In Atlas Shrugged, the world’s most important invention was abandoned to rust in a factory. No one recognized what it was, so it sat there for years, invisible to everyone.
Thoreau said:
“The works of the great poets have never yet been read by mankind, for only great poets can read them.”
Yesterday, I posted what I think [...]

I get jealous when I see people praising Derek Sivers.
Not because his ideas are bad, not because he hasn’t worked hard, not because he doesn’t deserve it… but because of the pretense that everything he says is brilliant because he created and sold CDBaby.
But it’s just the way storytelling works. Derek has a [...]

With all of the smarmy mind-games and riddles and crossword puzzles that people spend their time and energy on every day, why not fix real problems?
We pay almost $100 Million a year so The Lakers can stick a basketball into a net, and watch it fall out the other side.
Solve a Rubik’s Cube. [...]

Maybe you don’t embrace his theory of anarchy.
Maybe you don’t have long hair and a big bushy beard.
Maybe you don’t worship a Roman snake deity named Glycon.
I believe half of the equation of enjoying art is getting to look at the world through someone else’s camera. As strange as it might be, maybe they [...]

I’m not an Earthling. I’m more interested in those personal experiences that tell me there is something else beyond business, mathematics, and survival. You can call it God or Ghosts or Aliens, but I believe that as soon as you assign a word to it, it vanishes. I’d rather keep the door open. Why not [...]

Had this not happened, I imagine the audience would have fallen asleep.
Why is this video hilarious?

In contrast to the cheesy MC / front-man who is trying really hard to entertain the crowd, this drummer is a mega-talented entertainer. There’s no doubt he can get thunderous applause, no matter where he goes or what [...]

[Photo from some Russian Website.]
When we are born, each of us is given one, single job on this earth.
At the center of our souls we all have a tiny candle. Becoming an adult is taking over the responsibility for keeping that candle lit. Like a pilot light, it’s the source that all self-esteem, truth, [...]

That’s because it is.
If you look closely enough, everything sucks.
Analogies fail. Equal temperament is inherently dissonant. Rebecca Romijn wears makeup.
Congratulations! Your keen observational skills have made it impossible to enjoy anything.
Here’s a shocker: Art isn’t How To Tell The Truth Through Mathematics.
Why treat it that way? It’s selected, edited, trimmed, [...]

Photo by Sanvean.
When you’re learning how things are made, it’s easy to get caught up in reverse engineering.
A songwriting book can tell you:

The chorus should start on a note that is higher than the last note of the verse, preferably a major third above it.
Your song title should be no more than seven syllables [...]

Eman Laerton and I have spent so much time talking about Bad Music, that we get this question all the time.
This morning, I received a firm request to answer it.
First, I’ll give an Abstract philosophical answer, in two parts:
1.) Good Music combines as many Musical Elements as possible and uses them in [...]