Full Width [alt+shift+f] Shortcuts [alt+shift+k]
Sign Up [alt+shift+s] Log In [alt+shift+l]
Articles [alt+h] Reading List [alt+r] [alt+s]
Top Categories > literature
#startups #life #history #science #programming #technology #AI #literature #architecture #travel #design #comics #creative #finance #cartography #indiehacker Muted Categories [alt+←][alt+→]
Humanity from the perspective of robots Talking points for our literary salon next week.
1st May 2024
90

Humanity from the perspective of robots

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st May 2024
Talking points for our literary salon next week.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
✏️ Road to Mesa Good morning, light. I awoke early this morning, perched on a mesa cliff-side, surrounded by low...
18th Jul 2022
21

✏️ Road to Mesa

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th Jul 2022
Good morning, light. I awoke early this morning, perched on a mesa cliff-side, surrounded by low foliage, cow patties galore, and a few skeletons and carcasses of younger cattle that couldn’t survive the path of migration that was next to our camp. Everyone else was still mildly...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Open Thread 371 ...
3rd Mar 2025
52

Open Thread 371

from Astral Codex Ten [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Mar 2025
...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Coding agents write 90% of my code now
18th Dec 2025
1

Coding agents write 90% of my code now

from Ben Borgers [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th Dec 2025
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
The intimate outside When this post from Max Cairnduff appeared I had been reading Heidegger's lectures on Hölderlin's...
31st Jan 2026
1

The intimate outside

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

31st Jan 2026
When this post from Max Cairnduff appeared I had been reading Heidegger's lectures on Hölderlin's poetry and books and essays studying Heidegger's lectures on Hölderlin's poetry in a bid, however incongruous, to articulate an experience unique to reading novels, so I was...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Let's read the Terra Ignota series together Our summer reading is Ada Palmer's feat of utopian worldbuilding.
3rd Jul 2024
108

Let's read the Terra Ignota series together

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Jul 2024
Our summer reading is Ada Palmer's feat of utopian worldbuilding.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Easy Questions, Part 2: Delusional Desires in Fiction Easy Questions, Part 2: Delusional Desires in Fiction In Part 1, I examined a few common tropes in...
6th Jun 2024
27

Easy Questions, Part 2: Delusional Desires in Fiction

from Steven Scrawls [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th Jun 2024
Easy Questions, Part 2: Delusional Desires in Fiction In Part 1, I examined a few common tropes in stories and suggested that some stories might explore certain questions not because those questions are interesting, but because engaging with those questions allows the story to...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
If we fix the phone, we fix society Here's how I would redesign devices for a more analog world.
22nd Sep 2026
1

If we fix the phone, we fix society

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

22nd Sep 2026
Here's how I would redesign devices for a more analog world.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Anatomy of a $9 Burglary “Anatomy of a $9 Burglary” is among Caro’s best early writing. When police arrested a criminal, all...
1st Apr 2023
33

Anatomy of a $9 Burglary

from Robert Caro [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Apr 2023
“Anatomy of a $9 Burglary” is among Caro’s best early writing. When police arrested a criminal, all signs indicated a simple case of burglar
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Five Days to Inbox Zero: How to Get Control of your Email Email is a constant in our lives, yet it can be so overwhelming that it becomes almost 100%...
7th Feb 2014
24

Five Days to Inbox Zero: How to Get Control of your Email

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th Feb 2014
Email is a constant in our lives, yet it can be so overwhelming that it becomes almost 100% ineffective. I discussed with a friend the other day why they should switch from Yahoo to Gmail, and how to reduce the useless emails they receive. Below is how I suggested they move from...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
How to: friction logs Friction logs are a technique to improve your own products and understand others. You use the...
12th Dec 2023
30

How to: friction logs

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

12th Dec 2023
Friction logs are a technique to improve your own products and understand others. You use the produdct the way a real user would and write down every single moment you experience some form of negative emotion.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Winter break project list [2024]
21st Dec 2024
1

Winter break project list [2024]

from Ben Borgers [alt+shift+b] in literature

21st Dec 2024
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
We Are the Borg Is the convergence of human and machine really upon us? The post We Are the Borg appeared first on...
3rd Jun 2024
36

We Are the Borg

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Jun 2024
Is the convergence of human and machine really upon us? The post We Are the Borg appeared first on The American Scholar.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Sunday Scrawl #1: Learning Not to Know Sunday Scrawl #1: Learning Not to Know When my parents sat me down in the living room the night...
30th Nov 2025
2

Sunday Scrawl #1: Learning Not to Know

from Steven Scrawls [alt+shift+b] in literature

30th Nov 2025
Sunday Scrawl #1: Learning Not to Know When my parents sat me down in the living room the night before I was supposed to leave for college, I thought they were going to tell me they were getting a divorce. At the time, it was the most terrifying upheaval I could imagine. Instead,...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Quand éclatera la bulle IA… Quand éclatera la bulle IA… Comme le souligne Ed Zitron, toute la bulle actuelle est basée sur 7 ou...
1st Nov 2025
1

Quand éclatera la bulle IA…

from Ploum.net [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Nov 2025
Quand éclatera la bulle IA… Comme le souligne Ed Zitron, toute la bulle actuelle est basée sur 7 ou 8 entreprises qui s’échangent des promesses de s’échanger des milliards d’euros lorsque tous les habitants de la planète dépenseront en moyenne 100€ par mois pour utiliser ChatGPT....
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Social Development > Self-Development We need one much more than the other.
1st Jan 2025
72

Social Development > Self-Development

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jan 2025
We need one much more than the other.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
the perils of writing about oneself some essays about writing essays pt 2
5th Aug 2025
1

the perils of writing about oneself

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Aug 2025
some essays about writing essays pt 2
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
My Taipei Quarantine Part of what brought me to Taiwan was bureaucratic thrill seeking. Few other countries had gone...
26th Apr 2022
29

My Taipei Quarantine

from Idle Words [alt+shift+b] in literature

26th Apr 2022
Part of what brought me to Taiwan was bureaucratic thrill seeking. Few other countries had gone from “just hop on a plane” to North Korean levels of inaccessibility as fast as Taiwan, and like a cat that paws at a door just because it's closed, I wanted in. The country was...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Streets in Asheville Quick-and-dirty street analysis in Asheville, NC A few months ago, I visited Asheville, NC. It’s a...
11th Feb 2017
20

