Freedom is a worthy goal: the slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus said it was in fact the highest virtue, and over the course of human history many millions have perished seeking it, attaining it, or defending it. But, if you’re lucky enough to […]
We all spend way too much time on zoom these days. All that time spent staring at a small screen, with small images of other people doing the same thing, talking about very specific issues, can produce tunnel-vision and tunnel-thinking: […]
We owe our current-day obsession with metrics in large part to Frederick W. Taylor, the early 20th-century engineer and management consultant who introduced the concepts of metrics and data analysis as important tools to increase industrial efficiency. Since Taylor’s day, […]
Simplify, simplify, simplify – that’s what Thoreau urged in Walden. Over the past year, I’ve tried to take his words to heart as I’ve removed things, influences, people, and places from my life that made no positive contribution. I’ve also […]
Archimedes famously boasted that, were he to have a lever long enough and a place to stand, he could move the Earth. A bit over-dramatic, perhaps, but he was (theoretically) correct – with a properly-placed lever, many seemingly-impossible tasks become […]
