The creative power of not knowing
Austin Kleon on embracing uncertainty
PsychologyCulture
Maria Konnikova.
Maria Konnikova on psychology, decision-making, and the art of thinking well.
Recent essays
25 of 25A quick update!
(And apology for the silent treatment)
Decision making at the highest stakes
Lessons from grad school — and one of the best poker players in the world, Jason Koon
Constant, Constant, Multi-tasking Craziness
Insights from David Epstein's "Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better"
Is tech the utopian answer to...everything?
Tom Clancy's response to Kurt Vonnegut
The importance of farting around
What Kurt Vonnegut teaches us about deep thinking and what it means to be fully human
Playing chess like a poker player
An excerpt from "Thinking Sideways," by Jennifer Shahade
An April Fool's favorite
From the archives...
Sucker or cynic?
How McKay Coppins torched $10k and framed it as an indictment of sports betting
Kylie Jenner does poker
That can be great for the game...with a few tweaks
The fight for our attention
Why it's good to be forced to uni-task
The first universal law of psychology
Tom Griffiths and the frontiers of the mind
A heretic, a poet, and a story of free speech
On the space between hatred and ignorance
The power of the (literally) written word
Why handwriting wins out over typing, over and over
A conversation with Tod Goldberg
Writing, Vegas, crime: Tod and I talk through it all
Facing the new year with a stick
A wish for all things wonderful in 2026, from Seamus Heaney
The man who mistook his imagination for the truth
The disappointing reality of one of my (ex-)heroes, Oliver Sacks
From Dante Alighieri to David Trent
An excerpt from Matthew Pearl's "The Award"
Is it ever ok to use AI in a creative setting?
A poker-world fiasco with real-world creative implications
In defense of the em-dash
I don't use AI in my writing. Ever. But the em-dash? Always.
Good things for those who wait
(Or a creative title for an apology for lateness...)
Living your best life
The Nobels and the importance of getting away from it all
Funny or offensive?
The Far Side, Jane Goodall, and a lesson in humor we can all take to heart
Why do we find things funny?
An ode of sorts to one of my fav cartoonists, Asher Perlman, and his new book, "Hi, It's Me Again"
What's in a name?
Nominative determinism, poker, and why there may be more to your name than you think