Aether Mug
Aether Mug
Marco Giancotti
Hello! I write on Aether Mug, a weekly blog about a great number of things, like science, philosophy, design, psychology, and Japan—or rather, not about *any* of them in particular, but about the things that connect them all.
Latest Posts
Following the success of the first installment (thanks for all the succulent comments!), here is another tough thinking question for you. Before that, a couple of updates. Last week I had a lot of fun being interviewed by Jay Springett...
In this post I'm trying something different. Instead of writing about my ideas, I'm asking you a question—a tough, Aether-Mug-style question!—for you to discuss with other readers in the comments section below. Several people have told...
This post is part of my List of Introspective Descriptions. I'm always accepting "curious introspection" links and submissions from everyone, regardless of the kind of inner experience covered. Also: This blog now has comments! You can...
1 If you descend onto the Marunouchi Line platform in Ikebukuro Station on any weekday morning, you will witness an unusual train-boarding ritual. Like in any other Japanese station, people wait in line at the two sides of where each...
@keyframes rainbow { 0% { color: #ff6b6b; } 14% { color: #feca57; } 28% { color: #48dbfb; } 42% { color: #1dd1a1; } 57% { color: #5f27cd; } 71% { color: #ff9ff3; } 85% { color: #54a0ff; } 100% { color: #ff6b6b; } } .animate-rainbow {...
Roughly three years and three months ago I executed what I call my Master-Switch Plan: I resigned from my stable, well-paid position at an excellent up-and-coming Japanese startup and hired myself. That same company immediately became my...
This is the final episode in the series of curated quote collections "Darwin in His Own Words". Darwin the Fun-Loving Young Fellow Darwin the Voyager Darwin the Man of His Times Darwin the Witness Darwin El Naturalista At last, it's time...
It should be clear by now that Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle is much more than a log of scientific notes. Descriptions of nature and its mysteries abound—we'll see them in the next episode—but his book is also a window into his...
This is the third installment in a series of curated quote collections I've gathered while reading Darwin's famous travel book. You can also read episode 1 and episode 2. If you've read the previous two posts, you might have formed the...
This is the second installment in a series of curated quote collections I've gathered while reading Darwin's famous travel book. Read episode 1 here. Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle was more than a series of fun episodes. It was,...
I recently read a book with the nicely vintage title of Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle, describing their Examination of the Southern Shores of South America, and the Beagle's...
Overcast. An old loghouse with a balding thatched roof along a mountain path. Goats linger about, munching at the anemic grass that grows around the building. A wooden sign, which might have once hung high but is now resting oblique...
Wow. It's been over a year since I published my last essay on Plankton Valhalla. That was the second episode in a trilogy, and my work only got harder after that. I worked on the third piece on and off (mostly on) for the past 13 months,...
Disclaimer: these are little more than reading notes. I'll list some excerpts and highlights from a paper I've loved reading recently, with only marginal explanations. Rougher than usual, but this shortcut allows me to share things I...
You're looking for the Place. Not a special place, or an important place. The right place for yourself. A place that means nothing to anyone else, but that completely fills the nooks and crannies of your being and lets you hold on to the...