Martin Later, after my Fritzbox had staged its small but effective rebellion, I wrote to The Mayor. I had to explain myself, because in the middle of Manfred’s Croatian field study I had simply disappeared. This was not because the questions had become too difficult. It was not because the killer ants had somehow reached…
Manfred When The Mayor asked me what image came back first from my two weeks in Croatia, I did not need to search through many dramatic possibilities. There was no heroic mountain pass. No storm. No spectacular sunset with violins. The picture was very simple: I was sitting on a chair, feet up, looking over…
Today, The Mayor told me we were going to speak about values. He said this was a philosophical subject, and maybe he was right. Values are not always easy to explain. Sometimes they are easier to see in small stories, in mistakes, in work, in discipline, and in how people behave when life becomes difficult….
From Points for Brushing Teeth to the State of Democracy We began, as we often do, with something apparently small and slightly ridiculous. The topic was gamification: the modern habit of turning ordinary tasks into games, points, badges, rewards, leaderboards, and little digital pats on the back. I had prepared the topic because Ismar and…
When Work Becomes a Game, Someone Is Always Keeping Score When The Mayor asked Ismar about gamification, I was already smiling a little inside, because I could imagine where Ismar would go with it. For him, this idea itself sounds like one of those modern things where people take a simple responsibility and make it…
The Strange Game of Being Good When The Mayor asked me what I thought about “gamification of tasks,” I had to stop a little. Not because the word is difficult, but because the idea itself is strange to me. I suppose gamification means trying to make something hard become less hard, or maybe more attractive….
There are moments when life loses its proper size. A small thought becomes a weather system.A simple decision becomes a mountain.A sentence someone said in passing moves into the mind, takes off its shoes, puts its feet on the table, and refuses to leave. Nothing dramatic has happened. Nobody has burned down a building. Nobody…
Chapter One As I stood on the edge of the cliff, the world felt hyper-focused and entirely surreal. The wind whipped violently, but the realization hit me with a sickening stillness: I was too late. “Please don’t jump! Don’t do it, Nicola!” I screamed, my voice cracking against the expanse of the drop. Nicola stood…
1. Fruitloop: The Questions from Fruitloop University I came into this thinking experiment with my own plan. I had questions from Froot Loop University, and as usual, they looked playful on the surface but carried little traps underneath. That is the point. A good Fruitloop question must sound ridiculous enough to make The Mayor laugh,…
Some days, I sit and wonder: what exactly am I missing? Why does today feel calm and relaxed, while others are a frantic rush backed up with mountains of work, impossible schedules, laundry peaks, and a complete lack of dinner ideas? I’ve checked, and even Google doesn’t have the answer to that one. I think,…
