Strands of Genius: Spinning Data Into Thought, Ethnographies through Dollar Street, An Obituary for a Quiet Life
Plus: Apollo Robbins, the amazing pickpocket magician
WRITING FROM | Auckland, NZ
WORKING ON | ~*planning a sabbatical*~
LOOKING AHEAD
Aug 10-17 | Auckland, NZ
Aug 17-21 | Matakana Bay, NZ
Aug 21-24 | Hong Kong
Aug 24-?? | Thailand
October 1-22 | Japan
Oct 22-Nov 4 | Isla Mujeres, MX
Nov 4-Nov 12 | Nashville, TN
Nov 12-23 | Chattanooga, TN
Nov 24-Dec 5 | Isla Mujeres, MX
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Coming back to visit Auckland, NZ has been absolutely amazing. Turning clients into friends has been one of the best accomplishments of our career. We got to work with Sophie Joiner and Andrew Reinholds when they were at OMD (in Auckland) years and years ago, and these days we’re hanging out with Sophie’s kids and cooking dinner together. It’s just such a joy and we’re so thankful for these experiences. We also got to hang out with our friend Reuben Halper, who we’ve known now since 2016 — what started as an email exchange turned into a friendship of nearly 10 years, dang!
In especially exciting news, we met Rob Campbell IN REAL LIFE… for the first time, ever! He and Faris have been internet friends for years, and we finally happened to be in the same city at the same time, which meant we had a meandering conversation that spanned several hours.
And later this week, we’ll get to visit one of my Campowerment friends who moved from LA to Matakana Bay, so we’re really filling our heart on this return to the Antipodes. For a moment we were like, “why didn’t we buy property here?!” …but then we looked at property prices and we were like WOWZA, ha! Guess we’ll settle for visiting for now ;)
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
The Team Awesome Kiwis, Sophie & Johnny, Andrew, Willow & Ruby & Zach, Reuben & our gorgeous lunch at Amano, listening to records and talking about life, front porch hangs, Jackbox TV, Cheeky Clean, Happy Mondays, 95bfm, internet friends, Rob and our meandering conversation & YOU.
:: THE LINKS ::
SPINNING DATA INTO THOUGHT
Simon Carryer writes writes about how we’ve always had some ability when it comes to searching documents, speaking and listening — but the speed and scale of our ability to perform these tasks and operations is what changing based on AI. “And, just like the Industrial Revolution, this is having increasingly radical effects on which skills are in demand, and which are becoming obsolete.” Perhaps more interestingly, he also writes about how the metaphor of “AI" as intelligence” is actually not a bad one, even though we’re far off from the truly intelligent computers. Instead, he argues that, “like human intelligence, intelligences are the product of their history. They are their parents’ children, and they reflect the biases, foibles, and also the strengths and values of their creators. They are neither more nor less innocent than the people who build them.” This is simply the introduction of a three part essay, on how computers think. Part one is decision trees and dinosaurs. Part two is Linear Regression and Lines of Succession. And Part three is called Knitting & Recommendations. (Towards Data Science)
OBITUARY FOR A QUIET LIFE
A man passes away without a word in the mountains of North Carolina, and his grandson sets out to write about the importance of a seemingly unimportant life. A short read, a beautiful read. (Bitter Southerner)
DOLLAR STREET
Moving around constantly, we can’t help but compare what things cost from country to country. Dollar Street is a project aiming to show how people really live, by visiting more than 350 families in 50 countries and collecting pictures and details around income. The premise is that we all have the same needs, but we can afford very different solutions — both from country to country, but even within. You can compare homes and lives on a “poor” to “rich” slider. It’s a fascinating way to peruse people’s lives. (Gapminder)
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:: PLUS, APOLLO ROBBINS DEMONSTRATES PICKPOCKETING TECHNIQUES::
Apollo Robbins is an absolute stunner of a magician, and the way he manipulates attention is truly astounding. You’re definitely going to want to watch this.
:: IT FINALLY HAPPENED ::
We still get excited to meet people we love from the internet, and this was a long time coming. Faris and Rob have been internet friends for nearly 20 years, and it turns out they get along just as well offline, too.
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based in Tennessee where our company is registered, our admin extraordinaire is based in Playa del Carmen, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)