We adore chaos because we love to produce order. M.C. Escher Three worlds (1955) lithograph by Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher
Tag Archives: quotes
Why you should take little bets
Little bets are a way to explore and develop new possibilities. Specifically, a little bet is a low-risk action taken to discover, develop, and test an idea. Peter Sims, Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries All believing is betting. But the only way to know if something sticks is to throw it […]
Artists deepen the mystery
The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery. Francis Bacon
Art is an attitude
“Art is an attitude. Seizing new ground, making connections between people or ideas, working without a map — these are works of art, and if you do them, you are an artist, regardless of whether you wear a smock, use a computer, or work with others all day long.” Seth Godin, Icarus Deception art via @nikitaliskov
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
“Reading is the creative center of a writer’s life. I take a book with me everywhere I go, and find there are all sorts of opportunities to dip in. The trick is to teach yourself to read in small sips as well as in long swallows. Waiting rooms were made for books—of course! But so are […]
‘The writer feeds his book’
The writer feeds his book, he strengthens the parts of it which are weak, he protects it, but afterwards it is the book that grows, that designates its author’s tomb and defends it against the world’s clamour and for a while against oblivion. Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time
‘Grab a leash and take your thoughts for a walk.’
Said Henry David Thoreau, “Methinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.” Walking boosts creativity. If you ever get stuck in a creative rut, science shows that you should go for a stroll to get your endorphins moving. As learning scientist Marily Oppezzo notes in her TED presentation below, […]
Ansel Adams: Photography With Intention
Today, the mobile phone makes everyone a photographer. But how many people can create what they actually visualize in their head? For Ansel Adams, what he saw in front of him was different than what he pictured in his mind’s eye. So he created the ‘zone system,’ allowing him to play with the aperture to […]
Knowing when to use digital versus paper
Digital technologies allow us to catch everything we hear in class. Whether through type or record, it’s easy to play stenographer in the iPhone era. The problem is that apps aren’t the best thinking tools. Because using pen and paper to write is slower, it forces your brain to think about what’s keeping and what […]