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The War Between Nostalgia and Reinvention

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Mar 23

It’s easy to mistake nostalgia for truth, believing that earlier breakthroughs or missteps define the boundaries of who we are.

How much of what you’re holding onto is memory, and how much is possibility?

open.substack.com/pub/alonsost...

In Collapse of the Muse, we examined how artistic identity can erode under the weight of expectation, creative exhaustion, and the merciless passage of time.

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Mar 19

Creativity’s got nothing to do with holding steady. It’s all sway and snap, softness and edge. Let the wind do the bending. #creativeproces #inspiration #flow #willows #walks #wandering #alonso

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Mar 17

Why do our early creative works often seem more vivid compared to what you’re making now?

It’s not just memory. It’s the brain protecting your identity. Every time you revisit those moments, your mind subtly rewires them, polishing the highs and smoothing over the struggle.

Let’s break that down.

What Happens When Our Fire Fans Out

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Mar 15

Creative identities are built on pursuit, not arrival. When the dream falters, the brain resists, processing loss like grief, making reinvention feel impossible. How have you reinvented yourself? #reinvent #creativeprocess #identity #neuroscience #art

open.substack.com/pub/alonsost...

Collapse of the Muse

How Early Experiences Shape Creative Identity

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Mar 11

Reinvention isn’t failure, it’s evolution—proof that creativity doesn’t end, it adapts. When the paths change, artistry doesn’t vanish; it expands. Keep creating. #Art #Reinvention

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Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Mar 9

Why does creativity demand reinvention while the brain clings to the past? The Perceptual Blueprint explores how early experiences shape identity—and how to break free. #ThePursuitParadox #Creativity #Neuroscience
open.substack.com/pub/alonsost...

The Perceptual Blueprint

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Mar 8

TDIL emotions are constructed by your brain in the moment, shaped by past experiences & cultural context. Thanks @lfeldmanbarrett Lisa Feldman Barrett, a pioneer in affective neuroscience, and a native Torontonian rewrites the script on how we feel. #BuyCanadian #Neuroscience #womansday2025

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Mar 7

Say what one will about the looming uncertainty of AI in our societies, but I’ll admit that targeted research has gently nudged my curiosity toward a field I might never have explored otherwise.

Thoughtful inquiry can open unexpected doors. #neuroscience #curiosity #ai

substack.com/profile/1419...

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Mar 6

Carlos Alberto Alonso on Substack

Today, next week and for the foreseeable future, (especially as Canadians in light of the recent political shifts in the US) it is crucial to cultivate a *habit of critical thinking*. This involves qu...

substack.com

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Mar 5

Your brain clings to familiar patterns—not just in thought, but in identity.

Early success carves deep grooves, reinforcing who you think you are.

But can we escape our own blueprint?

#ThePursuitParadox #essay #Neuroscience #growth

Unveiling the Mirage of Beauty

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Mar 2

Why do we chase beauty? Is it a pursuit of meaning or a hardwired impulse. I'm exploring how beauty shapes identity, fuels artistic devotion, and sustains the myths we create around creativity and success.

open.substack.com/pub/alonsost...

The Aesthetic Illusion

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Mar 1

Life is perceptively not objective. You are your point of view…

An objective insight from Eagleman’s “The Brain” ;) #paradox #thebrain #neurobiology @davideagleman.bsky.social

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Feb 27

Some people take lunch breaks. I like to take sonic detours—tweaking oscillators, sculpting waveforms, and feeding my synths instead of myself.

Creativity is best served with a side of voltage. #synth #creative #sounddesign

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Feb 25

Selective attention drives neuroplasticity.

What we focus on shapes how we learn and adapt. Master focus, master transformation.

#Neuroscience #Learning

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Feb 24

Digging into Wittgenstein’s Language Games and how meaning shifts through context. Connecting dots between this and research for The Pursuit Paradox essays—how artists shape, chase, and sometimes lose their creative language. It’s winter. Why not? #read #philosophy #wittgenstein #writing #research

Why We Crave the Unattainable

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Feb 23

The Pursuit Paradox is a new series exploring art, identity, and reinvention. The first essay, The Beautiful Trap, begins the journey. How do you navigate when caught in the chase?

open.substack.com/pub/alonsost...

The Beautiful Trap

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Feb 21

Dopamine isn’t about pleasure—it’s about pursuit. Desire isn’t satisfied by attainment; it’s fueled by anticipation. The brain doesn’t reward having—it rewards seeking. #purpose #pleasure #neuroscience

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Feb 20

Honored to be featured in the new INSPO app out of UK 🇬🇧 Grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts on the intersection of art, neuroscience, and innovation. Huge thanks to the team for fostering such an inspiring space for sharing deep ideas. #inspo #writing #creative #science #neuro #alonso

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Feb 19

Our brain’s neurons fire in patterns that shape our dreams as reality. But plasticity is the hidden composer, rewiring, reframing, redefining.

What feels like loss is often the brain adapting to a new version of the self.

The Synthetic Mind: How Generative AI and Creativity Intersect

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Feb 14

Creativity is synthesis—blending past and present, human intuition and machine intelligence. Generative AI isn’t just replicating; it’s remixing, reshaping, and redefining the art of making. hashtag#GenerativeAI hashtag#Creativity hashtag#SyntheticThinking

medium.com/@carlos_1590...

What is self-expression? Is it the act of inventing something entirely new, or is it the art of weaving together fragments of existing…

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Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Feb 11

Music synthesisers shape sound like generative AI shapes ideas—blending patterns into something new. Creativity is synthesis. #SoundDesign #AI #Creativity

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Feb 10

Great minds don’t just analyse—they synthesise. Creativity sparks at the intersection of ideas, disciplines, and perspectives. #Creativity #SyntheticThinking

When we speak, what are we truly conveying, and how does our intended meaning shift through the lens of another’s interpretation? Language…

Carlos Alberto Alonso @alonsostudio.bsky.social · Feb 6

Language shapes thought. In this digital age, we need a shared lexicon to bridge music, design, creativity and AI. How do we craft a common tongue for innovation?

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Crafting a Common Tongue

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