Alternative mechanisms
Scientists consider alternative mechanisms for diseases or genes all the time. This is what the path to discovery looks like. But rarely do we consider alternative mechanisms for how something is done. Why this discrepancy in thinking?
Stop copying me
In a world hyper-focused on creativity and novelty, credit and attribution, the last thing anyone wants is to be copied. But then how do we ever learn anything?
What's in a name?
In college, I signed up for an online account for a messaging service called Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Signing up meant you needed a name, and you could find me on IRC under the handle 'RedSuit007'. So what's in a name?
10K PFP
The Bored Ape Yacht Club is a virtual membership club. Images of these apes have become ubiquitous profile pictures (PFPs), with celebrities ranging from Jimmy Fallon to Stephen Curry, from Mark Cuban to Madonna showing off their Apes. What is behind this current 10K PFP craze?
Entertaining
A pair of couples, each in their late 40s, were lamenting to each other in the freezer aisle how they don’t understand their children. Perhaps these parents just want for their kids something they had. But like most things, just because you don’t understand it doesn’t make it any less legitimate.
Zero marginal effort
The internet enabled a new digital economy where the cost of increasing the production of digital goods is essentially zero. However, the notion of 'zero marginal cost' extends far beyond selling. Zero marginal effort means scaling activities that would otherwise cost time.
Exploratory
Exploratory data analysis (EDA) is an approach used in statistics and data science, often leading to summarization and visualization of a dataset. This approach is often antithetical to a hypothesis: having an idea and then explicitly testing for its validity. Which is better?
Custodial
When Canadian truckers protested COVID mask mandates by blocking key transportation routes along their border with the US, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the "Emergencies Act". Whether or not you agree with the truckers' protests, or with Trudeau's response, this...changes...everything.
Rethink everything. Starting with meetings.
The global conversation is familiar, "will things go back to normal"? The collective answer is "I hope so...and I hope not". Disruption is a time for change. And if we think beyond skeuomorphism, we can find ways to do things better. Starting with meetings.
The Bull and The Ape
Pablo Picasso created a group of eleven lithographs called 'The Bull'. In this series, Picasso breaks down the visual form of a bull to discover the essential aspects. But 'The Bull' is not just an exercise in simplicity or Picasso's unique style; 'The Bull' is an exercise in abstraction.