Streets in Asheville

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

11th Feb 2017
Quick-and-dirty street analysis in Asheville, NC A few months ago, I visited Asheville, NC. It’s a nice town, and has a great pedestrian life, as far as I can tell. As a thought experiment, I decided to see how well I could make the case for reducing the road width of a few...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
No safe landing A review of A Winter in Zürau and Partita by Gabriel Josipovici   Gabriel Josipovici has said that...
5th Oct 2024
1

No safe landing

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Oct 2024
A review of A Winter in Zürau and Partita by Gabriel Josipovici   Gabriel Josipovici has said that as a critic he is conservative but as a novelist he is radical. The second claim may not be controversial but the first will come as a surprise to those who remember what he said...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Some remarks on being stuck, with digressions on David Hockney, developing style, and gardens If something feels wrong, it is useful to articulate very precisely why that is
10th Sep 2026
3

Some remarks on being stuck, with digressions on David Hockney, developing style, and gardens

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

10th Sep 2026
If something feels wrong, it is useful to articulate very precisely why that is
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
What I Read in May 2025 – “There’s the store that’s shaped like a duck,” Franca said. First, my poor email subscribers missed some of the installments of my newsletter about Anthony...
2nd Jun 2025
1

What I Read in May 2025 – “There’s the store that’s shaped like a duck,” Franca said.

from Wuthering Expectations [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Jun 2025
First, my poor email subscribers missed some of the installments of my newsletter about Anthony Powell.  If this keeps happening I will have to think of something or even do something.  Here they are: A skippable piece of throat-clearing about the roman fleuve. What I think...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
In praise of insular groups Last spring, as we were exploring the coastline of our island, Johanna, the kids, and I crossed a...
4th May 2024
86

In praise of insular groups

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th May 2024
Last spring, as we were exploring the coastline of our island, Johanna, the kids, and I crossed a meadow where two men were artificially inseminating a longhaired cow. We stopped to observe the work. When it was done, one of the men came over to where we stood by the electric...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
✏️ Music That Got Me Through 2020 As time goes on, I've learned something about myself: I'm now that person — that old fogey — that...
1st Feb 2021
17

✏️ Music That Got Me Through 2020

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Feb 2021
As time goes on, I've learned something about myself: I'm now that person — that old fogey — that mumbles under their breath about the old days when music was real. That said, there are plenty of good artists (even great artists) making meaningful music today. I just have to...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
20 years of Linux on the Desktop (part 4) 20 years of Linux on the Desktop (part 4) Previously in "20 years of Linux on the Deskop": After...
23rd Jul 2025
1

20 years of Linux on the Desktop (part 4)

from Ploum.net [alt+shift+b] in literature

23rd Jul 2025
20 years of Linux on the Desktop (part 4) Previously in "20 years of Linux on the Deskop": After contributing to the launch of Ubuntu as the "perfect Linux desktop", Ploum realises that Ubuntu is drifting away from both Debian and GNOME. In the meantime, mobile computing...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
How Github monopoly is destroying the open source ecosystem How Github monopoly is destroying the open source ecosystem I teach a course called "Open Source...
5th Jan 2026
1

How Github monopoly is destroying the open source ecosystem

from Ploum.net [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Jan 2026
How Github monopoly is destroying the open source ecosystem I teach a course called "Open Source Strategies" at École Polytechnique de Louvain, part of the University of Louvain. As part of my course, students are required to find an open source project of their choice and make a...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
#9 Luke Gifford on the Hero’s Journey, Shadow Work, and Childhood Trauma Occasionally a person enters my life who I know almost instantly is going to have a profound...
8th Jun 2020
1

#9 Luke Gifford on the Hero’s Journey, Shadow Work, and Childhood Trauma

from Salish Wolf [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Jun 2020
Occasionally a person enters my life who I know almost instantly is going to have a profound impact on my personal journey. My guest in this episode, Luke Gifford, is one of those people. From our ‘non-chance’ encounter almost 2 years ago at a personal growth event, we...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Planned Unit Design Document (work-in-progress) This is a draft document, meant for circulation, will evolve with time and eventually be something...
1st Oct 2021
23

Planned Unit Design Document (work-in-progress)

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Oct 2021
This is a draft document, meant for circulation, will evolve with time and eventually be something we bring to the City of Golden for ratification, or whatever needs to happen to get this done in this zone. This document relates to Collateralizing Mortgages and Loans With the...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Welcome to Salish Wolf Podcast In this podcast I share with you incredible stories of extraordinary endeavors that capture the...
2nd Apr 2020
1

Welcome to Salish Wolf Podcast

from Salish Wolf [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Apr 2020
In this podcast I share with you incredible stories of extraordinary endeavors that capture the magic of the human spirit. The inspiration for this podcast is a wolf named Takaya who gained global fame for living alone for nearly a decade on a tiny archipelago in the...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Our AI Midwife A guest post by Drew Housman
2nd Oct 2026
1

Our AI Midwife

from Astral Codex Ten [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Oct 2026
A guest post by Drew Housman
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Pas de médaille pour les résistants Pas de médaille pour les résistants Si vous voulez changer le monde, il faut entrer en résistance....
26th Aug 2025
1

Pas de médaille pour les résistants

from Ploum.net [alt+shift+b] in literature

26th Aug 2025
Pas de médaille pour les résistants Si vous voulez changer le monde, il faut entrer en résistance. Il faut accepter d’agir et de se taire. Il faut accepter de perdre du confort, des opportunités, des relations. Et il ne faut espérer aucune récompense, aucune reconnaissance. Un...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Leashed The post Leashed appeared first on The American Scholar.
1st Oct 2025
17

Leashed

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Oct 2025
The post Leashed appeared first on The American Scholar.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Thursday, January 13, 2022
13th Jan 2022
1

Thursday, January 13, 2022

from Ben Borgers [alt+shift+b] in literature

13th Jan 2022
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
✏️ Notes at 45 As I sit squarely in my mid-40s, I’ve gained valuable perspectives, learnings, and understandings....
12th Apr 2023
17

