One of the things that makes the James Bond books better than the James Bond films, is that while the latter mostly represent not-too-deep action-driven entertainment, the former are peppered with philosophical asides. Ian Fleming’s 007 has arguments with his nemeses on the nature of power and autonomy and discussions with colleagues as to how one can know if they’re really on the right side of things.

Anthropologist James Suzman says now is the perfect time to rein in our unsustainable work habits. But is it possible?

Suppose we told you that solutions to the world’s most intractable problems are possible in the next decade. Poverty. Inequality. Climate change. You’d probably say impossible, preposterous, unthinkable. In the next 10 years, key technologies will converge to completely disrupt the five foundational sectors—information, energy, food, transportation, and materials—that underpin our global economy. We need to make sure the disruption benefits everyone.

There’s no honor in being busy if all you ever do is busywork.

Raise your hand if you no longer trust yourself to remember everything you need to do. Keep your hand up if you’re so entrenched in knee-jerk reaction mode that the moment a “quick little task” pops into your head, you drop whatever you’re doing and take care of it right away lest it slip through the cracks.

People need many of the same things, by virtue of being human. Everyone must be able to meet their basic needs for things such as food, water and shelter. But that’s not all. To live at least minimally well, the good things in each person’s life (such as relationships, pleasures, knowledge, appreciation, worthwhile activities) must compensate for their difficulties, pains, losses and frustrations. Everyone also needs decent opportunities and the capabilities to realise them. Or, at least, each person should get as close as possible to meeting this standard.

We’d all like life to be simpler. But we also don’t want to sacrifice our options and capabilities. Tesler’s law of the conservation of complexity, a rule from design, explains why we can’t have both. Here’s how the law can help us create better products and services by rethinking simplicity.

In the beginning, you probably didn’t miss the commutes.

Office workers who were told to work from home as lockdowns began had no reason to long for the frantic hustle to work every morning, the smell of fried egg sandwiches and armpits on a packed train, or the competition for a decent parking spot.

Do only what matters most to you.

A good review of an important tool for critical thinking.

Industrial strength list. For hard core thinkers.