#TaditionalUrbanism is far more sustainable, more graceful, cheaper, and encourages a more ethical and ecological way of living than #ModernUrbanism.
The return to traditional architecture and settlement patterns is an overwhelming necessity – yet we are incentivized to focus on cosmetic solutions. We think we need veganism, we think we need “green” skyscrapers, we think we need “green” fuel.
Nonsense.
We don’t need #veganism; we need to re-encourage local, small scale and ecologically-sensitive farming. It’s not about changing your diet; it’s about changing – going back to – the way we (used to) generate food.
#Veganism will merely encourage more ultra-processed food on a global level, thus making our large corporations happier, while the planet will remain similarly or insignificantly less polluted yet humans increasingly sicker.
We don’t need “green” skyscrapers; we need traditional houses that merely need local, sustainable, cheap materials in order to be built and supported.
We don’t need more “green” fuel; we need to re-build and re-organize our cities in such a way that we don’t need that much fuel to support our buildings, means of transportation, streets, etc.
Again: Traditional urbanism is far more sustainable, more graceful, cheaper, and encourages a more ethical and ecological way of living than modern urbanism. To discourage traditional urbanism is to reject millennial technical experience and knowledge.
One of the greatest tricks the devil has ever pulled is convincing the world that procrastination is a vice and never a virtue.
In Antifragile, @nntaleb makes the confession that he uses procrastination as a filter for his writing.
If he feels strong resistance to writing a certain section, he leaves it out as a service to his readers:
“Why should they read something that I didn’t want to write?”
Montaigne reportedly worked on polishing his most famous book, The Complete Essays, from 1570 until 1592. He was quick to start, but very slow to finish.
His French comrade, Louis de Bonald, came up with a witty remark: “All that is to last is slow to grow.”
The most underrated skill of the 21st century: knowing how to relax 🏖️
Prioritize rest. At all costs.
Rest not in the sense of watching Netflix or scrolling TikTok but searching for stillness ☀️
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“If you want to understand what a society truly worships,” Joseph Campbell wrote, “don’t examine its art or literature...simply look at its tallest buildings.”
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The Industrial Age normalized workaholism.
We idolize workaholics & recognize them as heroes of our secular society.
I want to read, take long walks, meditate, play with my dog, and sip wine with my friends & fiancée whenever I want. I write. Seek beauty. And largely work on projects I love.
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Fresh coffee. Books. Frequent laughs & naps. Nature. Art. Work which I hope may be of some use. A cozy place to call home.
Such is my idea of wealth & happiness.
There’s nothing more complex, meaningful, and difficult to build than a simple life.
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The only definition of success:
You’re able to look in the mirror every evening and realize—with deep certainty and joy—that you haven’t disappointed the person you were at 18 years old, right before the age people start getting corrupted by life.
One of the biggest illusions of modernity is that we can separate beauty from functionality.
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Contrary to popular belief, beauty is NOT purely subjective.
It does not simply “lie in the eye of the beholder.”
Beauty (in architecture) is a sacred phenomenon, inspired by elements & patterns & colors we find in nature.
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One study found that, by age 3, kids prefer fractal patterns.
“So, since children are not heavily exposed to these natural patterns, this preference must come from something earlier in development; or perhaps it is innate.”