Recent articles
September 14, 2026
Canceling one flight
Let’s imagine the airline you run had to cancel just one flight a year. You have three days notice. How would you go about it? You might begin by considering the travelers with the tightest itinera...
seths.blog
September 13, 2026
When does it become a speech?
One person isn’t a lecture, it’s lunch. Three people is office hours. Six people is a seminar. At some point, we shift from interaction to performance–but the people are the same people, the very o...
seths.blog
September 12, 2026
The daily review
The office worker has learned to dread the annual review. For many good reasons. It’s going away. Now, like workers on the factory floor, it’s likely that the metrics will be exposed and the system...
seths.blog
September 11, 2026
Solace
Seen. Remembered. Understood. It might not be enough, but it helps.
seths.blog
September 10, 2026
Things are humming
The Knot is coming. On sale today, a limited-edition pennant made by hand in Buffalo… The five-pack from Porchlight (with bonus Spindex) is still available as well. The launch event on September 21...
seths.blog
September 10, 2026
How much extra for “not lazy”?
Lazy isn’t a moral failing. It’s an economic consideration. We have limited time, limited energy and limited resources. Allocating that effort is often done in response to what’s at stake and what’...
seths.blog
September 9, 2026
Two schools of thought about school
One kind of school is about culture, compliance and community. We indoctrinate kids, for better or worse, in what it means to be in this world we’ve built, and how to do it together. We teach them ...
seths.blog
September 8, 2026
“I don’t know”
The opposite of “I don’t know” isn’t “I’m certain.” No, the opposite is, “I’m not sure, but…” “I don’t know” is a conversation ender. It is almost never followed by a useful question. Instead, it’s...
seths.blog
September 7, 2026
The reality of sunk costs
Culture is built on the stability of persistence. Pop musicians have farewell tours that last for decades. The local print shop is still there, reliably getting the job done. We want things that la...
seths.blog
September 6, 2026
The lab, the factory and the dentist
At the lab, they don’t know the right answer. They are explorers and scientists. If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough. The work at the lab requires mutual support, shared informatio...
seths.blog
September 5, 2026
Homo Habilis
We called them this because they used tools. The first proto-humans to clearly do so. The question that we need ask ourselves today, “Are you a tool user or a tool maker?” Everyone uses tools. But ...
seths.blog
September 4, 2026
An end to fully open networks
If you have a phone, you can call anyone you like. The recipient doesn’t have to answer, but the network is an open API, available to anyone. The Bell System began as an actual networked system–man...
seths.blog
September 3, 2026
What it is like to be a dog?
We have no idea. Of course, there’s plenty of behavioral data. Say this phrase, or offer that treat, and this particular dog is likely to act in a certain way. But our inclinations about what it’s ...
seths.blog
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