Hogere wiskunde

Na vijf jaar en 140 gesprekken voelde ik vermoeidheid. Dat had zeker te maken met de stress die een verlieslatend bedrijf met zich meebrengt en plots wegviel toen we eindelijk break-even begonnen te draaien. Maar het was ook een stuk moeilijker geworden om nog te voelen wie ik eigenlijk graag wilde spreken en waarom. In …

Perec and procedural design

With the "Zwijgen is geen optie" (Silence is not an option) website, I've always been aiming for a design that could evolve over time rather than having to redesign every few years. Just like the timelessness of the content we produce and our signature monochrome film editing, the foundation of our design should have a …

The price for government subsidies

Every few months someone asks me why Zwijgen is geen optie ("Silence is not an option", read more about it here) hasn't applied for government subsidies. It's a good question. Because the choice, even though I'm not always so sure it has been the right one, has been a crucial one for this project. My …

On scale

I've been reading a bit of literature on physics. Turns out matter doesn't exist? Matter only exists when two particles 'meet'? Aka: in the physical world there is no matter, there are only events? (I'm summarizing here. Badly, probably.) It reminded me of something I read in Ray Dalio's book a few years ago: the …

Nee.

'Nee.' Geen boze ogen of gespannen mond, geen streepjes tussen haar wenkbrauwen die een frons verraden, geen diepe dreigende stem. 'Nee.' Geen witte knokkels en geen gebalde vuisten. Geen gekrulde tenen. Geen borst vooruit pas op want ik meen het. Geen gerechte rug. Geen spanning in dat lijf. Niets, niets, niets. Gewoon. 'Nee.' Ze straalt. …

On ambition

I'm drinking a beer with a well-known author in a small Antwerp pub. We're talking about the promotion tour surrounding his book launch. The endless queue of ill-prepared interviewers he has to work through. Then he starts talking about a 20-something woman who works for a small magazine aimed towards the Christian community in our …

Go rogue

I had the honour of speaking at an event about constructive journalism organised by the Brussels Center for Journalism Studies. The other speakers - both professors - brought some awesome research about what constructive journalism is and how it may benefit public debate in our society. But I learned even more from the conversations with …

Tough love

Whenever I'm working on a new plan, I try to make a list of people who are more knowledgeable than I am on the subject at hand and ask for their advice. The earlier I am in the process, the more it resembles "thinking out loud". Instead I'm not under the shower and alone but …

Impact

For a long time I didn't really understand what the value of our work at ZIGO was. The personal value was clear: I just love asking honest questions to people I look up to. But why were people watching and sharing? Why did people offer to pay for something we gave away for free? The …

For profit

I find myself annoyed by the artificial divide between non-profit organisations doing good for the world and for-profit companies only caring about profit. Of course, their respective company structures create different incentives and incentives shape behaviour. But on a global scale I see too many examples of beneficial impact by for-profit companies to agree with …