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!
1. What’s something you discovered early on about how you think or express yourself?
It wasn’t until university that I realised I struggle to absorb or retain information through listening alone. Lectures and verbal explanations never really clicked for me. I learn best through visual aids, diagrams, or doing things hands-on. Looking back, I gravitated toward more practical subjects not out of preference, but because I could actually retain the material, unlike in subjects like languages or history, which relied heavily on auditory teaching.
2. Who is your work or thinking influenced by?
Early in my career, I worked for a boss who showed me how powerful charisma can be in leadership. He made me realise that communication is the aperture through which the world sees you. Since then, I’ve come to believe that the ability to engage people and articulate your thoughts clearly, and with presence, is a superpower worth honing.
3. What kind of things spark your curiosity?
Scientific breakthroughs.
Understanding how people think and why.
Cultural differences in behaviour, norms, and worldviews.
4. What’s something that you’d love to fix or redesign in everyday life?
The UK school system still doesn’t teach two of the most essential life skills: personal finance and nutrition. That feels like a huge gap and a fixable one.
5. What worries you about thinking today?
People often believe they think critically when, in reality, they haven’t examined their views deeply enough. Opinions become personal identity, and challenging them is seen as a personal attack. As a result, open debate is becoming dangerous territory, causing offence is now treated almost as a moral failing. We’re losing the cultural muscle of critical thinking and the resilience needed to question and be questioned.
Welcome to Rethink! Fascinating answers. I'm with you on the UK school system. Why is my son doing the same geography and history GCSE syllabus that I studied 30 years ago!
Thanks! Been following you since your Ted Talk… now I’ve leapt into the world of Substack and there you are again 😂 I’ve quoted your definition of trust in just about every leadership conversation I’ve been in for years…
Ha yes, I saw your post about finding your geography work. It inspired me to go for a trip down memory lane in my university course work… and found so much from my Computer Science degree that I’d forgotten but is so relevant today on AI… hasn’t changed! I followed your lead and posted about it on LinkedIN 😃🙌
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!
1. What’s something you discovered early on about how you think or express yourself?
It wasn’t until university that I realised I struggle to absorb or retain information through listening alone. Lectures and verbal explanations never really clicked for me. I learn best through visual aids, diagrams, or doing things hands-on. Looking back, I gravitated toward more practical subjects not out of preference, but because I could actually retain the material, unlike in subjects like languages or history, which relied heavily on auditory teaching.
2. Who is your work or thinking influenced by?
Early in my career, I worked for a boss who showed me how powerful charisma can be in leadership. He made me realise that communication is the aperture through which the world sees you. Since then, I’ve come to believe that the ability to engage people and articulate your thoughts clearly, and with presence, is a superpower worth honing.
3. What kind of things spark your curiosity?
Scientific breakthroughs.
Understanding how people think and why.
Cultural differences in behaviour, norms, and worldviews.
4. What’s something that you’d love to fix or redesign in everyday life?
The UK school system still doesn’t teach two of the most essential life skills: personal finance and nutrition. That feels like a huge gap and a fixable one.
5. What worries you about thinking today?
People often believe they think critically when, in reality, they haven’t examined their views deeply enough. Opinions become personal identity, and challenging them is seen as a personal attack. As a result, open debate is becoming dangerous territory, causing offence is now treated almost as a moral failing. We’re losing the cultural muscle of critical thinking and the resilience needed to question and be questioned.
Welcome to Rethink! Fascinating answers. I'm with you on the UK school system. Why is my son doing the same geography and history GCSE syllabus that I studied 30 years ago!
Thanks! Been following you since your Ted Talk… now I’ve leapt into the world of Substack and there you are again 😂 I’ve quoted your definition of trust in just about every leadership conversation I’ve been in for years…
Ha yes, I saw your post about finding your geography work. It inspired me to go for a trip down memory lane in my university course work… and found so much from my Computer Science degree that I’d forgotten but is so relevant today on AI… hasn’t changed! I followed your lead and posted about it on LinkedIN 😃🙌