The modern magician: tech titans and internet influencers
I recently read an article on Aeon that put into words some thoughts I’ve been having about the rise of various spiritual subcultures around social media…“Central to Hermetic thought was the tenet: ‘As above, so below.’ Everything is connected, from the movement of the stars and the planets to the internal workings of an insect. Understanding these secret connections, and harnessing them, was the key to a successful magician’s art. Central, too, was the occult nature of the mage’s knowledge. ...
The modern magician: tech titans and internet influencers
I recently read an article on Aeon that put into words some thoughts I’ve been having about the rise of various spiritual subcultures around social media…“Central to Hermetic thought was the tenet: ‘As above, so below.’ Everything is connected, from the movement of the stars and the planets to the internal workings of an insect. Understanding these secret connections, and harnessing them, was the key to a successful magician’s art. Central, too, was the occult nature of the mage’s knowledge. ...
What I Enjoyed From the 5 Countries I Visited in the Past 12 Months
2023 was a year of travelling abroad every quarter. I visited 5 countries and ten cities. I still pinch myself sometimes to think that I’ve travelled to over 25 countries being 27. As a kid, when people would say they’ve been to Europe, it felt like such a big and unachievable milestone. I picked up French lessons when I was nine and dreamt of visiting Paris someday. I would’ve never imagined back then that I’d visit it 3 times in 5 years already. At 21, I solo travelled across Europe when I ...
What I Enjoyed From the 5 Countries I Visited in the Past 12 Months
2023 was a year of travelling abroad every quarter. I visited 5 countries and ten cities. I still pinch myself sometimes to think that I’ve travelled to over 25 countries being 27. As a kid, when people would say they’ve been to Europe, it felt like such a big and unachievable milestone. I picked up French lessons when I was nine and dreamt of visiting Paris someday. I would’ve never imagined back then that I’d visit it 3 times in 5 years already. At 21, I solo travelled across Europe when I ...
Global Cultures & Artificial Intelligence
Much of the discussion around the impacts and implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolve around economics, politics and either a doomsday or techtopia. They are highly Western world centric viewpoints. Yet AI is a technology that will play an important role on the global stage. Which means all our varied cultural and social systems. So perhaps we should also be considering AI’s impact and potential role more globally, with a diverse lens, rather than a purely Western centric one. Es...
Global Cultures & Artificial Intelligence
Much of the discussion around the impacts and implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolve around economics, politics and either a doomsday or techtopia. They are highly Western world centric viewpoints. Yet AI is a technology that will play an important role on the global stage. Which means all our varied cultural and social systems. So perhaps we should also be considering AI’s impact and potential role more globally, with a diverse lens, rather than a purely Western centric one. Es...
How leaders at Google et al lost the room
As we start another year; an internal post at Google says “thank you to our corporate overlords for our new annual tradition”. The post is referring to the latest round of layoffs or as those overlords like to referring to them as “reduction in force” because nothing makes you sound honest like using weasel-speak instead of plain English. This is a trend happening across the industry. At Cloudflare one employee captured the moment when they were told they were being let go and the inability o...
How leaders at Google et al lost the room
As we start another year; an internal post at Google says “thank you to our corporate overlords for our new annual tradition”. The post is referring to the latest round of layoffs or as those overlords like to referring to them as “reduction in force” because nothing makes you sound honest like using weasel-speak instead of plain English. This is a trend happening across the industry. At Cloudflare one employee captured the moment when they were told they were being let go and the inability o...
It’s Time to Show Proof of Value at Work — Here’s How
Last month, Spotify’s CEO put to words what every executive in America has been thinking for months now: work around work has got to go. What does this mean exactly? Revenue isn’t the primary path to profitability, especially for B2C companies that rely on hefty investment in new user acquisition. Many companies like Spotify, Uber, and Airbnb are facilitating a service — they aren’t actually selling anything. Their value is in the platforms they’ve created. In exchange, they act more like dig...
It’s Time to Show Proof of Value at Work — Here’s How
Last month, Spotify’s CEO put to words what every executive in America has been thinking for months now: work around work has got to go. What does this mean exactly? Revenue isn’t the primary path to profitability, especially for B2C companies that rely on hefty investment in new user acquisition. Many companies like Spotify, Uber, and Airbnb are facilitating a service — they aren’t actually selling anything. Their value is in the platforms they’ve created. In exchange, they act more like dig...