✏️ Notes at 45

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

12th Apr 2023
As I sit squarely in my mid-40s, I’ve gained valuable perspectives, learnings, and understandings. Here are some of them: People > things. In our current society, the deepening pit of materialism, capitalism, and an insatiable desire for more has become all-consuming. However,...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Upgrade your job So, apparently I send a lot of email about people trying to get cool jobs. Here’s yet another email...
30th Oct 2015
21

Upgrade your job

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

30th Oct 2015
So, apparently I send a lot of email about people trying to get cool jobs. Here’s yet another email I sent to a friend, recorded here.  Hi [redacted], First I want to highlight is that flexible/remote jobs are just like normal jobs, but more people want them, so the companies...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Interfaces for logical migrations This post explains how you can use interfaces to make data model and database migrations easier.
4th Aug 2023
23

Interfaces for logical migrations

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Aug 2023
This post explains how you can use interfaces to make data model and database migrations easier.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Rage, Muse The novels that revisit Greek myths, giving voice to the women who were scorned, wronged, or...
1st Aug 2024
84

Rage, Muse

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Aug 2024
The novels that revisit Greek myths, giving voice to the women who were scorned, wronged, or forgotten The post Rage, Muse appeared first on The American Scholar.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Doomr Most of my creations can be contained within an RSS feed; Doomr cannot. You'll want to check the...
14th Feb 2024
22

Doomr

from Steven Scrawls [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Feb 2024
Most of my creations can be contained within an RSS feed; Doomr cannot. You'll want to check the website for this one.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
"A delicate mix of chess... and bear wrestling" Over the last few weeks I’ve found myself needing to break down “why” of sport climbing (I’ll refer...
2nd Nov 2014
20

"A delicate mix of chess... and bear wrestling"

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Nov 2014
Over the last few weeks I’ve found myself needing to break down “why” of sport climbing (I’ll refer to sport as “lead” climbing from here on out. Sorry, trad climbers). If someone is enjoying top roping, (or bouldering) why should they take on the work of learning to lead climb,...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
#94 Jay St. Charles on Project Quiver Jay St. Charles is a legendary bowyer based in Fall City, Washington. While he was born into the...
7th Sep 2026
1

#94 Jay St. Charles on Project Quiver

from Salish Wolf [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th Sep 2026
Jay St. Charles is a legendary bowyer based in Fall City, Washington. While he was born into the world of archery and grew up in his father’s archery shop, Jay eventually became a master bowyer, carving bows under the brand of Pacific Yew Longbows. He lives on a small...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
'So a Fool Returneth to His Folly' Grownups seldom credit children with insight into human psychology, thus treating them as smaller,...
1st Apr 2025
46

'So a Fool Returneth to His Folly'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Apr 2025
Grownups seldom credit children with insight into human psychology, thus treating them as smaller, more annoying versions of themselves. My father had an acquaintance even he knew was a fool. By admitting such knowledge, he was violating adult solidarity. His friend's customary...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
If we fix the phone, we fix society Here's how I would redesign it.
22nd Sep 2026
3

If we fix the phone, we fix society

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

22nd Sep 2026
Here's how I would redesign it.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
some thoughts on siegfried a very normal essay somewhat about wagner's ring cycle
3rd Jan 2025
1

some thoughts on siegfried

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Jan 2025
a very normal essay somewhat about wagner's ring cycle
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
✏️ Music is Memory Stone Temple Pilots’ “Kitchenware & Candybars” comes on, and suddenly I'm 17 again, driving...
3rd Sep 2024
20

✏️ Music is Memory

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Sep 2024
Stone Temple Pilots’ “Kitchenware & Candybars” comes on, and suddenly I'm 17 again, driving underneath the amber glow of late-night deserted streets in Kuala Lumpur. I can feel the sharp air conditioning in the car against my skin, keeping the tropical heat and humidity outside...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
On Foraging Mushrooms From the Local Park (Part 2) A time ago, I wrote a thing that felt like stumbling into a delightful discovery: On Foraging...
2 weeks ago
1

On Foraging Mushrooms From the Local Park (Part 2)

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

2 weeks ago
A time ago, I wrote a thing that felt like stumbling into a delightful discovery: On Foraging Mushrooms at Cheesman Park Sometimes I’ll amend a post, with updates from a later time, sometimes it’s easier to just make a separate part 2. Everything continues delightfully with...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Between the Infinite and the Infinitesimal: A Scientist’s Search for the Fulcrum of Faith "The universe is not a place where evolution happens, it is the evolution happening. It is not a...
2nd Feb 2024
61

Between the Infinite and the Infinitesimal: A Scientist’s Search for the Fulcrum of Faith

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Feb 2024
"The universe is not a place where evolution happens, it is the evolution happening. It is not a stage on which drama unfolds, it is the unfolding drama itself."
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Blink Twice to Quell a Quasar: Carl Sagan on Superstition Growing up in Bulgaria, in a city teeming in stray dogs and cars, I was deeply distressed by the...
4th Aug 2025
31

Blink Twice to Quell a Quasar: Carl Sagan on Superstition

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Aug 2025
Growing up in Bulgaria, in a city teeming in stray dogs and cars, I was deeply distressed by the sight of each dead animal in the streets between home and school — deaths I could not prevent and could not bear. To cope with the aching helplessness, I developed a private...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Most of Life The post Most of Life appeared first on The American Scholar.
1st Apr 2026
1

Most of Life

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Apr 2026
The post Most of Life appeared first on The American Scholar.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
October 2016 Goals In the last year, I’ve fluctuated between writing every day for 30 days and not posting once in...
19th Oct 2016
20

October 2016 Goals

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

19th Oct 2016
In the last year, I’ve fluctuated between writing every day for 30 days and not posting once in two months. Frankly, neither of those is good for me. I like writing because it clarifies my own thoughts. Sometimes it seems useful to others. I like to be useful (“utility” can...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Book Review - The Surrender Experiment With the book The Surrender Experiment, author Michael (Mickey) Singer, gives us a gift. In this...
6th Apr 2020
39

Book Review - The Surrender Experiment

from Blog - Anchorpointexpeditions.com [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th Apr 2020
With the book The Surrender Experiment, author Michael (Mickey) Singer, gives us a gift. In this eloquently penned biography of his “journey into life’s perfection”, he demonstrates the beauty that life can provide for us when we are not solely guided by our logical,...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
obligatory one month without social media on my phone substack essay (contrarian edition) it didn't change my life
27th Jul 2026
1

obligatory one month without social media on my phone substack essay (contrarian edition)

