You know how you scratch away at a lottery ticket to see if you’ve won?

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You know how you scratch away at a lottery ticket to see if you’ve won? That’s what I’m doing when I begin a piece. I’m digging through everything to find something.
[…]
Scratching can look like borrowing or appropriating, but it’s an essential part of creativity. It’s primal, and very private. It’s a way of saying to the gods, “Oh, don’t mind me, I’ll just wander around in these back hallways…” and then grabbing that piece of fire and running like hell.

Twyla Tharp on hunting for ideas.

I like the idea that you let culture use you as its instrument

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I like the idea that you let culture use you as its instrument. What gets in the way is being too clever, or worrying about how something is going to function, or where it’s going to be. When you start thinking of something as art, you’re fucked: you’re never going to advance.

Turner prize winner Mark Leckey talks frankly about the whole competition experience | Art and design | The Guardian (via)

Marginal Revolution: *Create Your Own Economy*, standing on one foot

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Tyler Cowen summarizes some of the contents of his new book. Some bits I’m curious about:

2. A new vision for how “autistic cognitive strengths” are a major dynamic element in human history and that includes a revisionist view of the autism spectrum.
3. New ways of thinking about what you’re really good at (and not so good at).
4. A view of why education is much more than just signaling, but why you should be cynical about most education nonetheless.
7. Why the Sherlock Holmes stories are a lot more interesting than most people think.
10. The importance of neurology for unpacking debates about aesthetics, especially when it comes to music.

I finished his Discover Your Inner Economist last week, which was wide-ranging and breezy and smart, just like the blog he co-writes. Looking forward to this new book.

Marginal Revolution: *Create Your Own Economy*, standing on one foot