Atlas of Wonders and Monsters

Atlas of Wonders and Monsters explores a broad spectrum of ideas, weaving together creativity, philosophy, technology, art, and cultural observations. It delves into the transitions and relationships between abstract and figurative concepts, human perceptions, artistic evolutions, societal norms, and the implications of emerging technologies on future narratives and ethics.

Art and Creativity Philosophy and Ethics Technology and Innovation Cultural Observations Human Behavior and Psychology Historical Narratives Literary Analysis

Top posts of the year

And their main takeaways

The Figurative-to-Abstract Art Pipeline

1289 implied HN points • 10 Nov 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Art history Artists Painting
  1. Pioneers of abstract art often began with painting representational pictures.
  2. The shift from figurative art to abstract art is a gradual progression seen in artists like Kandinsky, Mondrian, Malevich, Pollock, and Rothko.
  3. Early abstract art skeptics may not fully appreciate the value of abstract art, but understanding the journey of artists can provide insight into their artistic development.

Please Plagiarize This Blog Post

729 implied HN points • 13 Jul 23
📚 Literature Writing Learning Art Translation
  1. You can learn a lot by copying text word by word, like understanding writing techniques and styles.
  2. Paying close attention when copying helps you notice details and mistakes that you may have missed.
  3. Copying is a valuable practice that can help you improve your writing skills by focusing on the basics.

I Wrote Half a Book About Phantom Islands and Then Discovered I Was Scooped Seven Years Ago

712 implied HN points • 27 Jul 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Cartography Maps Exploration Books
  1. Phantom islands are cartographic errors where non-existent islands were believed to exist due to various reasons.
  2. Phantom islands can result from clerical errors, illusions, incomplete exploration, deliberate fabrications, or myths.
  3. Discovering similarities with existing works can provide unique perspectives and motivate to add more uniqueness to personal projects.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

More Men Made of Miscellaneous Materials

661 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
🎭️ Culture Philosophy Fiction Literature Humor Art & Illustration
  1. Different types of argument representations exist, like straw man, steel man, and gold man, each serving unique purposes in discussions.
  2. Beyond the classic argument representations, there are variations such as glass man, diamond man, and pyrite man, each with distinct characteristics and impacts.
  3. Some argument representations, like lead man, uranium man, and wax man, may have negative effects on discussions by either polluting the debate or ascribing malicious intent to the opponent.

AI as Sparkly Magic

627 implied HN points • 19 Oct 23
🕹 Technology AI Design Innovation Digital Tools Trends
  1. Technology can feel like magic when it is not fully understood
  2. The trend of using sparkly icons in tech products to represent AI is becoming more common
  3. AI, especially large language models like GPT-4, is seen as the ultimate incomprehensible technology

Reclaiming Cornucopianism

627 implied HN points • 11 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Innovation
  1. Cornucopianism suggests that human intellect and creativity can generate an abundance of resources and solutions.
  2. Malthusianism is the opposing viewpoint that argues there are limits to growth and resources on a finite planet.
  3. The metaphor of the cornucopia can be seen as a call for techno-optimists to embrace the idea of continuous progress and innovation.

French 1790s Disco, and Other Excesses

627 implied HN points • 20 Jul 23
🎭️ Culture Fashion History Art Society Aesthetics
  1. Cultural excesses, like the French 1790s Disco and Directoire fashion, represent brief bursts of extravagant creativity.
  2. These periods of excess, though short-lived, have a lasting impact on culture and fashion.
  3. While moderation is important, occasional indulgence in extravagance and eccentricity can bring vitality and richness to life and civilization.

Trapped Among the Root Causes

610 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
🎭️ Culture Metaphor Engineering Problem Solving Environmental Issues
  1. Looking for root causes can be attractive, but sometimes it's better to focus on finding and implementing imperfect, temporary solutions instead of getting lost in the complexity of the 'true cause' of a problem.
  2. In complex systems like the environment or human societies, the idea of a single 'root cause' can be elusive, and efforts to dig deep might lead to unintended consequences due to interconnected issues.
  3. Patching things can be a practical approach, especially in evolving systems like nature and societies. Embracing the continuous cycle of problem-solving and expecting new challenges and solutions may be more sustainable than aiming for one perfect fix.

Crazy Science Idea: Tell People Something Is Possible When You Actually Have No Clue

593 implied HN points • 03 Aug 23
🔬 Science Research Innovation Fraud Discovery Progress
  1. Sometimes telling people something is possible, even if you're unsure, can lead to faster progress in finding solutions.
  2. Encouraging the pursuit of crazy ideas, even if they may not be true, can spark innovation and breakthroughs.
  3. Distorting facts slightly to make crazy ideas seem less crazy could potentially inspire more discovery and creativity.

Ethics and the Complexity of Models

559 implied HN points • 23 Nov 23
📖 Philosophy Ethics Models
  1. There are three main ethical views: deontology, consequentialism, and virtue ethics.
  2. Deontology relies on simple rules, while consequentialism involves a complex model of predicting outcomes.
  3. Virtue ethics finds a balance by relying on existing models of virtuous behavior.

One Thousand and One Notes on ‘One Thousand and One Nights’

559 implied HN points • 14 Dec 23
📚 Literature Folktales Characters Themes
  1. The collection of 'One Thousand and One Nights' showcases perseverance in undertaking big projects despite obstacles.
  2. Several stories in the collection highlight the theme of characters making dumb decisions or trusting easily.
  3. Although recursion is expected in the stories, it diminishes in the second half of the book, emphasizing the theme of perseverance instead of nested stories.

