Seth's

It's not technically a tax. Taxes produce valuable public benefits, like medical research and parks. This is simply legal theft. Amazon makes nearly a billion dollars in profit from search ads. Every week. Each week, they sell merchants and publishers eno

Find a safe critic. Upload your essay, your book, your artwork, your business plan or your resume to Claude. Then, pick a critic. "Write a detailed, specific negative review that might appear on Amazon/in ArtNews/at a Ph.D defense/from a disappointed vent

Here's a simple hack/reminder: If you buy something that has a filter or other part that needs replacing, create a recurring event in your calendar. Also mention where you store the extra filters, and include a link on where to buy more of them. Works for

Culture provides scaffolding, and learning happens over time. The result is that we're each capable of extraordinary feats. People can fly planes, ski down mountains, figure out how to use Photoshop or a solve a crossword puzzle. But… Most people only exh

After doing an autopsy at the morgue, it's a good idea for doctors to wash their hands before delivering babies. A few hundred years ago, Ignaz Semmelweis proved this now-obvious insight about hygiene. Doctors don't scrub because it's fun or convenient, t

Is it helping? You wouldn't stay by passively if someone else was beating you up. Perhaps we shouldn't accept it when we do it.

The Decware triode amp is the best low-power stereo amp I've ever heard. And it's a bargain. If you have the right speakers, it's an extraordinary device. And there's a two-year waitlist. 2000 people, 11 pages long. This approach to timing and production

If you win an auction to get a click, you probably overpaid. Every other bidder stopped bidding, that's why you won. Putting attention up for auction is a good business model-for the seller.

When your project, proposal or resume is rejected, it's tempting to try to understand why. Scrutinize the rejection letter and turn the short sentence into a paragraph or an essay, then play it over and over in your search for how to do better next time.

Keith Jarrett on improvisation. When the artist is creating in real time, in conjunction with the witnesses in the room, "performance" goes away. It's creation. Improvisation is a privilege, a chance to create without a guarantee.