🏺✨The Nexialist #0214

laboratory planet | cloud capitalism | mono-capital to poly-capital | crocs transformative history | high fashion | cheekiest potter | zaftig | butterfly

Feb 27, 2025

welcome to your weekly zeitgeist nanodose, the nexialist

hey, you (pointing at you with a toe, as per the above gif)! i hope this message finds you well. i’m currently preparing to speak at the rotterdam business school’s innovation week, next wednesday. i’ve been putting together a class called “how to be a nexialist: foresight, cultural insights, curatorship and other skills for the 21st century.” i’m collaging many things i’ve shared here over the past years and it’s nice to see how things are falling into place so nicely. needless to say, i’m super excited about it as it’s a first time for me, so wish me good luck and let’s see how it goes.

for today’s edition, i’ll cut the intro short and let you enjoy the rest. i hope you enjoy it! 🫀✨

—Rodrigo Turra

Buy Me a Coffee? ☕️

🌐laboratory planet

a few weeks ago i told about a bestiary of the anthropocene (tn#211), and i’ve been slowly reading (and obsessing over) it. last weekend, i found this quote opening one of the chapters, mentioning Ewen Chardronnet’s laboratory planet and it has been echoing in my mind:

"Since the Second World War, the planet has gradually become alife-sized laboratory. The previous model of the 'factory planet' has given way to the 'laboratory planet'. The planet has been captured, transformed into capital and put to work becoming a stranger to itself in the process, or being managed like any other innovative company. We are the laboratory subjects, but can we somehow regain possession of this immense, autonomous machine that has now taken on a momentum of its own? Can we change the destiny and the choices of this laboratory?"

brainsparks: a bestiary of the anthropocene (tn#211), chemical colonization (tn#144), plantations, computers, industrial control (tn#125), green colonialism (tn#145), fordian slip (tn#191)

🤳cloud capitalism

i’ve shared yanis varoufakis here before, when he shared his view on the technofeudalism (tn#143) with find ourselves in. i hadn’t heard (or i didn’t remember) the term cloudalist, as a portmanteau of cloud+capitalist. also, it’s nice to hear him explaining his thesis in his own words. it’s another way to put eugenio bucci’s idea of the superindustry of the imaginary (tn#28).

“The cloudalist has a power that no capitalist ever had. They have the power to make you and I, unwaged, without even realizing that we're working for them, produce part of their command capital. Every time we move around with our phone that has Google Maps on it, Google Maps knows where we are. That increases the command capital of Google. So we are contributing directly [as] capital. Not through some kind of market, without us being waged or part of the labor process at all. This is a new power that capitalist never had.”

brainsparks: technofeudalism (tn#143), netocracy vs. consumtariat (tn#18), digital feudalism (tn#136), superindustry of the imaginary (tn#28), hyperindustry of the atificial imaginary (tn#118), fracking eyeballs (tn#150), parasite culture (tn#191)

🌎mono-capital to poly-capital

Thomas Klaffke

shared this post by luis alberto camargo in his newsletter and the timing is perfect. luis alberto is “the founder and Director of OpEPA (Organization for Environmental Education and Protection), a nonprofit organization registered in Colombia and the USA (501c3) focusing on advancing nature-based and regenerative education, heritage interpretation, and weaving.”

At Davos, investment, impact, and sustainability were central themes. However, discussions were primarily confined to a mono-capital mindset, where financial returns define value. In a world facing multiple crises—climate breakdown, social inequities, and systemic fragility—this approach is not only insufficient; it exacerbates the crisis.
To transition towards a regenerative, equitable future, we must broaden our value understanding and incorporate poly-capital frameworks into our economic and governance systems.
The Need for a Poly-Capital Framework
Current economic models treat financial capital as the only form of value, neglecting essential interconnected assets:
1️⃣ Natural Capital – Biodiversity, clean water, and fertile soil often seen as externalities.
2️⃣ Social Capital – Trust, collaboration, and community well-being are vital for flourishing.
3️⃣ Human Capital – Knowledge and creativity.
4️⃣ Cultural & Spiritual Capital – Meaning and identity.

brainspark: triad of capital (tn#203), content capital (tn#96), natural capital (tn#122), financialization of you (tn#47), three elements of innovation (tn#75)

🐊crocs transformative history

are crocs the monobloc (tn#213) shoes? last week, i brought the video about the monobloc chair, which is also created through injection molding. then this appeared in my feed. to me, crocs are such a good examples of taste dynamics:

The Crocs story is that of a remarkable transformation, from their origins as medical and sailing shoes to their surprising status as high-fashion symbols.

brainsparks: monobloc (tn#213), the cult of ugly aesthetics (tn#134), let us be ugly and dumb (tn#134),

🧁high fashion

i’ve been obsessing with addison rae and her rebranding post-tiktok. i was not sure why the video felt so compelling, then i got it: it felt like 2012 and the tumblrcore is oozing at every second.

brainspark: madonna-ology (tn#211), aquamarine (tn#211)

🏺cheekiest potter

such a relief and calm to visit katrin moye’s pottery studio. she starts the video calling herself shandy (and 18th centur a slang word for a little bit off and a bit silly,) but on the contrary, i’ve found her to be very sane, with so much clarity of what she wants to do in her art. i mean, i would love to follow these for everything:

If my work ticks all of those five boxes then I know that I'll have made something that I'm happy with.
1- Is it complicated enough?
2- Is it simple enough?
3- Is it crazy enough?
4- Is it beautiful enough?
5- Is it stupid enough?

she made a series of vases about menopause and they are so precious. her mottos and made-up coats of arms focus on the aspects of menopause. this one was my favorite: 'Productivum Non Generatiua' which is 'productive not reproductive.'

brainsparks: craftivist manifesto (tn#178), laborer, craftsman, artist (tn#161), degrow your mind (tn#117), artistry + world building (tn#192)

🥹zaftig

recently this new word (to me) came to my inbox and i loved it

zaftig: adjective
ZAHF-tig
Someone described as zaftig has a full, rounded figure, or in other words is pleasingly plump.
// Portraits of zaftig models are exhibited in the artist's collection.
Zaftig has been in use in English—mainly in the United States—since the 1920s; a couple of the earliest known uses are found in Variety magazine, in reviews of burlesque dancers. The word comes from the Yiddish zaftik, meaning "juicy" or "succulent," which in turn comes from zaft, meaning "juice" or "sap." If this word is new to you and you would like to take it out for a spin, please be advised that even though most dictionaries define it as implying attractiveness, people to whom it might apply may not appreciate its use.

brainsparks: callipygian (tn#139), anasyrma, how to feel better naked (tn#79)

🦋butterfly

so happy to see new music from marina (also, another sign 2012 is the year to be in… end of the world reapproaching maybe?). she is not only looking stunning, but she managed to make a song longer than 3 minutes, mix styles of her past albums and feeling fresh at the same time. excited for what is coming!

see you next week, butterflies 🦋✨

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🔌Let’s Collab?

I truly believe innovation comes from bringing improbable areas together, and that’s why I called this project The Nexialist. Some sectors are known to be self-referencing and hermetic. Sometimes, teams are on autopilot mode, focused on the daily grind, which hinders innovation. As a Nexialist, I like to burst these bubbles, bringing references from different areas, and maintaining teams inspired and connected to the Zeitgeist.

I offer inspiration sessions called Brainsparks, creative desk research (Zeitgeist Boost), Plug’n’Play deals for workshops and sprints, and other bespoke formats. If you want to know more about this, send me an e-mail with your challenge(s) and we can figure something out together. Check out my website and some work I’ve done below:

thenexialist.xyz

The Nexialist