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

27th Jul 2026
it didn't change my life
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
La justesse au lieu de l’exactitude La justesse au lieu de l’exactitude Où je parle de hockey sous-marin, d’avions militaires et du...
14th Oct 2025
1

La justesse au lieu de l’exactitude

from Ploum.net [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Oct 2025
La justesse au lieu de l’exactitude Où je parle de hockey sous-marin, d’avions militaires et du pourrissement des oranges punks. L’arbitraire de l’arbitrage C’est un fait historique peu connu, mais j’ai, brièvement, été arbitre sportif. J’ai en effet arbitré des matchs de...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Risk-takers decide faster Unsurprising connection between risk and speed.
5th Nov 2024
44

Risk-takers decide faster

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Nov 2024
Unsurprising connection between risk and speed.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm I’m a little late to the party, but I just finished the wonderfully imaginative There Is No...
3rd May 2024
36

There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm

from ribbonfarm [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd May 2024
I’m a little late to the party, but I just finished the wonderfully imaginative There Is No Antimemetics Division (2020) by qntm. The premise is that our world is full of things with antimemetic properties. An antimeme is “an idea with self-censoring properties; an idea which, by...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Everybody is the main character People are motivated and engaged with the work only if they feel in charge of their own destiny....
4th Apr 2023
27

Everybody is the main character

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Apr 2023
People are motivated and engaged with the work only if they feel in charge of their own destiny. Make it clear to them that they are!
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Dizzying but Invisible Depth The following is from https://plus.google.com/+JeanBaptisteQueru/posts/dfydM2Cnepe, but Google+ is...
16th Jan 2021
26

Dizzying but Invisible Depth

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

16th Jan 2021
The following is from https://plus.google.com/+JeanBaptisteQueru/posts/dfydM2Cnepe, but Google+ is shutdown, so it’s not easily sharable. I’m reposting here because this is such a useful post. Dizzying but invisible depth You just went to the Google home page. Simple, isn’t...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Almost anything you give sustained attention to will begin to loop on itself and bloom When people talk about the value of paying attention and slowing down, they often make it sound...
4th Sep 2025
105

Almost anything you give sustained attention to will begin to loop on itself and bloom

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Sep 2025
When people talk about the value of paying attention and slowing down, they often make it sound prudish and monk-like. But we shouldn’t forget how interesting and overpoweringly pleasurable sustained attention can be.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Craft Is Not Culture A time, a place, and humans. Let’s take a moment to consider the font, Instrument Serif. Created by...
24th May 2026
2

Craft Is Not Culture

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

24th May 2026
A time, a place, and humans. Let’s take a moment to consider the font, Instrument Serif. Created by the Portland-based design agency Instrument for their own use — along with Instrument Sans — they open-sourced it on GitHub, where it made its way to Google Fonts, in a generous...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
✏️ Tracks of the Ancients I notice the tracks as I return from a brief scouting trip. When deciding on a campsite for the...
4th Feb 2022
17

✏️ Tracks of the Ancients

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Feb 2022
I notice the tracks as I return from a brief scouting trip. When deciding on a campsite for the night, reconnaissance is necessary: one, to verify personal safety; two, to ensure picturesque views and surroundings, but distance between neighbors (if applicable); and three, to...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Things that connect us to ourselves, and things that don't + recommendations
6th Feb 2026
1

Things that connect us to ourselves, and things that don't

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th Feb 2026
+ recommendations
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Lieutenants are the limiting reagent Why don't software companies ship more products? Why do they move more slowly as they grow? What do...
25th Sep 2023
28

Lieutenants are the limiting reagent

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

25th Sep 2023
Why don't software companies ship more products? Why do they move more slowly as they grow? What do we mean when we say "this company lacks focus"?
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
'To Mold Clay, Fashion Men From It' Certain writers lay claim to a piece of geography. Think of Cavafy’s Alexandria and William...
1st Jun 2026
1

'To Mold Clay, Fashion Men From It'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jun 2026
Certain writers lay claim to a piece of geography. Think of Cavafy’s Alexandria and William Kennedy’s Albany. Outsiders may visit but the deed is ironclad. When I hear something in the news about the Caucasus, that often-contested band of mountains between the Black Sea and the...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
[RIDGELINE] Driving the Tōkaidō Ridgeline subscribers — Hello from amidst the Toyama rush of media requests. I’ve had to say no to...
16th Jan 2025
1

[RIDGELINE] Driving the Tōkaidō

from Craig Mod — Writer + Photographer [alt+shift+b] in literature

16th Jan 2025
Ridgeline subscribers — Hello from amidst the Toyama rush of media requests. I’ve had to say no to most of them, mainly because I’ve been finishing the final final final final set of edits on the Random House edition of Things Become Other Thing. Those edits are in. The book can...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
wagner's ring: believing in the stakes or: how to get ring cycle pilled
20th Nov 2024
1

wagner's ring: believing in the stakes

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

20th Nov 2024
or: how to get ring cycle pilled
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
We’ve raised $50,000—now I’m writing a book! My vision for the future of capitalism has been greenlit. Now let’s make it a reality.
5th May 2025
37

We’ve raised $50,000—now I’m writing a book!

