Starting up Without Breaking Down - Part 3 (Come to the launch in Oxford - event details as per the photo here) I was a young child in the 1970s, and in 1980, when I was 8, my life, like many others was changed forever by a television programme, Cosmos. At the time I would … Continue reading The Search for My Pale Blue Dot
Starting Up and Breaking Down

Becoming an Entrepreneur when you have Poor Mental Health: A Journey in Unknown Parts You are probably here because you know one of three sides to me. As very few people know all three, let me say a paragraphette about each. They will quickly make clear why I am keeping this very public diary. I … Continue reading Starting Up and Breaking Down
Where the Limits Lie
“You don’t know where your limits are until you try to do something you can’t do. That’s where your limit is – right there where you quit” (Lazarus Lake) We all know “you can do anything you put your mind to” is just not true (we do, right, I mean, it’s not even science; it’s … Continue reading Where the Limits Lie
How You See Me, How You Don’t – Aaron Swartz Day
Please comment on the latest iteration in the comments or by replying on twitter to @agnieszkasshoes I would like to hear from all #actuallyautistic voices as well as any and all employers willing to consider this project You can download a pdf of the project as it stands here. Background "You ought always to be … Continue reading How You See Me, How You Don’t – Aaron Swartz Day
Unlock Everything: Mycelium Hackathon One – Unlock Employment
The Mycelium project is now well underway. You can learn all about Mycelium, the creative thinking training tool that mixes mediaeval alchemy and neuroscience, on this website. A key part of the project is empowering people to innovate and tackle the challenges facing the world. And a key part of that is innovating through hackathons … Continue reading Unlock Everything: Mycelium Hackathon One – Unlock Employment
Learning on the Run: 2017 Race to the Stones
CN: anxiety, suicidal ideation Every time you run an ultramarathon you learn something new about yourself. And the further you go, and the slower you go, the more you are likely to learn. Which means, at least on the second score, I should be a genius by now. This was my third Race to the … Continue reading Learning on the Run: 2017 Race to the Stones
Mycelium: Winner of the Oxford University Humanities Innovation Challenge
Creativity is a key part of what I do here. I spend a lot of time thinking about what creativity is, about the conditions under which it flourishes, and about how to increase everyone’s capacity for creativity – both the things that I can do personally and directly by teaching, writing, and developing tools; and … Continue reading Mycelium: Winner of the Oxford University Humanities Innovation Challenge
Basic Income Day: Why it Matters for Creatives
Today is Labor Day. Which is why it was the perfect day for groups within the basic income movement to pronounce it Basic Income Day. That’s because one of the key things the basic income movement stands for is the decoupling of the link between work and the money that we need in order to … Continue reading Basic Income Day: Why it Matters for Creatives
Cosmology, Collidors, and Creatively Playing the Fool
I was delighted to be asked to talk about creativity at this year's Hawkesbury Upton Literary Festival with two of my heroes. Orna Ross's brilliance and kindness and inspiration have meant so much over the years to me personally as well as the wider literary world. Joanna Penn is a creative and motivational inspiration to … Continue reading Cosmology, Collidors, and Creatively Playing the Fool
Just One Thing
From time to time I post questions on Facebook about the kind of strange question that keeps me up at night. Usually the kind of question that will either one day form the kernel of a thriller should I have my fictional hat on, or a piece of speculative futurology or creative research should I … Continue reading Just One Thing