What if every moment (past, present, and future) exists all at once? And what can that teach us about creativity and design?

In this episode, Rachel Paul sits down with Vicki Tan, a product designer at Pinterest and author of "Ask This Book A Question," and Stephanie Cheng, a product advisor and career coach at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Together, they explore how our environments, tools, and personal journeys shape the way we create and connect.

Vicki shares insights from her CreativeMornings San Francisco talk on the theme NOMAD, where she introduced the block universe theory, the concept that all moments exist simultaneously in four-dimensional spacetime, and how it can transform the way we approach design and innovation. Stephanie joins the conversation as an audience member from Vicki’s talk, adding a unique third perspective as they reflect on the challenges and possibilities of modern creativity and design.

This episode explores:

• The surprising ways our physical environments influence creativity and personal growth
• How to reclaim creative agency in a world of constant digital distractions
• Vicki’s book, Ask This Book a Question, and how it teaches better decision-making through cognitive bias
• The tension between business goals and human connection in tech product design
• Practical practices for staying grounded in the present while imagining future possibilities