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th May 2025
My vision for the future of capitalism has been greenlit. Now let’s make it a reality.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
[RIDGELINE] Overtourism in Japan, and How it Hurts Small Businesses Ridgeline subscribers — I’m Craig Mod and I’ve been buuuuuuurnt out this last month following my...
10th Jul 2025
1

[RIDGELINE] Overtourism in Japan, and How it Hurts Small Businesses

from Craig Mod — Writer + Photographer [alt+shift+b] in literature

10th Jul 2025
Ridgeline subscribers — I’m Craig Mod and I’ve been buuuuuuurnt out this last month following my epic Things Become Other Things mega book tour. Finally, I’m gingerly emerging from my recovery cave. (But reserve the right to retreat again.) Here’s a fresh dispatch — in praise of...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Productivity YouTubers
1st Jul 2022
1

Productivity YouTubers

from Ben Borgers [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jul 2022
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
A Junction Efficiency Metric: Vehicles Per Square Meter Per Minute still sorta drafty, but also its entirely possible the point is easily apprehended, and I’m way...
13th Sep 2025
1

A Junction Efficiency Metric: Vehicles Per Square Meter Per Minute

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

13th Sep 2025
still sorta drafty, but also its entirely possible the point is easily apprehended, and I’m way over-explaining Introduction Elsewhere, I’ve been referring to a ‘vehicles per square meter per minute’ calculation, when talking about junctions on mobility networks. The first place...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
'Poor Naked Wretches, Whereso’er You Are' Aleksander Wat (1900-67) was a Polish poet and one-time Communist hounded and imprisoned by Nazis...
1st May 2025
21

'Poor Naked Wretches, Whereso’er You Are'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st May 2025
Aleksander Wat (1900-67) was a Polish poet and one-time Communist hounded and imprisoned by Nazis and Soviets alike. In 1964 while visiting California, he recorded lengthy conversations with fellow poet and Pole Czesław Miłosz. The transcripts were translated by Richard Lourie...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
The end of literature, part five "Stupid" and "a marketing exercise" were the first two descriptions I saw of the New York Times' 100...
25th Jul 2024
1

The end of literature, part five

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

25th Jul 2024
"Stupid" and "a marketing exercise" were the first two descriptions I saw of the New York Times' 100 Best Books of the 21st Century polled from hundreds of "literary luminaries" offering ten choices each, and while it is both of those things, "parochial" is the first word that...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Care doesn't scale Care Doesn’t Scale I met a social worker whose job was to look after four orphaned children. She’d...
24th Oct 2024
46

Care doesn't scale

from Steven Scrawls [alt+shift+b] in literature

24th Oct 2024
Care Doesn’t Scale I met a social worker whose job was to look after four orphaned children. She’d alternate with her coworkers spending 24 hours at a time living with the kids, effectively acting as their parent. The children, unsurprisingly, had a lot of trauma and so her job...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
The Moon and the Yew Tree: Patti Smith Reads Sylvia Plath’s Haunting Portrait of Depression "This is the light of the mind, cold and planetary."
4th Sep 2023
32

The Moon and the Yew Tree: Patti Smith Reads Sylvia Plath’s Haunting Portrait of Depression

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Sep 2023
"This is the light of the mind, cold and planetary."
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
🔗 Do you miss Twitter? Twitter remained fun for a bit after that, but it became harder to ignore that there was a dark...
3rd Jun 2024
20

🔗 Do you miss Twitter?

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Jun 2024
Twitter remained fun for a bit after that, but it became harder to ignore that there was a dark cloud emerging. And that for people that didn’t look like me, that cloud might’ve always been there. — Mike Monteiro Visit original link → or View on nazhamid.com →
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
The AI Pascal’s Wager The AI Pascal’s Wager Should you accept contributions generated by LLMs in your Open Source...
1st Oct 2026
1

The AI Pascal’s Wager

from Ploum.net [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Oct 2026
The AI Pascal’s Wager Should you accept contributions generated by LLMs in your Open Source project? Let’s put aside for a moment all the ethical/ecological/societal considerations about the use of generated code (also known as "slop" if you don’t like it and "vibecode" if you...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Natale Adgnot Country couture The post Natale Adgnot appeared first on The American Scholar.
3rd Nov 2025
12

Natale Adgnot

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Nov 2025
Country couture The post Natale Adgnot appeared first on The American Scholar.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Alyse Galvin on Coronavirus in Alaska Last week I spoke by video chat with Alyse Galvin, who is running for Congress in Alaska's sole,...
24th Jun 2020
17

Alyse Galvin on Coronavirus in Alaska

from Idle Words [alt+shift+b] in literature

24th Jun 2020
Last week I spoke by video chat with Alyse Galvin, who is running for Congress in Alaska's sole, enormous Congressional district in a rematch against Don Young, the longest-serving member of Congress. Young, who just turned 87, is a notorious figure in state and national...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Content but Restless There is tension between being content with what you have, and striving for more. We have all heard...
3rd Sep 2013
21

Content but Restless

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Sep 2013
There is tension between being content with what you have, and striving for more. We have all heard the “serenity prayer”: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference. This prayer is...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Big Fish The post Big Fish appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.
3rd Jul 2026
1

Big Fish

from The Perry Bible Fellowship [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Jul 2026
The post Big Fish appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Driven by Compression Progress Note from author: This is part of an experimental series, more-or-less based on “white papers” and...
18th Feb 2021
28

Driven by Compression Progress

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th Feb 2021
Note from author: This is part of an experimental series, more-or-less based on “white papers” and academic literature, as applied to somewhat practical-ish domains. These pages serve as a brief overview of a paper, and I’ll be able to link to this paper down the road when I what...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Jane Skafte The language of trees The post Jane Skafte appeared first on The American Scholar.
1st Jul 2024
87

Jane Skafte

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jul 2024
The language of trees The post Jane Skafte appeared first on The American Scholar.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
History before Shakespeare - The Famous Victories of Henry V - he hath taken the great raze of... The establishment in the 1570s of permanent theaters just outside of the walls of London led to a...
8th Nov 2025
1

History before Shakespeare - The Famous Victories of Henry V - he hath taken the great raze of ginger that Bouncing Bess with the jolly buttocks should have had

from Wuthering Expectations [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Nov 2025
The establishment in the 1570s of permanent theaters just outside of the walls of London led to a massive increase in the demand for new plays.  Every available source of stories was looted.  English history proved to be especially popular or at least easy to adapt to the...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Incentives as selection effects When you apply a new incentive, you select for a new population that prefers the incentive.
11th Jun 2024
24

Incentives as selection effects

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

11th Jun 2024
When you apply a new incentive, you select for a new population that prefers the incentive.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Anthony Powell's style and sensibility - Life is full of internal dramas, instantaneous and... Nicholas Jenkins – I did not register his name at all for the entire first novel, but I know it now...
22nd May 2025
1

