Against Anti-theory Anna Kornbluh On January 1, 2024, the best-selling author and motivational lifestyler Gabby Bernstein launched a New Year’s “Manifesting Challenge”: “If you think it, it will come.” To “manifest” is to make evident, obvious, plain. For the self-help thought leaders and [#manifest](/culture/new/manifest) TikTokers who have popularized the term of late, this emanating is radically intransitive: no specific event transpires, only our innermost authentic selves flowing outward to a mirroring world. “Manifest effortlessly!” Google Trends shows a significant increase in this fluid emission in recent years, with sales figures and influencer follower counts to match. So why is manifesting so manifestly valuable now? [https://www.e-flux.com/notes/589060/against-anti-theory?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-e_flux&utm_content=later-41049480&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkin.bio](https://www.e-flux.com/notes/589060/against-anti-theory?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-e_flux&utm_content=later-41049480&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkin.bio)