Holy Land

559 implied HN points • 12 Oct 23
🎭️ Culture Religion History Travel Mythology Narrative
  1. The Holy Land is a culturally and historically rich region that holds significance for multiple religions.
  2. The Holy Land carries great narrative weight due to its role in shaping Western mythology.
  3. The modern-day conflicts in the Holy Land have a complex and implausible backstory that draws attention from around the world.

Family Curses Are Real

508 implied HN points • 01 Sep 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health Genetics Prevention Diversity
  1. Family curses may not be supernatural, but can persist through generations via genetics and culture.
  2. Breaking hereditary curses can be challenging, as they involve genetic diversity and avoiding inbreeding.
  3. Diversity, both genetic and cultural, can help mitigate the impact of family curses and prevent their perpetuation.

End-of-Year Self-Congratulatory Gala

424 implied HN points • 28 Dec 23
🎭️ Culture Art Literature History Fiction Comics
  1. The Figurative-to-Abstract Art Pipeline was the most popular post of 2023 with significant views, likes, comments, and subscribers.
  2. The Gold-Plated Man was acknowledged as the most under-appreciated post, despite being short, it made a strong, elegant point with good cover art.
  3. The post 'One Thousand and One Notes on 'One Thousand and One Nights'' was crowned as the best post of 2023 for its rich, aesthetic, and narrative qualities.

Crushing It

407 implied HN points • 14 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Love Relationships Mental health Self-Improvement Emotions
  1. Developing feelings for fictional characters in video games or simulations is possible, showcasing the power of romantic attraction.
  2. Having a crush can result in a unique state of mind, where tasks become easier and energy levels heighten, presenting an opportunity to harness that energy for personal development.
  3. Crushes, even if unsatisfiable or deemed inappropriate, can still offer energy that can be redirected positively, such as using the crush on a boss to excel at work.

A Meaning of Christmas

390 implied HN points • 21 Dec 23
🎭️ Culture Christmas Family Meaning Traditions
  1. Christmas carols often emphasize the birth of a baby, connecting Christmas to celebrating new life and happiness.
  2. Being pro-natalist means believing in the value of having more babies for philosophical, practical, economic, and cultural reasons.
  3. Reflecting on the declining fertility rates globally, there is a cultural importance in considering the celebration of birth and supporting the idea of having children during Christmas.

The Most Nuanced Take You Will Ever Read About Sparta (and North Korea)

390 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture History Political Reality TV Entertainment Literature
  1. Sparta and North Korea were both reactionary societies that lacked free flow of ideas, causing harm to their people.
  2. Nuanced narratives like _Three_ and _Crash Landing on You_ provide valuable insights into life in closed-off societies like Sparta and North Korea.
  3. Striving for nuance rather than strong opinions is important when discussing societies that are unable to respond, like Sparta or North Korea.

Me and My AI Ugh Field

373 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Machine Learning
  1. The author struggles with conflicting feelings about their career and education choices
  2. There's a concept of 'ugh fields' where the author subconsciously avoids tasks, even in their field of interest
  3. Despite challenges, the author believes in the importance of pursuing careers aligned with genuine excitement and passion

The Forgotten Capital

271 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
🏝 Travel City exploration Monuments Cultural analysis
  1. Madrid, despite its historical significance and size, lacks a single iconic monument that stands out globally, which may contribute to its feeling of being 'normal'.
  2. The presence of iconic monuments in a city is not necessarily crucial for its day-to-day functioning, but they can play a role in enhancing a city's global recognition and status.
  3. The absence of iconic monuments in Madrid could stem from factors like historical timing, cultural preferences, or simply random chance, leading to its 'forgotten capital' status.

Dark Age Ahead: A Lukewarm Book Review

237 implied HN points • 25 Oct 23
📚 Literature Book review Analysis Cultural Preservation
  1. Jane Jacobs warns about the potential of a dark age if certain societal trends are not addressed.
  2. She highlights the importance of communities and families, and how urban planning impacts these structures.
  3. Jacobs discusses the decay in higher education, science, taxes, and self-policing, emphasizing the need for cultural dynamism to prevent societal decline.

The 29th, and Other Calendar Quirks

2 HN points • 29 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture History Philosophy
  1. The modern Gregorian calendar we use today has a quirky history, including reforms by Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII.
  2. Efforts to reform the calendar in the past, like the World Calendar or the French Republican Calendar, faced challenges due to religious traditions and practical issues.
  3. While there have been proposals to create a more uniform calendar, quirks in our current calendar are not necessarily bad and can be celebrated as unique features.

Children of the Geissler Tube

1 HN point • 17 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Physics Lighting Electronics Computers Discovery
  1. Heinrich Geissler invented the Geissler tube, a crucial technology that led to the development of modern world technologies.
  2. Geissler tubes were originally sold as novelty items before becoming important for lighting, including fluorescent and neon lights.
  3. The Geissler tube's descendants include the cathode-ray tube used in TVs, computers with vacuum tubes, transistors, and even diodes, impacting numerous aspects of our daily lives.

Toronto as Utopia

1 HN point • 10 Aug 23
🏝 Travel Cultural Diversity Multiculturalism
  1. Toronto is a diverse city with people from many different backgrounds and cultures.
  2. Utopias are not perfect societies and may have problems, but those problems can be solved by the people.
  3. A true utopia might resemble a liberal democracy where people are free to pursue their interests and cultures coexist in harmony.