Anthony Powell's style and sensibility - Life is full of internal dramas, instantaneous and sensational, played to an audience of one

from Wuthering Expectations [alt+shift+b] in literature

22nd May 2025
Nicholas Jenkins – I did not register his name at all for the entire first novel, but I know it now – goes to school, gets a job in publishing, writes a novel, gets a girlfriend, gets a job as a script writer, splits with the girlfriend, and writes another novel or two, none of...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Cloud Rats and Software Roaches We are entering an epoch where it may become easy for small pieces of self-replicating code to...
2 weeks ago
1

Cloud Rats and Software Roaches

from Idle Words [alt+shift+b] in literature

2 weeks ago
We are entering an epoch where it may become easy for small pieces of self-replicating code to permanently infest Internet-connected devices in a way that is hard to undo. Such a world would be annoying to live in and we should take steps to forestall it. Anyone who used email...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
'Silence Where Hope Was' I’m coming to suspect that nothing is ever irretrievably lost to memory. The other night I dreamed...
1st Oct 2025
15

'Silence Where Hope Was'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Oct 2025
I’m coming to suspect that nothing is ever irretrievably lost to memory. The other night I dreamed of a schoolmate I hardly knew who died sixty years ago. His name was Randy Peck. He had a twin sister named Mandy. Their names invited jokes, of course, as did their Georgia accents...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Open Thread 432 ...
4th May 2026
1

Open Thread 432

from Astral Codex Ten [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th May 2026
...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Rails Migration: When you can't add a uniqueness constraint because you already have duplicates I get to occasionally contribute to the Wombat Security dev blog. I wrote the following for...
28th Sep 2018
24

Rails Migration: When you can't add a uniqueness constraint because you already have duplicates

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

28th Sep 2018
I get to occasionally contribute to the Wombat Security dev blog. I wrote the following for development.wombatsecurity.com. This post has been updated to reflect some lessons learned while running this migration in production. Don’t leave a column without an index at any point in...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Designing for support teams Support agents spend their entire lives using the same software. Their needs are very different from...
5th Feb 2024
23

Designing for support teams

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Feb 2024
Support agents spend their entire lives using the same software. Their needs are very different from consumer software. Here are some things to keep in mind.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
If you're facing a complicated decision, your first job isn't to find a solution, but to understand... Some housekeeping:
18th Aug 2025
42

If you're facing a complicated decision, your first job isn't to find a solution, but to understand the problem

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th Aug 2025
Some housekeeping:
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Self-help for cocoons and what's on my mind
7th Mar 2024
46

Self-help for cocoons

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th Mar 2024
and what's on my mind
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Turing Prep Chapter 4: Arrays, Hashes, and Nested Collections Preparing for Turing Series Index What follows is an eight-part series that will help you pick up...
9th Jun 2019
25

Turing Prep Chapter 4: Arrays, Hashes, and Nested Collections

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

9th Jun 2019
Preparing for Turing Series Index What follows is an eight-part series that will help you pick up useful information about a number of topics related to Ruby, specifically geared for students learning the Ruby programming language, as part of the Turing School’s Backend Software...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
2023 Annual Review It’s that time of the year. I often enjoy reading other people’s annual reviews, and I’ve always...
27th Jan 2024
24

2023 Annual Review

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

27th Jan 2024
It’s that time of the year. I often enjoy reading other people’s annual reviews, and I’ve always found value in writing my own, even as there is a few years I’ve missed, since I started the habit way back in 2015. for a long time, I did annual reviews. 2020 was late, and then for...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Writing while walking We do not belong to those who have ideas only among books, when stimulated by books.
2nd Sep 2024
90

Writing while walking

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Sep 2024
We do not belong to those who have ideas only among books, when stimulated by books.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
How to Be a Lichen: Adaptive Strategies for the Vulnerabilities of Being Human from Nature’s Tiny... The hero of the modern myth is the victim, the emblem of the modern self the pronoun. We seem to...
2nd Nov 2025
11

How to Be a Lichen: Adaptive Strategies for the Vulnerabilities of Being Human from Nature’s Tiny Titans of Tenacity

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Nov 2025
The hero of the modern myth is the victim, the emblem of the modern self the pronoun. We seem to have forgotten that we are survivors of innumerable spasms of space and time, creatures who never would have given up the gills for lungs if we attached identity to gillness. Not so...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Back in the saddle (of writing) Background It’s been a hell of a year. I’ve got about 10,000 things I’ve wanted to write about, and...
26th Apr 2022
22

Back in the saddle (of writing)

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

26th Apr 2022
Background It’s been a hell of a year. I’ve got about 10,000 things I’ve wanted to write about, and have not gotten around to any of them. Here’s my various top-level reasons for not writing: what I want to write about feels too complicated to express easily/coherently I feel...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Book Review - Owning Your Own Shadow The shadow of the human psyche cannot be overlooked in a thorough exploration of personal...
16th Jan 2020
26

Book Review - Owning Your Own Shadow

from Blog - Anchorpointexpeditions.com [alt+shift+b] in literature

16th Jan 2020
The shadow of the human psyche cannot be overlooked in a thorough exploration of personal development. According to the classic resource Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche, “The shadow is that which has not entered adequately into...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Being creative requires taking risks When children learn to draw, they tend to make more and more interesting images for several years...
7th Jan 2026
1

Being creative requires taking risks

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th Jan 2026
When children learn to draw, they tend to make more and more interesting images for several years until around age five, when they learn to be boring.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Blood Flow Restriction with Tyler old draft, publishing, needs polish. Me: Sport climber, decade+, of and on a few different times...
16th Feb 2019
1

Blood Flow Restriction with Tyler

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

16th Feb 2019
old draft, publishing, needs polish. Me: Sport climber, decade+, of and on a few different times over the years. Educate myself, train as effectively and safely as I can. I’m 30, and wanna hit some significant climbing goals by 40, and a big part of that is getting stronger,...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Book Review - Iron John Iron John by Robert Bly is a classic book about men. It has legions of ardent fans, but I...
15th Dec 2019
38

Book Review - Iron John

from Blog - Anchorpointexpeditions.com [alt+shift+b] in literature

15th Dec 2019
Iron John by Robert Bly is a classic book about men. It has legions of ardent fans, but I reluctantly admit I am not one of the more zealous. Although the book has high points – the classic story of Iron John as put down by the Grimm brothers stands out to me, as well as an...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
✏️ On Racism On May 31, 2020, I wrote these words (on Instagram) days after George Floyd was killed: I am a brown...
18th Mar 2021
17

