Hindsight in 2020

29 December, 202025 July, 2021 ~ John Nerst ~ 4 Comments

I sum up 2020 and digress a little about writing, creativity and how things become part of the past. Read more (14 min, 3500 words).

The End of 2019

30 December, 201930 December, 2019 ~ John Nerst ~ 5 Comments

I try to sum up 2019, a year that started out well but took a weird turn about a third of the way through. Read more (6 min, 1400 words.)

A Defense of Erisology

13 May, 201914 May, 2019 ~ John Nerst ~ 16 Comments

I respond at length to criticism against an article about erisology in The Atlantic, developing the concept further in the process. Read more (23 min, 7700 words).

A Meta-Meditation

23 January, 201928 May, 2020 ~ John Nerst ~ 11 Comments

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).

2018 in Review

29 December, 20183 January, 2019 ~ John Nerst ~ 4 Comments

I summarize 2018 as a successful year and discuss what works and what doesn't with my blogging: it's getting better but higher ambitions and awareness of a bigger audience means I still write much less efficiently than I could be. Read more (6 min, 1800 words).

Leaving 2017 For 2018

6 January, 20186 August, 2018 ~ John Nerst ~ 8 Comments

I discuss what happened on the blog in 2017 and what I'm aiming for in the future. Read more (8 min, 2100 words)