The smooth is the signature of the present time. It connects the sculptures of Jeff Koons, iPhones and Brazilian waxing. Why do we today find what is smooth beautiful? Beyond its aesthetic effect, it reflects a general social imperative. It embodies today's society of positivity. What is smooth does not injure. Nor does it offer any resistance. It is looking for Like. The smooth object deletes its Against. Any form of negativity is removed. ... Smoothness is not limited to the outside of the digital apparatus. Communication via a digital apparatus also appears smoothed out, as it is mostly polite remarks, even positivities, which are exchanged. 'Sharing' and 'Like' represent communicative means for smoothening. Negativities are eliminated because they represent obstacles to accelerated communication. . . . The Balloon Dog is not a Trojan horse, it does not hide anything. There is no inwardness hidden behind its smooth surface. As in the case of the smartphone, you only encounter yourself, and not the other, when faced with the highly polished sculptures.

This is a story without end. All the world is still an America. The most promising words ever written on the maps of human knowledge are terra incognita—unknown territory.

We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.

Spend the afternoon. You can’t take it with you.

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.