This short video is a fascinating study in the reaction to panic. The subject is virtuoso pianist Maria Joao Pires, who faces a performer’s worst nightmare - she prepared for the wrong piece.
Right now - do you have hundreds or even thousands of emails in your inbox? I hate feeling like my main communication channel is a godawful mess. The good news: the road to gmail bliss is easy, just follow me…
Today you’re going back to school. Imagine you’re standing at one end of a corridor, with exactly 100 lockers all in a row, all of which are initially closed.
Check out this video of street busker Damiyr, working one of the toughest crowds in the world - New York subway commuters. He performs an original interpreation of Asaf Avidan’s “One Day”, when a dancer spontaneously joins in.
I just read this article: Programming is Hard. I agree with several points made therein, but I have a different way of explaining how hard it is to be a programmer. I like to ask, by analogy, how hard is it to learn to play piano?
There’s a worrying social trend in the US that is going largely unnoticed:
Nearly half of middle-class workers may be forced to live on a food budget of as little as five dollars a day when they retire.
My good friend Jose shared this video with me earlier this week, and it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
My friend Gus shared this ingenious demo of an old puzzle on twitter. Check out the short video below and see if you can tell what’s happening.
Yesterday, my friend Ali tweeted a lovely original limerick about Node.js and invited his followers to contribute more. Challenge accepted.
In 1969, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young performed for nearly half a million people at the legendary Woodstock Festival. A year later they released their first album, Deja Vu, which sold 14 million copies worldwide. Then, things started coming apart.
This is effectively a one and a half minute commercial, but it’s also one of the most soothing, satisfying things you’ll see today.
In Bret Victor’s groundbreaking talk Stop Drawing Dead Fish, he compellingly argues that new media call for new ways to express ourselves, and not just to repeat our old styles of expression in a new format.
The economic devastation wrought by the pandemic is forcing a lot of people to rethink their career choices. But who has time to go back to school for a Bachelors or Masters degree? One option I just learned about seems promising…
The new logo you see in the upper left corner was made for me by a very talented artist named Berk Tarakcıoğlu.
An open letter to my employer…
I’m not going to say anything about this short film. Just take 19 minutes out of your life to watch this video. I promise you will be humbled, inspired, and enriched, or I’ll give you your money back.
Here are ten promising documentaries coming out this year, courtesy of Esquire Magazine, with corresponding trailers.
Some people wonder why victims of abuse often don’t report the crime until years later, if ever. This documentary vividly illustrates one reason why. Even when someone has the strength to report their abuse, the result is often to shame and blame the accuser.
What happens when you hit the big time but can’t scale your production fast enough to keep up with demand? When your product is digital, there’s a solution for that (it’s called cloud computing). But when your product is physical, gooey, and melts fast at room temperature, “move fast and break things” doesn’t work so well.
In the last few decades, the World Wide Web, search engines, mass video broadcasting, social networks, and many other tools attributed to the so-called “attention economy” have fundamentally changed human behavior and self-organization.
This short video works on multiple levels. On the surface, it’s about a popular puzzle called KenKen, which you should definitely check out if you haven’t tried it.
My favorite article of the week is this tongue-in-cheek review of the product that no one needs - the Microclimate Air.
The original incarnation of today’s puzzle talked about winding a clock but who even knows what that means anymore? Here’s a more modern formulation. While you’re asleep one night, there’s a power outage…
In a mere four minutes, this interactive page imparts some of the most basic rules of good web design. Even if you’re not a web designer, it’s a great investment in 21st century literacy.
Everyone knows the sad story about how John Lennon was senselessly killed on the street in front of his apartment by a deranged fan. This article provides an intimate glimpse into what Lennon’s life was like on that last day.
Let’s face it - 2021 is going to look a lot like 2020. Given that, we’re all going to need more Netflix. Read on to see my new favorite documentary and a list of 40 good things to stream.
As 2020 draws to a close, check out this fascinating summary of things learned this year, from a very inquisitive person.
Check out this beautfully written profile of a woman caring for her husband, who has developed rapidly progressing Dementia in the prime of his life.
You are standing in a hallway with three light switches.
