Essays

Bad Metaphors, Bad Tech

- | 12
It’s not always technical walls that stop change in its tracks. Sometimes, innovation is limited by language itself. When metaphors start to die, or when we forget that they’re only tools, they can become some of the most powerful forces against innovation.
- | 12
● ● ●
● ● ●
Essays

The Berenstain Bears and the Tyranny of Timeliness

- | 10
The news hook is an ugly necessity. In my five years as a political speechwriter, I wrote and placed dozens of op-ed pieces for my bosses -- and each time, a little bow of deference to the news cycle, no matter how halfhearted -- helped answer the mandatory question: not “why this?” but “why this, now?”
- | 10
● ● ●
● ● ●
Essays

Zooming Out: How Writers Create Our Visual Grammar

- | 19
Think of the long list of visual cues we take for granted. How do we know, without struggling to process the fact, that a scene shot from three angles by three cameras is the same scene? How can we tell the difference in emotional register between a series of rapid-fire cuts and a single, slow, agonizing take?
- | 19
● ● ●
● ● ●