Soaring Solo

An unexpected revelation while listening to Ezra Klein's early Jan podcast.

Gabby here! A couple of weeks ago, my fashion Substacks were blowing up about Ezra Klein’s recent episode on “How to Discover Your Own Taste”. During the episode, Ezra interviews Kyle Chayka, a staff writer at The New Yorker, who has written books like “The Longing for Less: Living with Minimalism” and the forthcoming “Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture.”

Ezra and Kyle talk through their thoughts about the influencing culture - how technology and algorithms have created so much similarity and like-mindedness in a world where differences and uniqueness actually should be celebrated as beautiful, fulfilling and valuable. While of course their conversation encouraged me to reflect on the items in my closet and my personal (evolving) style, I had a different ah-ha moment than they may intended listeners to have.

At one point, Kyle talks about the idea of scarcity - how when you feel or experience a sense of scarcity, that’s when meaning is created. When we are constantly surrounded by infinite possibilities, we aren’t forced to sit with the thing(s) right in front of us. We aren’t forced to have the patience or willpower to figure out if we truly like that thing in front of us. Sensory deprivation can actually lead you to having a more profound experience, he claims.

I’ve shared in the past about a constant desire or sense of longing for things, and this feeling is real when it comes to my shopping addiction. And my mind did go there for a moment, but my more thoughtful, second reaction to this amazing idea was about the single-girl era I’m currently living. Bear with me while I ramble here for a bit…