Short Read: Welcome, ghosts

Simon Sarris | 8 minutes

Until very recent times, much of the world was built out of informal spaces. The natural place for a shoemaker’s shop, for instance, is a modest extension of his home. To rent a storefront would be needlessly complex: he would have to find a space, contract with a landlord, pay rent, commute, etc. It may take fewer resources to simply build only what he needs onto his own house, but the important distinction that makes this space informal is not the expense. It is the permission-less nature of creating his own shop, the act of not negotiating with a landlord or any other authority, that makes the practice compelling.

Snippets

The feedback you get from engaging directly with your earliest users will be the best you ever get.

- Paul Graham, Do things that don’t scale

In seeking to understand particular forms of human behavior, especially social behavior, it often pays to look for analogues elsewhere in the animal kingdom.

- Kevin Simler, Social Status: Down the Rabbit Hole

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