In a talk about Taoism called Swimming Headless, Alan Watts shared with his audience the parable of the Chinese farmer. Once upon a time, there was a Chinese farmer who lost a horse. Ran away. And all the neighbors came ‘round that evening and sa

I want to argue that intelligence may be unique among all resources on the planet. It may be the only resource we create that sees truly infinite, insatiable demand. Pricing abundance is tricky. Netflix, Spotify, and millions of software apps … Continue reading →

Human luck doesn’t even out. Regression to the mean explains that in statistics, outlying events tend to be overcome by average ones. But in society, the opposite is often true. A small heads…

There are two ways to think about achievement and the idea of getting ahead: Perhaps it’s a race. Getting ahead means beating the competition. But perhaps it’s simply an effort to move …

Emotions are personal and most of the time, we can put effort into creating them (or avoiding them). But in a community, emotions spread. And not at the same rate. Consider these emotions, roughly …

Each day, I have about 8 hours of tasks to do. Empty the dishwasher, bring in the paper, answer emails, queue up a blog post… it’s a very long list. I’m sure you have one as well.…

A useful way to understand an evolved organism or system is to ask what it wants. What actions does it need to evoke to survive or thrive? The flower wants bees to visit, the berries want to be eat…

The initial adoption of new technology follows a regular pattern. The first group are hobbyists, people looking for a fascinating way to spend time. But that’s a small group–ham radio o…

Moving is physical, travel is an emotional journey. Moving takes us from one place to another, one job to another, one situation to another. But if we seek to insulate ourselves from the emotional …

A simple formula for success

An old friend of mine at my hackerspace introduced me to the concept of Prototype Zero: The Version that Even Your Own Sweet Mother Isn’t Allowed to See. The idea is that when you’re building somet…

Extreme bursts of productivity are certainly eye-catching. But science shows why steady consistency wins nearly every business race.

The summer morning light on the east wall of Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound. When I set a vacation responder on my email during times of travel or rest, I try to make it useful. That often means shar…

The index is the search bar, the random access to the facts we can look up. The table of contents, though, that’s a point of view. It’s a taxonomy of how to understand a complicated ide…

Becoming a successful hacker requires more than just technical skills; it demands a unique way of thinking. This guide explores the core principles that

There's a painting in the Art Institute of Chicago that stops people cold. Van Gogh's "Bedroom at Arles." It's just a bedroom. A simple room with a bed,

Sneakers are better for running a marathon, but shoes are better for a wedding reception. This is the better of utility. Finding something that does the job it sets out to do. And then there is the…

Posted on Monday 4 Aug 2025. 1,104 words, 2 links. By Matt Webb.

When you're stuck in a rut, moving forward can feel impossible. Here's five steps to progress through struggles

No important movie has ever been a solo project. While we can see a director’s point of view from movie to movie, the collaborative nature of the work is evident. Actors, cinematographers and…

A clover, a bee, and a break

Reflections on Cal Newport's 'So Good They Can't Ignore You', and the order of passion and mastery.

The engineer’s over-engineered knowledge management system

In this challenging climate, even industry giants are forecasting profits declines. However, brands with purpose are well-positioned to lead.

A lightweight way to add ambient social cohesion for remote teams.

I just finished Benjamín Labatut’s remarkable book When We Cease To Understand The World. It’s a book that blends non-fiction and fiction, that tells the stories of scientists of the tw…

It’s tempting to go to an extreme. Unreasonable design standards, quality or hospitality are an effective way to gain share, delight customers and spread the word. To be unreasonable in servi…

Anything that works in practice can work in theory. When a theory tells us something that is working is impossible, we’ve either measured wrong or the theory needs updating. Theories exist to…

Of course, we make strategic errors all the time. Not enough time. Incomplete information. A fast-changing system. Sooner or later, a significant strategic error occurs. Don’t beat yourself u…