✏️ On Racism

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th Mar 2021
On May 31, 2020, I wrote these words (on Instagram) days after George Floyd was killed: I am a brown person. I am an immigrant. I am Southeast Asian. I am Malaysian. And I am an American. I’m a third culture kid. I came to the States at 19, alone. I’ve lived here for 22+ years,...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
HTTParty and to_json I was having some trouble debugging an HTTParty POST request. A few tools that were useful to...
12th Mar 2019
22

HTTParty and to_json

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

12th Mar 2019
I was having some trouble debugging an HTTParty POST request. A few tools that were useful to me: post DEBUG info to STDOUT netcat to listen to HTTP requests locally I had this code: options = { headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json", authorization: "Bearer...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Even Christopher Nolan prefers 70mm film With all the technology in the world, sometimes the more beautiful thing is less of it.
4th Aug 2026
1

Even Christopher Nolan prefers 70mm film

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Aug 2026
With all the technology in the world, sometimes the more beautiful thing is less of it.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
reclaiming the wälsungs part of a body of work on Wagner's Ring cycle
14th Dec 2024
1

reclaiming the wälsungs

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Dec 2024
part of a body of work on Wagner's Ring cycle
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
What’s Preventing Us from Building a Beautiful Product? I just finished listening to Lenny’s conversation with Nan Yu, Head of Product at Linear, about what...
5th Feb 2025
55

What’s Preventing Us from Building a Beautiful Product?

from ben-mini [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Feb 2025
I just finished listening to Lenny’s conversation with Nan Yu, Head of Product at Linear, about what it takes to build a great SaaS product. Like many SaaS apps, the Kibu team and I have taken inspiration from Linear. But as we plan our roadmap and implement new solutions, I ask...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
the gallery of maladies on long covid, hypochondria, and the forums
6th Nov 2025
1

the gallery of maladies

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th Nov 2025
on long covid, hypochondria, and the forums
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
✏️ A Second Shot It sunk in. Both the needle and the fact that life had indeed changed. I turned to my left and...
13th May 2021
18

✏️ A Second Shot

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

13th May 2021
It sunk in. Both the needle and the fact that life had indeed changed. I turned to my left and looked at her. She, the same Black woman who had administered the first, and this time I tucked her name away into my memory, having forgotten it in the excitement and overwhelming...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
How I read Reading well is an endurance sport. I sometimes talk to people who want to become serious readers...
1st Oct 2025
25

How I read

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Oct 2025
Reading well is an endurance sport. I sometimes talk to people who want to become serious readers and so pick up Kafka’s The Trial or something like that—it is about as pleasant as running a marathon untrained.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
✏️ Midlife Malaise The past few days have felt heavy. In a weird headspace, floating in the middle of space between a...
8th Jun 2023
19

✏️ Midlife Malaise

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Jun 2023
The past few days have felt heavy. In a weird headspace, floating in the middle of space between a destination or goal, or rather, a state I aspire to, but seeing a road ahead of which the length is unknown. It feels like a lot of things have been taken, removed, or no longer...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
How to avoid breaking APIs The main trick is to design them with extension in mind so that you won't have to break them later.
16th Mar 2023
27

How to avoid breaking APIs

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

16th Mar 2023
The main trick is to design them with extension in mind so that you won't have to break them later.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Payments vs Transfers Transfer means to move money but payment means "exchanging goods or services". A payment system has...
4th Feb 2023
40

Payments vs Transfers

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Feb 2023
Transfer means to move money but payment means "exchanging goods or services". A payment system has a lot more requirements than a transfer system and I rarely see the crypto ecosystem acknowledge these when building "payment" products.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
The internet is dead—long live print media! A retreat to the forest.
3rd Nov 2025
10

The internet is dead—long live print media!

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Nov 2025
A retreat to the forest.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Aggregate and deduplicate your deprecation warnings in Rails We know we all stay on the cutting edge of Rails; no one, and I mean no one out there is making a...
3rd Oct 2019
22

Aggregate and deduplicate your deprecation warnings in Rails

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Oct 2019
We know we all stay on the cutting edge of Rails; no one, and I mean no one out there is making a 4.2 -> 5.2 upgrade because Rails 4.2 is no longer supported. You, dear reader, have just suddenly found an interest in resolving deprecation warnings, and as one jumps a few Rails...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
War Room — using the native date picker
13th Feb 2023
1

War Room — using the native date picker

from Ben Borgers [alt+shift+b] in literature

13th Feb 2023
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Context Setting for certain patterns & classes of relationship difficulties I’ve been “catching up” a lot in my life lately. Some of that catching up involves bringing up to...
3rd Jul 2022
20

Context Setting for certain patterns & classes of relationship difficulties

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Jul 2022
I’ve been “catching up” a lot in my life lately. Some of that catching up involves bringing up to speed various people I’ve not spoken too (or spoken too much, or openly, or recently, or ever, or some combination thereof). I am strongly biased towards written/editable/consistent...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Mondragon as the new City-State This cooperative could be its own country.
3rd Sep 2024
92

Mondragon as the new City-State

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Sep 2024
This cooperative could be its own country.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
What I Read in July 2026 – Some links found verbal form, others remained mere promises, mist, soft... Soon I will put up a fall schedule for my plunge back into non-Shakespearian plays, from say 1604 to...
14th Aug 2026
2

What I Read in July 2026 – Some links found verbal form, others remained mere promises, mist, soft approximations of thought.

from Wuthering Expectations [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Aug 2026
Soon I will put up a fall schedule for my plunge back into non-Shakespearian plays, from say 1604 to 1614, an exciting stretch.  Middleton, Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher will dominate.   SHAKESPEAREAN The Adventures of Lady Egeria (1585), W. C. – Half tedious, half confounding,...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Trip to Germany, spring 2024
26th May 2024
1

Trip to Germany, spring 2024

from Ben Borgers [alt+shift+b] in literature

26th May 2024
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
How is music possible If you take a scene from a horror movie and add funny music, the killer suddenly looks hilarious....
2 weeks ago
1

How is music possible

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

2 weeks ago
If you take a scene from a horror movie and add funny music, the killer suddenly looks hilarious. Isn’t it strange that that happens?
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Quicksilver and Clay Quicksilver and Clay Like everyone else, I walk around the world in a body made of quicksilver and...
11th Jan 2024
25

