Writing about life and arts
“I just make a series of oblique comments and strange drawings. That’s usually what my work is.”
— David Shrigley, from an interview with 52 Insights
All images courtesy David Shrigley. You can preorder his new book Fully Coherent Plan: For a New and Better Society on Amazon.
It is human desire to share. It is also human desire to compete. The two — cooperation and competition — bleed into each other to test human resolve. One excels in their particular field to consume another’s comparative advantage. As soon as those walls close down, trouble is lit. Every man for himself, absolute freedom,…
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The eye works as a paintbrush, coloring the world with a palette of vitality. Unfortunately, the constant bombardment of external stimuli torpedoes our attention, bankrupting what’s interesting. After all, the attention merchants plant eye candy and other UX wiles to captivate us and throw us into a ludic loop. But we can see our way…
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Creativity occurs when the imagination runs riot. The mind, an inherently jumpy organ, delves into its own fruitful space — probing fantastic and experiential possibilities. Truth is not the matter. Searching for what’s real and pure invention harbor the same goal: to pile up ideas. So we write a shitty rough draft or build a…
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We’re always in the middle of fictional thinking — vacillating between what we’d like to do versus what we’re scared to do. Utopia and dystopia keep us on our toes before we filter for the truth. We’re also paradoxical role-players — toggling between obedience and standing out depending on our internal weather. Authenticity often remains…
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Willpower rests on the brain’s set point for pleasure. Get used to indulging doses of dopamine, and the mind goes numb to any lack of stimulation. Redirecting the spotlight of attention enforces a deliberate curb on the amygdala’s hijackings. Overriding how we feel is at the core of managing life’s compass. When we’re under control,…
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To remain in the spell, unmoored from the compass of time and place. The inner narrative reverberates off our surroundings. We become how we see, think, and respond. The mind is always in the process of masticating the materials to prepare the imagination for lift-off. Moon shots take their shape at the precipice of unfettered…
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Writing is a bitch. It takes routine, grit, and lots of induced anxiety to show up every day and put pen for paper. There’s a reason few do it: it’s depressing. But for those who do, like runners, consistency means everything. Putting words together is like jogging the brain; working on prose keeps the artist…
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A meme is a hurricane of influence. It finds a human host, a signal booster, who spreads the meme before it takes on a life of its own. Historically, words are the simplest of memes, necessitating a language of thought. But most memes today are visual concepts manifested in viral images shared on social media.…
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Where do good ideas come from, and how do they form? They come from extensive research bolstered by the ability to connect the dots between knowledge and different experiences. Good ideas form through time, osmosis, long walks, boredom, and the misheard; a fruitful combination of work, rest, and fearless play. Maintaining curiosity motivates part of…
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Most creativity depends on building on top of what’s already there. Novelty exploits and aggregates preexisting stems to manufacture new and different, which is all people pay attention to. However, what’s new isn’t always copy-pasta, nor is it always welcome. Most inventions and reinventions are dull and undeluded, shocking just at their orientation. No to…
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Deliberately bad, mashed up, distorted like a Francis Bacon painting. Ugly art brings the worst of our subconscious to the fore as a means of hobbling our concentration. It goads people into fully grasping how they feel, like a good old-fashioned puke, where the vocal cords saddle up and ride a ribcage as tight as…
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We take out the wind of anxiety by going toward the fear. The nerves left alone in anticipation, attrit our resistance with cruel swiftness. Uncertainty pervades all those who wish to consult it and acquiesce. The only way forward is to adopt the most extreme outcome and hyperbolize it. That’s right — export the scariest…
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Good, bad, and ugly — honesty is what’s at stake. Of course, we strive for the perfect edited self. But such is a fallacy, as even influencers have adopted the strategy of no-makeup makeup. Social media intends to captivate and drive mimetic desire. But all marketers are liars, as are the followers who buy the…
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Everything we know we learn from our handicaps. They are far better teachers than strengths. As the author Bernard Malamud quipped, “if you haven’t struggled, you haven’t yet lived.” Mental illness, speech impediments — these brain sprains muddle thoughts and make life hard to read. But the cognitive tips and tricks we use to cope…
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