The Photographer Who Takes No Pictures
How a trip in 2012 transformed my relationship with photography—from staged performances to capturing genuine moments that matter, for engagement rather than validation.
Simone Salis
Head of Innovation & AI Systems. Founder of Agensum. Italian aesthetics, American pragmatism.
Latest posts
For a Business, Should Making (Extra) Money Be Incidental?
Humans are desire-driven machines: a business should help dissipate desires by satisfying them without exploiting you.
Every Enemy Wears Your Face
The enemy in your head is usually wearing your face. On projection, the villains we invent, and the chair we can't see ourselves sitting in.
The Postcard and the Thing Itself (On Falling in Love with Ideas)
My meditation teacher said something that stopped me cold: “We fall in love with the idea of a person, and then we fight so hard to keep it alive.”
The Mirror With No Reflection
From lovers to spouses, from employers to parental approval, we search for ourselves in others' eyes—creating perhaps the most elaborate illusion ever sustained: that validation exists outside the self that seeks it.
Consumerism: The First Universal Religion Humans Actually Practice
From Apple's glass cathedrals to unboxing rituals and tech prophets, we replaced religious behavioral patterns with product worship without acknowledging it—creating perhaps the first truly global faith.
What If We Made Advertising Illegal?
What if we banned all advertising? Not regulate it—abolish it. This proposal would transform manipulation machines, and maybe save democracy itself. A thought experiment worth considering.
The Antiportfolio: Counter-advice for Aspiring Artists
Why ten years ago I quit my passion as a job to follow my passions as just passions.
Your Teenage Self is Not a Bug, It's a Feature
Between middle-class stability and creative resistance, there's a teenage part of us keeping watch. Maybe it's right.
Why I Make Smart Devices Dumber: A Privacy Advocate's Reflection
When you replace a vacuum robot's proprietary brain with open-source firmware, you are not just modifying a device—you are making a statement about ownership and control. Sometimes the smartest choice is to make devices dumber.
The Attention Wars: Why Creative Time Is Now Contraband
In a world of endless pings, every creative act becomes rebellion. This isn't about time management—it's about protecting your spark in a system designed to extinguish it.
AI ‘Street Photography’ Isn’t Photography: What We Lose by Simulating Experience
When we pretend AI generation is street photography, we're not just misusing terms—we're surrendering authentic engagement with reality.
Beyond Borgmann: Single-Task Tools and the Future of Meaningful Technology
Single-task tools complement modern devices by combining technological capability with intentional constraints. From offline cameras to e-ink readers, these tools preserve human agency while embracing progress. How thoughtful friction and focused design create more meaningful engagement.
The Productivity Paradox: Why Doing More Leads to Less
In a world obsessed with optimization, what if the most productive strategy is to stop maximizing productivity? Discover how strategic inefficiency might be the key to reclaiming your work, your time, and your sanity.
In Praise of Inconvenience: The Hidden Costs of a Convenient World
Explore how devotion to convenience reshapes human experience, and why embracing the friction of inconvenience might restore depth and meaning to your life.