Farnam Street
Mastering the best of what other people have already figured out
Hans Ulrich Obrist is a legendary curator and interviewer. In the book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Curating, the tables are turned and he is the one being interviewed. Here is a …
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” — Seneca *** We’ve entered a new phase of self-invention. Thanks in large part to technology and the pace of the modern …
If you missed out on attending the famous TED conference this year — you’re not alone. But now you can queue up some of the books that were available at the TED Bookstore for your spring reading …
Against Interpretation, Susan Sontag’s second book, was published in 1966, but some of the essays date back to 1961, when she was still writing for The Benefactor. Sontag had come to New York in …
Susan Sontag (1933-2004) spent a lifetime on writing, art, and the commodification of wisdom. Her moving work, Against Interpretation, is regarded as a quintessential text from the 60s. In it, she …
In reading Susan Sontag’s Against Interpretation and Other Essays I came across this passage on interpretation. Interpretation is a radical strategy for conserving an old text, which is thought …
You’re a painter. What’s the worst thing that can happen to you: neglect, derision, disgrace? Worse than all these misfortunes is to have to mutilate your masterpiece, the bravest thing …
Richard Feynman talking about the beauty of the natural world. I have a friend who’s an artist and has sometimes taken a view which I don’t agree with very well. He’ll hold up a …