Betterment

Ideally, on Monday mornings, I've got an essay for you. (Schedule of events here at Second Breakfast: Monday’s newsletter: essay, most of it for paid subscribers; Friday’s: the week’s news, yay! the news!, for everyone.) Although the word “essay” comes from the French essayer (to try), I

“I don’t want to learn to be better,” is something we rarely admit. We don’t say: I don’t want to learn statistics, even though it will dramatically improve my decisio…

In 1977, economists noticed something strange in the Netherlands. The discovery of natural gas had made the country rich. Really rich. But the wealth was

Cybersecurity Research and More

I’ve always struggled with the idea of work-life balance. That’s not because I’m a workaholic or don’t value my leisure time. Instead, it’s because I work for myself. What counts as “work” and what counts as “leisure” is harder to separate when I make my own schedule and don’t get paid by the hour. For […]

The anniversary date of “Field Notes” varies a bit, depending on who you ask. Aaron Draplin first used the name (typeset, of course, in all-caps Futura…

Process is the investment we make in inefficiency now to prevent errors from costing us later. Jet airlines are the safest form of travel ever created, largely because of the inefficient process th…

Jason Rodriguez is a slightly jaded—but ultimately hopeful—tech worker. Working at GitHub.

Cynicism is the cheap seats. It’s the fast food of intellectual positions. Anyone can point at something and say it’s broken, corrupt, or destined to fail. The real challenge? Building something better. The cynic sees a proposal for change and immediately lists why it won’t work. They’

The cult of consulting suggests that if you simply had better advice from someone who knew more than you, your problems could be solved. Generally, the advice isn’t really the hard part. Ther…

Freedom is something we desire. The freedom to choose, to speak up, to produce, to follow our passions and our dreams. And organizations in search of efficiency, shortcuts or profits often argue fo…

The experience of the now is often more vivid than a distant memory. As a result, we can make decisions in the future without enough regard for how we felt the last time we were in a similar situat…

The second worst is the unaware sort. The work doesn’t meet spec, and we don’t even realize it. The worst is uncaring. We know the work doesn’t meet spec, but we don’t bothe…

Learning is a journey of incompetence. First, we realize that there’s something we don’t know. Then we see that we’re going to be better at it, and we’re not good at it yet.…

Back when he was still running Microsoft in the 1980s, Bill Gates would vanish into the woods for a week each year. No communication. No meetings - just

Selfish is easy. Short term is easy. Complacent is easy. Turning our head and ignoring the problem is easy. Going along to get along is easy. But easy isn’t the point. Better is. Challenging the st…

On what to do after work

Technology and the cost of convenience, explained.

In a mountain village in mid-20th-century Crete, a young shepherd creeps toward his neighbor’s flock before dawn to steal his goats. His heart races. Not because he fears capture. But because the raid represents his chance to prove he can thrive in uncertainty — to prove his manhood. A century earlier and half a world […]

Most of our activities can be seen as nested plans, to achieve nested goals.

From debugging nightmares to tech burnout, here’s how to survive the toughest challenges every coder faces.

Want to write a technical book? Think twice. Here is my story of self-publishing a software architecture book—from the initial decision through writing, pricing, and real sales numbers.

Buried in a talk on AI from an artist who is doing cutting-edge video work was the following nugget that entirely sums up the zeitgeist: “The tools are changing so fast that artists can’t keep up w…

The ramblings, thoughts, and channeling of Kin Lane.

It’s time to bring back the sewing kit to stretch out the life of your favorite togs.

// This was originally a Google Doc where I gathered hard-won life lessons; eventually I open sourced it. It got a great response, including a shoutout from Tim Ferriss, so here it is on Substack.

Note: Sinclair Lewis once said that one of the “two insults no human will endure” is “the assertion that he has no sense of humor” (the other is the “assertion that he has never known trouble”). Why is saying someone lacks a sense of humor such a damning indictment? Why do we like to think […]

Decisions are easy, choices are hard. A good decision is our best analysis of the facts, options and risks. If it’s too close to call, flip a coin, because it’s too close to call. On th…

Cursing is a part of human language that has existed for centuries, but can it be done in a gentlemanly manner? Let’s find out how to curse like a gentleman.