All posts by Caveat Magister

Caveat is Burning Man's Philosopher Laureate. A founding member of its Philosophical Center, he is the author of The Scene That Became Cities: what Burning Man philosophy can teach us about building better communities, and Turn Your Life Into Art: lessons in Psychologic from the San Francisco Underground. He has also written several books which have nothing to do with Burning Man. He has finally got his email address caveat (at) burningman (dot) org working again. He tweets, occasionally, as @BenjaminWachs

What Burning Man Can Teach the Surgeon General About Curing Loneliness

May 18, 2023 By Caveat Magister

The Surgeon General has declared that loneliness and isolation are an epic health crisis and must be addressed. According to ...Read More

March 21, 2023 By Caveat Magister

Since I started this series, I’ve gotten a few messages from people saying (more or less): “YES, I want to ...Read More

February 28, 2023 By Caveat Magister

My first post in this series explored the way in which Decommodified art can do things that commodified art can’t. ...Read More

November 30, 2022 By Caveat Magister

This is part III in Caveat's series about "decommodifying permission" and figuring out how to square the needs of a ...Read More

November 1, 2022 By Caveat Magister

In my first post in this series, I said that decommodified art can do things that commercial art can't. But ...Read More

October 18, 2022 By Caveat Magister

For the past year I’ve been visiting different Burning Man communities and offering to work with local artists and creators ...Read More

September 22, 2022 By Caveat Magister

My first several days on the playa did not feel like Burning Man to me. It felt strange and unfamiliar. ...Read More

September 16, 2022 By Caveat Magister

I have a new metaphor for the way Burning Man changes. For the last 10-ish years, I’ve been a part ...Read More

April 4, 2022 By Caveat Magister

Hey, how do transformative experiences work? Great question! In February I led the first in a series of virtual panel ...Read More

December 1, 2021 By Caveat Magister

Caveat is Burning Man’s Philosopher Laureate and has been writing about Burning Man culture and community for years. His writing ...Read More