Austin Kleon, in his book Show Your Work, introduced me to the concept of a Wunderkammer. Translated “wonder chamber” or “cabinet of curiosities”, it was essentially a place where educated and wealthy people of old would gather artifacts, relics, books, rare specimens, and other treasured items to document for themselves and to share with others. Think of them as the precursor to museums. They were filled with things that had special significance, a memory, or a story worth sharing.
I’ve always had a wide range of interests. While my curiosity hasn’t caused me to amass a room of treasures, I’ve stumbled across and developed quite the collection of quotes, ideas, stories, wisdom, videos, podcasts, and all sorts of intellectual goodies.
Unlike Wunderkammer keepers of old, I’m terrible at documenting and remembering what I’ve come across. That’s made it difficult to do anything meaningful with what I learn.
Someone once said that if you want to really understand and internalize something, you should teach it, or at the very least share it, with someone else.
So I’m staking this place out as my online Wunderkammer of sorts. A collection, or reserve, if you will, of ideas that I come across. A place where I can gather interesting things that I come across and share a few of my own thoughts or stories about it.
Welcome to my Wunderkammer.