Reading List
Things I've read and found worth sharing — essays, talks, papers, and the occasional book. Not an endorsement of everything in them, just a note that they made me think.
The Use of Knowledge in Society
F. A. Hayek·American Economic Review, 1945·The single most important essay on how decentralized prices aggregate information no single mind could hold. I reread it twice a year.
economicsclassicHow to Do Great Work
Paul Graham·paulgraham.com·Long, generous, and surprisingly humble. The section on curiosity as the compass is the part I keep returning to.
workcraftThe Tyranny of Structurelessness
Jo Freeman·The Second Wave, 1970·A sharp feminist critique of how 'unstructured' groups always develop informal elites. Essential for anyone thinking about organizations.
politicsorganizationsBret Victor — Inventing on Principle
Bret Victor·CUSEC 2012·A talk I watch once a year. The demos are famous, but the framing — that principles, not interests, should drive a career — is the part that stuck.
technologytalksOn the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs
David Graeber·STRIKE! Magazine, 2013·The original essay before the book. Provocative, uneven, and genuinely useful for thinking about what work is actually for.
workcriticismThe Machine Stops
E. M. Forster·The Oxford and Cambridge Review, 1909·A 1909 short story that predicts video calls, social media, and the spiritual cost of a mediated life. Unsettling in the best way.
fictiontechnologyNepal's Economic Update — World Bank
World Bank·worldbank.org·The most reliable macro snapshot of where Nepal's economy actually is. I read the latest update each spring.
economicsnepaldataPatrick Collison — Fast
Patrick Collison·patrickcollison.com·A growing list of projects done at speeds that seem impossible by today's norms. Useful inoculation against the assumption that everything must be slow.
technologyhistoryThe Lessons of History
Will & Ariel Durant·1968·A 100-page distillation of a 50-year project. Sweeping, occasionally wrong, always humbling. The chapter on economics and history alone is worth the book.
historybooksMaggie Appleton — The Expanding Dark Forest and Generative AI
Maggie Appleton·maggieappleton.com·The clearest piece I've read on how AI-generated content is reshaping the open web. Thoughtful, not alarmist, and beautifully illustrated.
technologyaiessays