Recent articles
September 2, 2026
Enrollment and learning
“Why are you taking this class?” That seems like a fair question. After tenth grade or so, it’s a choice, after all. One honest answer is, “I have to get a good grade to get to where I want to go.”...
seths.blog
September 1, 2026
Apophenia cuts both ways
Apophenia is the uniquely human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns or connections in random or unrelated data, events, or objects. Humans are story telling machines. And one thing we do is tu...
seths.blog
August 31, 2026
Ten steps on the road to efficient
Frederick Taylor taught Henry Ford how to do mass production. Deming brought quality, systems understanding and respect for the worker. And operations research brought insight. If you have a repeat...
seths.blog
August 30, 2026
Taking a shot/wasting a slot
The first day of classes, some students slouch in the back row, unprepared and uninterested. Some are up front, eager and ready. But it’s only the morning of the first day–these attitudes aren’t re...
seths.blog
August 29, 2026
Fit and Finish
Snap, crackle and pop. A set of German-made socket wrenches can turn a bolt in a similar way to a cheaper alternative, but it feels far more rewarding. More than forty years ago, I started using a ...
seths.blog
August 28, 2026
What’s next?
For fifteen or twenty years, this question is relentlessly answered, whether or not we ask it. After we learn fractions, the teacher moves on to decimals. After we read O’Connor, we’re handed Faulk...
seths.blog
August 27, 2026
Fertilizing the weeds
It’s not up to us to fix the world all by ourselves. But we vote with our attention and our dollars. If we’re attracted to the wrong stuff like moths to a flame, don’t be surprised when folks spend...
seths.blog
August 26, 2026
Hiding out
It might be at school, at work or at home. Hunkering down, hoping we won’t get noticed. A safe spot, worth concealing. The problem with hiding out from responsibility or change is that we’re also h...
seths.blog
August 25, 2026
On the verge of done
Three paths are now available: We face this choice daily, but rarely name it or prepare for it. The moment just before shipping is where magic and leverage can dance together. Updates: Live in NY o...
seths.blog
August 24, 2026
“Thanks for your quick response”
That’s pretty new. Letters sent by Thomas Jefferson from France often took months to get a response. No points for shaving a day off a 90-day correspondence lag. The 800 toll-free number shifted th...
seths.blog
August 23, 2026
The Drucker drift
Peter Drucker argued that the purpose of a corporation is to serve the customer. It turns out that organizations that focus on this do well. Milton Friedman argued (mistakenly, in my view) that the...
seths.blog
August 22, 2026
Don’t eat if you’re not hungry
That’s not only good dieting advice. It works in just about every endeavor we sign up for. The system would like us to be insatiable on its behalf, but that’s not an invitation we’re required to ac...
seths.blog
August 21, 2026
Assume misunderstanding
It’s possible that you were undermined, endangered, cut off or disrespected. But if we begin with that, then the relationship gets shaky. Perhaps the other person simply didn’t understand. It might...
seths.blog
August 20, 2026
Exponential
Tic tac toe with a 3 x 3 board is trivial and not much fun. Tic tac toe tic tac (5 in a row) with a 15 x 15 board is endlessly fascinating. Simple doesn’t mean dumb. When we add layers and communit...
seths.blog
August 19, 2026
Don’t steal the revelation
Teaching and learning aren’t always aligned. Sometimes organized teaching is defensive. “Here, take all this down in your notes, it will be on the test.” This gives the teacher deniability, but mig...
seths.blog
August 18, 2026
The Amazon tax
It’s not technically a tax. Taxes produce valuable public benefits, like medical research and parks. This is simply legal theft. Amazon makes nearly a billion dollars in profit from search ads. Eve...
seths.blog
August 17, 2026
Consider the AI tear down
Find a safe critic. Upload your essay, your book, your artwork, your business plan or your resume to Claude. Then, pick a critic. “Write a detailed, specific negative review that might appear on Am...
seths.blog
August 16, 2026
Replace the filters
Here’s a simple hack/reminder: If you buy something that has a filter or other part that needs replacing, create a recurring event in your calendar. Also mention where you store the extra filters, ...
seths.blog
August 15, 2026
Short term dumb, long term smart
Culture provides scaffolding, and learning happens over time. The result is that we’re each capable of extraordinary feats. People can fly planes, ski down mountains, figure out how to use Photosho...
seths.blog
August 14, 2026
Emotional hygiene
After doing an autopsy at the morgue, it’s a good idea for doctors to wash their hands before delivering babies. A few hundred years ago, Ignaz Semmelweis proved this now-obvious insight about hygi...
seths.blog
August 13, 2026
Beating yourself up
Is it helping? You wouldn’t stay by passively if someone else was beating you up. Perhaps we shouldn’t accept it when we do it.
seths.blog
August 12, 2026
The magic of a two-year waitlist
The Decware triode amp is the best low-power stereo amp I’ve ever heard. And it’s a bargain. If you have the right speakers, it’s an extraordinary device. And there’s a two-year waitlist. 2000 peop...
seths.blog
August 11, 2026
Attention up for auction
If you win an auction to get a click, you probably overpaid. Every other bidder stopped bidding, that’s why you won. Putting attention up for auction is a good business model—for the seller.
seths.blog
August 10, 2026
Give me one reason
When your project, proposal or resume is rejected, it’s tempting to try to understand why. Scrutinize the rejection letter and turn the short sentence into a paragraph or an essay, then play it ove...
seths.blog
August 9, 2026
“We’re all being surprised at the same time”
Keith Jarrett on improvisation. When the artist is creating in real time, in conjunction with the witnesses in the room, “performance” goes away. It’s creation. Improvisation is a privilege, a chan...
seths.blog
August 8, 2026
The McIntosh Modernity Index
There’s a village in Luxembourg that’s right outside the main metropolis. A farmer often ties up a donkey to the little bridge leading to town. The juxtaposition of international digital trading an...
seths.blog
August 7, 2026
As the crow flies
You’re not a crow, neither is your project. To get from a village in rural France to Los Angeles, the trip to London might be a tiny fraction of the distance from London to LA, but it takes more th...
seths.blog
August 6, 2026
The modern library
Is this where books go to die? There are about 7500 public libraries in the US, and until recently, more than a third of their transactions were for DVDs. What’s a library for? The media has change...
seths.blog
August 5, 2026
The disconnect between effort and value
They’re often out of whack. A Hard Day’s Night took less than 15 hours from idea to finished record. More Than a Feeling, from Tom Scholz and Boston, took five years. Each pleased their audiences. ...
seths.blog
August 4, 2026
Preference falsification
People lie. They lie in focus groups, they lie on surveys and they lie to themselves. Culture can be seen as an organized lying function. Be aware of what other people are thinking and make choices...
seths.blog