January 13, 2026

No one remembers Mike

Ask most people to name the crew on the Apollo 11, the first moon landing, they’ll likely say Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, but not Michael Collins.

Ask most people to name the Three Italian Tenors and most people will say Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo, but probably not Jose Carerras.

But, in both cases (and in many others), the success of those whose names we remember are only remembered because of the work of everyone in the group. Without Michael Collins there may not have been a moon landing at all and Neil and Buzz might just be two other names we no longer remember. Without Jose Carerras, the Three Italian Tenors are just the Two Italian Tenors, which is no longer the supergroup we remember.

It’s easy to believe that the single name on the cover of a book or the signature at the bottom of a masterpiece painting is the work of that person and that person alone. The likely reality is that the transcendant achievements of humanity, either in science or the arts, are not the result of individual genius or intense adversarial competition but rather a consistent collective collaboration, co-operation, mutual support and trust in one another.

Other observations
July 7, 2026

Polishing the rice

What can I learn from how brewers help or hinder the flavour profile of rice when they’re making sake?

June 30, 2026

14,500 days unnoticed

If I’ve only noticed the sunrise a handful of times out of tens of thousands of daily opportunities. What else have I missed?

June 23, 2026

Ready? Catch!

If we never know when the world will offer us a new idea, how can we best prepare for the moment when it inevitably comes?

June 16, 2026

Brain, Heart, Hips and Feet

If you feel like dancing, you probably wouldn’t book last minute tickets to a Chopin concert. So what’s bad music? And can bad books exist?

June 9, 2026

Exposure matters less and less

What changes in an art practice when the sharing of the work one makes becomes secondary to making the work in the first place?

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