“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has”
Hi I'm Priya. I believe in the power of friendship.
Specifically:
I believe in scenius, which I call "the Great Scene Theory of History."
What is scenius? Start here, and then go here, and here and here.
Many of the historical figures I look up to were embedded in a community of collaborators.
I'm most interested in culture-building. How do you create positive-sum norms both at a hyper-localized and national level?
The smallest unit of culture is two people. I find it useful to study the cultural dynamics of two because it reduces complexity. When studying bigger groups of people, it's hard to identify cause-and-effect! My favorite book on two-person cultures is Powers of Two. It's about famous duos: Lennon and McCartney, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Pierre and Marie Curie, and others.
I also like to zoom out and study culture at the state level. My favorite book on national culture-building is From Third World to First, Lee Kuan Yew's account of how he changed Singapore's culture over three decades.
What I Do
I write sometimes. My most viral post is How to Live Near Your Friends.
I've started and run two co-living projects, one in San Francisco, and one in New York City.
I helped found a community university, and teach two classes there.
I’m currently growing a baby.
Collaborators
My primary collaborator is my husband, Andrew Rose. Together we've started two co-living projects, one community university, and one failed SaaS startup. I'm looking forward to our future collaboration, the House of Rose (i.e. raising kids together).
Mr. and Mrs. Rose Daniel Golliher is a close friend and now roommate. We take work breaks together almost every day, usually to go on "diet walkies" (where we walk to McDonald’s to get a diet coke and talk through what we’re working on). Daniel's influence, and in particular his course The Foundations of New York, was the main cause of Andrew and I committing to New York City long-term.
I’ve collaborated with a few other friends on small to medium-sized projects, and I look forward to larger collaborations in the future 🥰
People Who Inspire Me
I'm most inspired by Marie Curie. Her biography, written by her daughter Eve Curie, is one of my favorite books of all time. I had to put it down every 10 pages because it made me cry so many times.
I'm very inspired by Lee Kwan Yew and his approach to statecraft.
I'm inspired by the founding fathers. I’ve had too many Hamilton singalongs with friends to count.
Podcasts n Talks
Guides
I am putting together a few work-in-progress guides. The guides were inspired by this Visa tweet and this Visa book-ish thing. I’ll add more guides here over time:
