I use a poor innocent guide book author as a target for complaining about empty consumerism, and explain why features of the Swedish language makes it slightly less unreasonable than it appears. Read more (6 min, 1500 words).
Good vs. Good
Tag: creativity
A Meta-Meditation
I wrote a spontaneous piece on the tensions between cultural/intellectual accessibility and ambition that under later scrutiny wasn't quite up to snuff. Instead of publishing something sub par or discard it I used it as a jumping off point for discussing the nature of creative work, writing and thinking in general. Read more (13 min, 4200 words).
Taste Books That Don’t Take Off
I review the book Hit Makers and go on about how it loses its point in a sea of storytelling . Read more (10 min, 3300 words).
On Chords, Maps and Effects in Art
Responding to a post on Suspended Reason, I talk about how underwhelming conceptual art is, why it's more subjective than other kinds and why it's highly regarded even though it shouldn't be. Read more (14 min, 3500 words)
Mass-producing Hansons
I met Robin Hanson this weekend and started to think about how important it is to have people with expertise in several fields. Specifically setting up crossover academic departments could be an interesting experiment. Read more (6 min, 1500 words)
Idea Infatuation
How having an idea is similar to falling in love and why it sometimes doesn't work over the long term.Read more (300 words)
