Notes

Not every big thing is really big

There’s a footnote from a blog post about writing that is right on the money about hype cycles in technology. This comes from iA Writer’s Writing with AI post. (It’s their apps I use to write this blog, they’re very good.)

The tech hype-cycle is spinning ever faster

How much effort do you put in to keeping up with changes in the digital landscape?

Dunno which social network to join? Follow the news

Going on pure gut-feel here, no analysis to back it up.

Handwritten vs typed notes

So I overheard my partner listening to the latest episode of The Intelligence podcast and it had a bit on handwritten notes. As someone who types a lot of notes, their claim that handwritten notes are better really stood out.

Cognitive friction for leaders

Last week we avoided using big numbers in a talk about the impact made by the GOV.‌UK Design System. As a product manager, I always want to chuck those numbers in because I believe they work, but a couple of people on the team want the work to speak for itself. They see those big numbers as a cold rendering of empathetic, user-centred work. So I held back.

I love GitHub Codespaces

Restructured the git repository for my website this morning.

3 months, no booze

A small victory: I’ve not been drunk this year. 3 months without booze. I’m well on my way to achieving my goal of 12 months without alcohol.

This idea of AI surpassing human ability is silly

Lanier doesn’t even like the term artificial intelligence, objecting to the idea that it is actually intelligent, and that we could be in competition with it. “This idea of surpassing human ability is silly because it’s made of human abilities.” He says comparing ourselves with AI is the equivalent of comparing ourselves with a car. “It’s like saying a car can go faster than a human runner. Of course it can, and yet we don’t say that the car has become a better runner.”

Facsimile

Another note about writing weeknotes. Sorry.

Sometimes I realise I’ve got a lot more to say than I thought

I was reading Tom’s latest weeknotes where he explains how he writes them.

So, you work in a large-ish tech org

This piece about Google, a tech organisation with 175,000+ staff, is an interesting read. Lots of parallels between it and organisations 1/20th their size, I imagine.

What exists beyond

From the Môrwelion exhibition at the National Museum of Wales:

Not sober, just not drinking

Today marks the last day of Dry January, a month-long abstinence from drinking alcohol that has grown in popularity in recent years. This is my fourth time doing the challenge, but this year I have a different goal. I’ve set out to not drink alcohol in 2023.

Mistakes, failure, realness

‘We should talk about failure more.’ That’s a thing I’ve said lots but never committed to. Which is, in itself, a failure. But two things have spurred me this morning.

Write notes as you go

Blooming good reminder to write notes as you go, from Tom Stuart’s notes on returning to breadmaking.

Questions for better reflection

A new set of questions to act as prompts in my weeknotes, encouraging me to reflect on how my actions align with my values.

Multiplayer histories

Over the winter break I started reading Che Guevara’s diaries from the Cuban revolution. These were scribblings he made during the war, turned into fuller notes later to be published.

Reasons to cancel your Pocket subscription

For the last 4 years, Pocket has been a key part of my reading and writing process. It’s been the place I store articles or blog posts to read, where I read and highlight things: the first stage of a knowledge-making practice. After Twitter and Safari, it’s the app I use most, from anything between 30 minutes up to 2 hours per week.

A team for thinking big and starting small

It sounds better than the alternative: paying consultants a hefty fee to throw together a bunch of slide decks, engage in corporate divination, and hand over a four-pillared plan.

Scaling simple services

A note on taking pride in your product or service, when it feels like you don’t have enough people, budget or time.