Betterment

If we take a big enough dataset… Add to it machine learning and autotune and the race to fit in and reach the masses… We end up with a relentless march toward mediocrity. Mediocre is an…

There is a big literature on the ages at which intellectuals peak in life. The rate of publishing papers peaks about tenure time. Physical sciences peak earlier than social sciences. And per paper, each one has an

One of the unmentioned causes of division in much of our culture happens because of the shift in expectations and rules when we begin to live in close proximity to one another. In a non-crowded set…

I recently got an email asking about self-publishing books, and wanted to summarize my thinking there. Recapping my relevant experience, I’ve written three books: An Elegant Puzzle was published in 2019 as a manuscript by Stripe Press (e.g. I wrote it and then it was released as is), which has sold about 100,000 copies (96k through the end of 2023, and selling about 4k copies a quarter over past two years), Staff Engineer which I self-published in 2021, which has sold about 70,000 copies (also selling roughly 4k copies a quarter over the past two years) The Engineering Executive’s Primer which was published by O’Reilly earlier this month.

Have you ever noticed that people often get weirder as they get older? They go a little crazy; they fall apart; they come to seem increasingly “off.” Mental illnesses worsen. Depression deepens. Addictions harden. It isn’t just issues that rise to the clinical level that emerge; what were once mere quirks in someone’s youth intensify […]

If you were around when the Model T was first announced, you could have built the organizations that became Disney, McDonald’s and Holiday Inn, all of which were powered by cheap, plentiful c…

Happy Friday. What's good? Not me. I am not good. Indeed, I almost wrote to you this morning to tell you there'd be no newsletter today or Monday. I'm having a very hard time with everything right now – that collision a few weeks ago has really upended my world, mentally

Living indoors, connected to a screen, it’s easy for the months and years to blur together. The seasons used to matter more. But for young adults, they still do. Transitions are built around …

It’s sort of the opposite of “cued.” In addition to being delightful to spell, the idea of work that’s queued up is energizing. The chapter ahead of schedule, the process in…

Thoughts I jotted down on Mastodon: 1) Blogs are newsletters that don’t require subscriptions. 2) Blogrolls are lists of blogs. 3) Both require the lowest possible cognitive and economic over…

Which came to my attention via Bruce Sterling’s EYE BURNING Artmaker Blog. A series of posts: Bonus round: Bruce notes that it’s a lot of work. It’s a terrifying amount of work that starts at 5am e…

When architects show off their work, or propose a bold new building complex or even ask for a zoning variance, the public sees the external photos. The tall spire, the innovative use of glass, the …

You didn’t evolve to live in this techno-industrialised world. Find health and happiness by embracing your wild nature

How a new worldview, that fills the spiritual void of humanity, is emerging, giving us a much-needed compass to break away from our destructive way of living

Depression is the most common mental health problem in the world. According to some surveys, about 1 in 10 American adults will experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime. Many more will experience milder forms of long-term low mood, known as dysthymia.  Given these numbers, there’s a good chance someone you know and love […]

Choose either one: When a new technology comes out, review it breathlessly. Explain without nuance or caution how it will instantly change the world. Go into the details of this first instantiation…

Even though he’s as rich and famous as a movie star, and never has to work ever again, the standup comedian and podcaster, Joe Rogan still likes to play

If you’re a writer, it probably doesn’t pay to chop down trees and make your own paper, or even to set up a little machine shop to make your own pens. That’s pretty obvious. Shoul…

When organizations reach scale, digital interactions belie our expectation that someone in charge actually gives a damn. Once there’s math to do, the CFO does the math. It quickly reveals tha…

Systemic and existential problems dance their way through three circles: If it’s not solvable, we’ll pretend it’s not a problem. If the cultural cost of solving the problem is too high, we’ll…

Nothing happens until someone feels something. In the critically acclaimed show Mad Men, Jon Hamm plays Don Draper, a creative director on 1960s Madison

Observations of Samuel Johnson: “We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know, because they have never deceived us.” “I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read.” “Men more frequently require to be reminded than informed.” “To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labour tends, and of which every desire prompts the prosecution.” “In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it.” “He who makes...

On a effort versus payoff matrix, getting good at Markdown is the greatest investment you can make as someone interested in development. I decided to read through the entire Markdown specification and here are the essentials.

Happy Friday! What’s good? My training, I will say, has been very good lately; I’m balancing the preparations for my spring half marathon with my powerlifting — something that, in the past, I’ve found quite hard to do. When I ramp up the running, my ability to add

An Instagram ad got me thinking about what it means to grow old with style.

Community resources are easy to take for granted. Unevenly distributed, they’re the sort of thing we miss only when they’re gone. Invisible things are easy to ignore. I was stunned to s…

We all know about notes and note-taking systems. But some lessons from gardening can really bring our notes to life and sustain our creativity. The answer is compostable knowledge