This is the archival version of Ribbonfarm, a blog that was active from 2007 to 2024, with over 1,100 essays by Venkatesh Rao and a rotating cast of guest contributors. A starter sampling of posts can be found below, chosen for significance, representativeness, or variety. You can browse the full archives on the Archives tab, and learn more about the history of the blog on the About page.

By Venkatesh Rao

The Parrot2007 Bargaining with your Right Brain2008 The Rhetoric of the Hyperlink2009 The Epic Story of Container Shipping2009 The Gervais Principle, Or The Office According to "The Office"2009 The Eight Metaphors of Organization2010 A Big Little Idea Called Legibility2010 Ancient Rivers of Money2010 The Gollum Effect2011 The Return of the Barbarian2011 The Calculus of Grit2011 Welcome to the Future Nauseous2012 The Locust Economy2013 You Are Not an Artisan2013 The Economics of Pricelessness2014 How to Fall Off the Wagon2014 On the Design of Escaped Realities2015 How to be a Precious Snowflake2015 Can You Hear Me Now?2015 We Are All Architects Now2015 Immortality Begins at Forty2016 The Premium Mediocre Life of Maya Millennial2017 CEOs Don't Steer2017 The Key to Act Two2018 The Internet of Beefs2020 The Retiree2021 Salt-Seeking2023 Ribbonfarm is Retiring2024

By Guest Contributors

Navigating the Holey PlaneDrew Austin (2012) Anthropology of Mid-Sized StartupsKevin Simler (2012) I and Thou and Life in AspergerstanMike Travers (2013) Algorithmic Governance and the Ghost in the MachineSam Bhagwat (2013) We Have Them Surrounded in Their TanksJordan Peacock (2014) The Rhythms of Information: Flow-Pacing and SpacetimeRyan Tanaka (2014) The Heroine's JourneyHaley Thurston (2015) What Is Ritual?Sarah Perry (2015) Gardens Need Walls: On Boundaries, Ritual, and BeautySarah Perry (2015) The Essence of PeoplingSarah Perry (2015) Weaponized SacrednessSarah Perry (2015) Samuel Beckett's Guide to Particles and AntiparticlesBrian Skinner (2015) Productivity for Precious SnowflakesTiago Forte (2016) Minimum Viable SuperorganismKevin Simler (2016) Artem vs. PredatorArtem Litvinovich (2016) Goodhart's Law and Why Measurement is HardDavid Manheim (2016) Welcome to NixonlandCarlos Bueno (2016) Startups, Secrets, and Abductive ReasoningJoseph Kelly (2016) Crowds and TechnologyRenee DiResta (2016) The Cyberpunk SensibilitySonya Mann (2016) The Strategy of (Subversive) ConflictAdam Elkus (2016) A Brief History of Existential TerrorTaylor Pearson (2017) Why Books Are FakeSarah Perry (2017) Near-DeathnessMathew Sweet (2018) The Digital Maginot LineRenee DiResta (2018) Worlding Raga: 2 - What is a World?Ian Cheng (2019) Alamut, Bosch, Gaddis: Introduction to Epochal ArtMónica Belevan (2020)