From the archive · Thursday, 13 August 2026

The daily pick

One work a day, drawn from the 100 works in the library with a copy you can open — the same one for everybody, and a different one tomorrow.

Essay1958

I, Pencil

Leonard Read

No single person knows how to make a pencil, which is the clearest available illustration of distributed coordination.

Level: Entry
Access: Free
Length: ≈2,500 words
Copy: link checked 17 Sept 2026
Filed under: Microeconomics

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