The gift of the rabbit hole

One thing I really miss from my time at the HfK is giving myself permission to go down rabbit holes as deeply as I wanted. I learned a ton about microcomputers, maps, 3D printing, VR, and I read books about media theory. I still benefit from that time today. I consider the ability to dive as deeply as you want into a topic, work on it undisturbed, and carry your key findings forward as a privilege. During university, I worked as a freelancer and earned enough money that I didn’t need to work during the semester. At one point, my family had to step in because a client suddenly couldn’t pay me. Not everyone has that amount of luck or a safety net. Maybe I am part of the Comfort Class. Cal Newport takes the idea of the rabbit hole and calls it “Engineered Wonder,” explaining it through the example of Walt Disney, who bought a house to pursue his hobby of building a scale railroad project, which later sparked the idea for a theme park. Engineered wonder is when you take something that…