I get asked this a lot: why manifestos? Why not essays, or books, or just posts?
The answer is that a manifesto is the most honest form I know.
The genre demands commitment
An essay can hedge. A blog post can be casual. A tweet can be disposable. But a manifesto? A manifesto has to stand for something. The form itself creates accountability.
When you call something a manifesto, you're saying: I believe this enough to plant a flag. I'm willing to be wrong in public. I'm willing to be argued with.
That's the level of commitment good thinking requires — and rarely gets.
The form is old but the spirit is current
Manifestos have been used by artists, revolutionaries, philosophers, and weirdos for centuries. The Communist Manifesto. The Futurist Manifesto. The Agile Manifesto. The Maker's Bill of Rights.
What they share isn't ideology — it's urgency. Something needs to be said. Here it is. Take it or leave it.
That's the energy I'm going for. Not revolutionary (probably). But earnest. And specific.
100 is the right number
One manifesto is a statement. Ten is a body of work. One hundred is a worldview.
By the end of this quest, you should be able to read these 100 manifestos and know exactly how I think — about work, about creativity, about technology, about what makes a good life.
That's the goal. We're just getting started.