{"stub_of":{"origin":"https:\/\/www.msweet.net\/notes\/","id":"1c52bkye1pnreb6qn348pss1p1","version":1,"cited":{"retrieved":"2026-11-11T21:20:39Z","source":"Notes | Matthew McDowell-Sweet","author":"Matthew McDowell-Sweet","excerpt":"I\u2019ve heard this described as \u201ccreative tension\u201d but \u201cthe flame\u201d is much more evocative. > I think people who live this way actually have two responsibilities: (1) to take what the flame within us insp\u2026","url":"https:\/\/www.msweet.net\/notes\/937-amber-toads"}},"updated":"2026-11-11T21:20:33Z","content_md":"![[5z571xhtjb0mqvgqsygdfehq53]]\n\n![[641cgjgb2tjx48wf13t2tthy04]]\n\n![[1c52bkye1pnreb6qn348pss1p1]]","changelog":[{"version":1,"at":"2026-11-11T21:20:33Z","note":null}],"transclusions":[{"id":"5z571xhtjb0mqvgqsygdfehq53","version":1},{"id":"641cgjgb2tjx48wf13t2tthy04","version":1},{"id":"1c52bkye1pnreb6qn348pss1p1","version":1,"origin":"https:\/\/www.msweet.net\/notes\/"}],"created":"2026-11-11T21:20:33Z","page":"f\/4qtkz3f5a67cr8x0pekg883e2z\/","content_hash":"sha256:98638e23dd9df272b4a1fe1e22f8bb942ac9ca334ff1681ad57464d148951af9","id":"4qtkz3f5a67cr8x0pekg883e2z","kind":"thread","origin":"https:\/\/ammdi.hyperphor.com\/blyg\/","content_html":"<div><div> <\/div><blockquote class=\"blyg-transclusion\" data-blyg-id=\"5z571xhtjb0mqvgqsygdfehq53\" data-blyg-version=\"1\"><div><div><blockquote>People who make things, especially make things from an aesthetic epicenter within themselves, often talk about the source of their creative engine as something within them that is not entirely legible to them.<\/blockquote><\/div><ul class=\"blyg-children\"><li><div><span>From the post you cite <a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/thesephist.com\/posts\/flame\" target=\"_blank\">Keeping the flame | thesephist.com<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/blockquote><blockquote class=\"blyg-transclusion\" data-blyg-id=\"641cgjgb2tjx48wf13t2tthy04\" data-blyg-version=\"1\"><div><span>This seems somewhat related to an ongoing discussion with Venkat about &quot;genius&quot;. He doesn&apos;t like the term, but I think it points exactly to the illegibility of creative ability and motivation. <a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/ammdi.hyperphor.com\/blyg\/f\/1c31n37qm3g8r5014tem27z23g\/\" target=\"_blank\">AMMDI: Hey man take a compliment! I guess I&apos;m ideologically not all\u2026<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/blockquote><blockquote class=\"blyg-transclusion\" data-blyg-id=\"1c52bkye1pnreb6qn348pss1p1\" data-blyg-origin=\"https:\/\/www.msweet.net\/notes\/\" data-blyg-version=\"1\"><p>I\u2019ve heard this described as \u201ccreative tension\u201d but \u201cthe flame\u201d is much more evocative.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I think people who live this way actually have two responsibilities: (1) to take what the flame within us inspires us to put into the world, and realize it faithfully, and (2) to keep the flame alive, so that even if our realizations are poorly made or the world doesn\u2019t treasure it as we do, the flame can live to fight another day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"source\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thesephist.com\/posts\/flame\">Keeping the flame | thesephist.com \u2197<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>","version":1,"media":[],"blyg":"0.3"}