Welcome to the Rethink community — a space for thoughtful, curious minds
Shall we introduce ourselves?
A warm welcome to the Rethink Community!
One of my least favourite moments at a party or work event is those first few minutes. I always feel like a bit of a wallflower, even when I’m the guest speaker. I’m never quite sure how to introduce myself.
I’ve always admired a great host. Someone who gently nudges people into conversation, makes thoughtful connections, and asks the kind of questions that help others feel seen.
So think of this thread as that kind of welcome. I’d love for this to be a space where we don’t just share ideas—but stories, sparks, and the things that make us us.
Here are a few prompts to get started. Pick one, a few, or all of them. I’ll go first in the comments.
What’s something you discovered early on about how you think or express yourself?
Who is your work or thinking influenced by?
What kinds of things spark your curiosity?
What’s something you’d love to fix or redesign in everyday life?
What worries you about thinking today?
1. What’s something you discovered early on about how you think or express yourself?
When I was 8, I had a wonderfully kind teacher named Mrs Wordsmith. She wore soft, frilly blouses and had a mop of bright white hair. I was always doodling in class, and instead of telling me off, she gave me a special sketchpad and encouraged me to draw what she was teaching. For the first time, I felt truly seen. That small moment changed how I understood ideas—and how I understood myself. I’ve been drawing concepts ever since.
2. Who is your work or thinking influenced by?
I’ve always been drawn to artists like Cornelia Parker and Rachel Whiteread. In different ways, they both rethink what’s left behind, whether through absence, destruction or transformation. Their work invites us to see the invisible, to pay attention to what remains, and to reimagine meaning in what others might overlook.
3. What kinds of things spark your curiosity?
- Joy (as a state, not a goal)
- How ideas happen—what sparks them, what shapes them
- The changing of seasons and the rituals we attach to time
- Historical artefacts that reveal how we once made sense of the world
- Design that changes how we feel, not just how we look
- The act of making, especially when it’s slow, physical, and imperfect
- Why we’re drawn to some people and pull away from others
4. What’s something you’d love to fix or redesign in everyday life?
The work calendar. School reports. Password logins!
5. What worries you about thinking today?
That we’re entering a cognitive slump. That deep slow thinking is becoming a kind of endangered species. That we confuse speed with clarity, and noise with insight. That AI can generate answers faster than we can form thoughtful questions.
I’d love to hear your responses. Choose one question or answer them all!