaluating our social networks and broadcast platforms from a distribution perspective that we often forget to analyze the other side of the two-sided content marketplace: creation. But our current internet culture is as much driven by frictionless distribution as it is by frictionless creation.

Intelligence is not central to the success of most life on Earth. Consider the grasses: they’ve flourished across incredibly diverse global environments, without planning or debating a single step. Planarian worms regrow any part of their body and are functionally immortal, a trick we can manage only in science fiction. And a microscopic virus... See more

A few years ago, I was chatting about panpsychism with a friend. I mentioned that I don’t know if the theory is true, but I hope it is. When my friend asked why, I said simply, “So many little buddies everywhere!”

To me, panpsychism offered an enchanted view of the world. I suspected that if it were the prevailing view, people might be less likely... See more

I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.

Vincent Van Gogh

These days, we digest sadness alone with our phones. This is so thoroughly the case that sometimes even speaking out loud to your spouse or your mother or your close friend about a recent disaster or tragedy can feel like doubling down. They probably already know about it, so why endure the awkwardness and despair of feeling it together? And if... See more