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  3 min read Plato's separated soulmates: Art and Science Why they should be reunited. Around 2500 years ago, the concept of a soulmate already existed. Plato wrote that humans were once created as whole, two bodies unified into one being. Those beings were soulmates. Out of fear of their power, Zeus split them in half. Since then, the story goes: each half wanders the world searching for the other. Why am I telling you this? Partly because I love the myth (even if I don't believe there's only one perfect person waiting somewhere, but that's another topic). But also because if we borrow the metaphor for a moment, if for a second we allow ourselves to believe in soulmates, then I am convinced: Art and Science are one of those separated pairs. We tend to separate the two: 'Art is for the creative, the dreamer, the wonderer.' 'Science is for the logical, the thinker, the smart-pants.' Do you agree? To me, this is nonsense. Science is incredibly creative. ...

2 min read 'The Only Constant We Have is Change', My Yogi Tea Said Last Monday Morning Values, needs and consequently problems change. Can a valuable solution then be static? “The only constant we have is change,” my Yogi Tea said last Monday morning. In a way, it’s reformulating Heraclitus’ “all things flow” (hoti panta chorei). So, it’s ancient knowledge that we live in a world of constant change. One aspect of that change is the evolution of our norms and values. What a society believes is right or wrong changes over time.  I sometimes wonder what people of the future will declare morally wrong that we accept as normal today. The same way we look back and condemn slavery, will future generations judge how we treat animals in our food production processes today?  Not only values but also problems change. The issues we face are not static; they evolve as societies, technologies and environments evolve. Solutions that once seemed reasonable (like tons of metal boxes moving on...

3 min read A Surfer's Mindset for Tackling the Worlds Toughest Problems One doesn’t surf the wave - one moves with it. Don't go into conversations too rigid, stay flexible and open minded. It’s late summer. The sun sits low on the horizon. I’m out on my board, fifty meters from shore. Waves roll in rhythmically, building slowly. I sense the next one is mine to take. I paddle, glance over my shoulder and get up. The board catches; I glide along the face of the wave. Suddenly the lip breaks in front of me. I have to adjust, carve around, find my balance again, and turn to the other side.  A beautiful tunnel opens up ahead. I take it. For a moment, it’s just me and the water. Then I remember a day from ten years ago, when I was just learning to surf. Back then, I fought against the water, struggling to stay upright, trying to force my way through. But that day, in full exhaustion, a thought surfaced: Instead of trying to control the wave, I should trust it - let it guide me. Som...