The manuscripts arrived at my house a fortnight later, and I unsealed the package straight away and got to reading. The paper was yellowed and… Read More »James Lovegrove Reveals the Truth About Sherlock Holmes
Make it better. Make it more specific. We often discuss art this way: the artist had something he wanted to express, and then he just,… Read More »Intuition plus Iteration: George Saunders on Writing as Editing
The quadrivium followed the preparatory work of the trivium, consisting of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. In turn, the quadrivium was considered the foundation for the… Read More »Number in Time
Traditional notions of hell paled in comparison with the inventions of 20th-century totalitarian regimes: Hitler’s and Stalin’s concentration camps. And compared to technological miracles and… Read More »Tomáš Halík on Modernity, Optimism and Naked Hope
The way of the thing “Tao” refers to the inner nature or natural tendency of things. For example, water tends to flow downhill: that is… Read More »Boardroom: Lessons from Surfing (4) – Tao, Timing, Vectors
Less then five minutes long. Entertaining and true. (His Slaughtehouse-Five is the only successful anti-war novel I’ve read).
I’ve been really enjoying George Saunders’ fantastic A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. As well as showcasing some great Russian short stories it’s… Read More »George Saunders: A Hill of One’s Own
The answer [to avoiding dings] is easy: don’t surf. Degree33 Surfboards Equipment will get damaged and (eventually) break. You get tired and scared and hurt… Read More »Boardroom: Lessons from Surfing (3) – Dings and Scars
The Wretched Do you hear the people sing?Singing a song of angry men?It is the music of a peopleWho will not be slaves again!When the… Read More »Every Man Will Be a King; or, Sovereignty
I love it when people describe writing a blog, or writing on the internet, as “popularizing” economics or something similar. That is a sign they… Read More »Tyler Cowen on Writing on the Internet, and Network Value Creation