We just wrapped V1 of Writers Block.
We workshopped ~50 essay drafts in the group. It's been inspiring!
Check out a few published essays from writers brave enough to take part in the experiment:
We workshopped ~50 essay drafts in the group. It's been inspiring!
Check out a few published essays from writers brave enough to take part in the experiment:
~ On Tech & Startups ~
In Defense of the New
By Gaby Goldberg @gaby_goldberg
greaterstill.blog
“New innovation starts to take place when the incumbent is splitting at the seams. Importantly, though, the incumbent doesn’t usually collapse from a direct attack. Instead, they’re bypassed by new ideas that simply start without them.”
In Defense of the New
By Gaby Goldberg @gaby_goldberg
greaterstill.blog
“New innovation starts to take place when the incumbent is splitting at the seams. Importantly, though, the incumbent doesn’t usually collapse from a direct attack. Instead, they’re bypassed by new ideas that simply start without them.”
Silicon Valley’s Best Kept Secret: Founder Liquidity
By Stefan Theard @stefantheard
stefantheard.com
“When I found out that my founders got access to liquidity during our series A my first thought was “That is awesome, they deserve it,” my second thought was “I wonder why employees didn’t get access to any liquidity?,” and then my third thought was “Is this a secret? It seems like a secret.”
By Stefan Theard @stefantheard
stefantheard.com
“When I found out that my founders got access to liquidity during our series A my first thought was “That is awesome, they deserve it,” my second thought was “I wonder why employees didn’t get access to any liquidity?,” and then my third thought was “Is this a secret? It seems like a secret.”
the futility of co-existing with ai
By Minh Do @minhsmind
minhdo.com
“We’re going to be in an uneasy relationship with AI where we ask it to help us comprehend what’s going on in the world ... while it simultaneously causes the world to be more complex with not just the creation of synthetic data, etc. but also its unpredictable Walmart-like knock-on effects.”
By Minh Do @minhsmind
minhdo.com
“We’re going to be in an uneasy relationship with AI where we ask it to help us comprehend what’s going on in the world ... while it simultaneously causes the world to be more complex with not just the creation of synthetic data, etc. but also its unpredictable Walmart-like knock-on effects.”
Background Social
By Anu Atluru @anuatluru
workingtheorys.com
"Background social apps are a great fit for the current moment in time because: 1) People are saturated with “new content” and discovery and they’re tired of making content for new platforms ... 2) People’s willingness to share information about themselves is high, especially among younger generations."
By Anu Atluru @anuatluru
workingtheorys.com
"Background social apps are a great fit for the current moment in time because: 1) People are saturated with “new content” and discovery and they’re tired of making content for new platforms ... 2) People’s willingness to share information about themselves is high, especially among younger generations."
~ On Art, Science & Culture ~
fred again…and again and again
By Paige Doherty @paigefinnn
paigefinndoherty.com
“His visuals for his shows are in 9×16 format, he uses the Instagram native font to communicate on screen through out his shows and it feels like he truly understands the internet ... he knows how to reach out beyond the algorithm and say, “Hey, can you contribute to this show? This song? This moment?”’
fred again…and again and again
By Paige Doherty @paigefinnn
paigefinndoherty.com
“His visuals for his shows are in 9×16 format, he uses the Instagram native font to communicate on screen through out his shows and it feels like he truly understands the internet ... he knows how to reach out beyond the algorithm and say, “Hey, can you contribute to this show? This song? This moment?”’
Cinema as a Cultural Necessity
By Palash Kulkarni @ABiggerSpalash
palashk.substack.com
“Consumption of scarce content is a soft social signal for the consumers. Bingeing a show in bed is mundane but dressing up, battling the traffic to watch a film in theatres is an event … Restaurants and movie theatres allow people to create events in their lives, which serve as social signals.”
By Palash Kulkarni @ABiggerSpalash
palashk.substack.com
“Consumption of scarce content is a soft social signal for the consumers. Bingeing a show in bed is mundane but dressing up, battling the traffic to watch a film in theatres is an event … Restaurants and movie theatres allow people to create events in their lives, which serve as social signals.”
The Phenomenological Statespace
By Keane Moraes @lordvader_31
keanemoraes.substack.com
"The Phenomenological Statespace (TPS as I like to call it) is the statespace of all possible neuronal activations in one's brain ... Imagine the statespace to be interconnected brain states like a graph ... Our lives as we perceive them through our senses is just a small subset of this graph."
By Keane Moraes @lordvader_31
keanemoraes.substack.com
"The Phenomenological Statespace (TPS as I like to call it) is the statespace of all possible neuronal activations in one's brain ... Imagine the statespace to be interconnected brain states like a graph ... Our lives as we perceive them through our senses is just a small subset of this graph."
~ On Life & Philosophy ~
Concrete is Hard: Why Consequences Create Capability
By Ron Nelson @HereWithRon
herewithron.com
"In skateboarding, the consequence of failure is falling, and falling is often painful. Like every new skateboarder, I've been learning how to ollie. Jumping off the ground, with your board obediently following underfoot, is a beautiful balance of timing, precision, and force."
Concrete is Hard: Why Consequences Create Capability
By Ron Nelson @HereWithRon
herewithron.com
"In skateboarding, the consequence of failure is falling, and falling is often painful. Like every new skateboarder, I've been learning how to ollie. Jumping off the ground, with your board obediently following underfoot, is a beautiful balance of timing, precision, and force."
Macro vs. Micro
By Bharat Kilaru @bharatkilaru
lifemechanics.substack.com
"Once you master macro, then you can focus on improving your micro. Many a new player has found themselves our micro-ing an opponent only to find themselves in a fight where someone just has more units than they have. Turns out quantity is better than quality, sometimes."
By Bharat Kilaru @bharatkilaru
lifemechanics.substack.com
"Once you master macro, then you can focus on improving your micro. Many a new player has found themselves our micro-ing an opponent only to find themselves in a fight where someone just has more units than they have. Turns out quantity is better than quality, sometimes."
Psyop yourself into working out
By Tasneem Nabi @TasneemNabi
tasneemnabi.com
“We all believe everyone’s judging us in our workout classes. Supportive people will tell you that no one’s looking at you and that you should only focus on yourself. WRONG ... use your fear of making a fool out of yourself to work your ass off.”
By Tasneem Nabi @TasneemNabi
tasneemnabi.com
“We all believe everyone’s judging us in our workout classes. Supportive people will tell you that no one’s looking at you and that you should only focus on yourself. WRONG ... use your fear of making a fool out of yourself to work your ass off.”
Creativity: A Redemptive Act of Being
By Rishi Rastogi @rishiirastogi
rishiirastogi.substack.com
“Everyone tells us to step off the hedonic treadmill — there is no happiness in pursuing endless goals, but little is to be said about the actual process of stepping out. There is little to no discussion on the nervous system, trauma encoding, and the social forces that seek to exploit our creativity.”
By Rishi Rastogi @rishiirastogi
rishiirastogi.substack.com
“Everyone tells us to step off the hedonic treadmill — there is no happiness in pursuing endless goals, but little is to be said about the actual process of stepping out. There is little to no discussion on the nervous system, trauma encoding, and the social forces that seek to exploit our creativity.”
If these essays piqued your interest, bookmark this tweet, follows these writers, reply in the comments :)
And if you'd be interested in joining, DM me!
And if you'd be interested in joining, DM me!
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