Quicksilver and Clay

from Steven Scrawls [alt+shift+b] in literature

11th Jan 2024
Quicksilver and Clay Like everyone else, I walk around the world in a body made of quicksilver and clay. The pieces of my body—my sense of humor, my beliefs, my opinions and artistic sensibilities and worldviews, everything—combine to present a cohesive self to be...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Twentieth anniversary post On this day in 2004, I posted the first entry on this blog.  In recent years many posts have...
25th Sep 2024
1

Twentieth anniversary post

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

25th Sep 2024
On this day in 2004, I posted the first entry on this blog.  In recent years many posts have reflected on the past and present of literary blogging (it has no future) so I will not go over that waste land again except to wish more had followed the example of This Space. One of...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Don’t try on thoughts
6th Sep 2026
1

Don’t try on thoughts

from Ben Borgers [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th Sep 2026
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Meetups Everywhere Spring 2026: Times & Places ...
1st Apr 2026
1

Meetups Everywhere Spring 2026: Times & Places

from Astral Codex Ten [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Apr 2026
...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Monthly Review: November This is my second monthly review, and I’m hooked. I’ve thought this coming review frequently, but I...
1st Dec 2013
23

Monthly Review: November

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Dec 2013
This is my second monthly review, and I’m hooked. I’ve thought this coming review frequently, but I thought about that as I was conducting my month. This proactive review is in line with Viktor Frankl’s admonition to “live every day as if it were your second chance to live it.”...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Open Thread 436 ...
2nd Jun 2026
1

Open Thread 436

from Astral Codex Ten [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Jun 2026
...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Good Vibrations One eccentric’s desert landmark allows visitors to bathe in sound The post Good Vibrations appeared...
15th Apr 2024
56

Good Vibrations

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

15th Apr 2024
One eccentric’s desert landmark allows visitors to bathe in sound The post Good Vibrations appeared first on The American Scholar.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
39 Books: 2015 In the Spring of 1997, I visited a friend in Kassel, a city in the middle of Germany, home of the...
24th May 2024
1

39 Books: 2015

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

24th May 2024
In the Spring of 1997, I visited a friend in Kassel, a city in the middle of Germany, home of the Brothers Grimm and Franz Rosenzweig, and not very far from Weimar, hence the visit to the Goethehaus mentioned in the entry for 1989. I hadn't heard of it before and nor had my...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Notes on UX and LLM integrations I analyze 8 apps (ChatGPT, Notion, Perplexity, etc.) that use or integrate LLM and try to break down...
1st Jan 2024
24

Notes on UX and LLM integrations

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jan 2024
I analyze 8 apps (ChatGPT, Notion, Perplexity, etc.) that use or integrate LLM and try to break down when and why they work well, or poorly.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
On Leaving Evangelicalism And Opposing It Content warning & summary This paper talks about ethics, ethical behavior, violence, abuse,...
18th May 2023
23

On Leaving Evangelicalism And Opposing It

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th May 2023
Content warning & summary This paper talks about ethics, ethical behavior, violence, abuse, complicency, domination and oppression. It’s a condimnation of evangelicalism, but not, necessarily, any particular evangelical. There are those within evangelicalism who are ethical,...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
On Learning As a student at Turing, I’ve recently been thinking about learning how to learn, specifically in the...
5th Jun 2017
20

On Learning

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Jun 2017
As a student at Turing, I’ve recently been thinking about learning how to learn, specifically in the context of software development. I am a bit hyperactive when it comes to trying to learn new things. Over the years, I’ve done plenty of ineffective learning, and at least a...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Modus Operandi My operating rules and way of living. This is a m.o. (mo) page, or modus operandi page. It lists out...
14th Apr 2025
62

Modus Operandi

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Apr 2025
My operating rules and way of living. This is a m.o. (mo) page, or modus operandi page. It lists out the way I approach my life and the rules I apply to it to thrive. This is a living document and will be added to as more comes to mind, or as I develop new ones. It is mirrored at...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Consciousness, Artificial Intelligence, and Our Search for Meaning: Oliver Sacks on ChatGPT, 30... "We are not incoherent, a bundle of sensations, but a self, rising from experience, continually...
2nd May 2023
86

Consciousness, Artificial Intelligence, and Our Search for Meaning: Oliver Sacks on ChatGPT, 30 Years Before ChatGPT

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd May 2023
"We are not incoherent, a bundle of sensations, but a self, rising from experience, continually growing and revised... Through experience, education, art, and life, we teach our brains to become unique. We learn to be individuals. This is a neurological learning as well as a...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Practicing with Polylines This is a first pass at trying to do something interesting (repeatedly) with the same base...
10th Sep 2024
39

Practicing with Polylines

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

10th Sep 2024
This is a first pass at trying to do something interesting (repeatedly) with the same base primative, in this case, a “polyline”. Read the rest of this post, understand what we’re going for, then go to part 2: get your own polyline from strava. It’s not trivial to get, but its...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Stickies: Spatial note-taking
2nd Apr 2023
1

Stickies: Spatial note-taking

from Ben Borgers [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Apr 2023
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Limitations of My Own Thinking I sometimes make recommendations, or at least recount a story that has “actionable insights”....
5th Nov 2015
21

Limitations of My Own Thinking

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Nov 2015
I sometimes make recommendations, or at least recount a story that has “actionable insights”. Anytime this happens, I start tripping over myself with warnings and qualifying statements. Here’s what would happen: I would make a recommendation (“start a side project to help get a...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
✏️ The Work Is Never Done I went for a run. I’ve been running consistently for over a year and a half now. It’s a panacea for...
7th Nov 2024
31

✏️ The Work Is Never Done

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th Nov 2024
I went for a run. I’ve been running consistently for over a year and a half now. It’s a panacea for me. I run outside. I like to feel the cool wind on my skin, my pores open and sweating, the legs rhythmically turning over in pursuit of flow. In the beginning, I kept my head...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
The Sunflower and the Soul: Wendell Berry on the Collaborative Nature of the Universe and the Cure... "We are not the authors of ourselves. That we are not is a religious perception, but it is also a...
1st Jul 2024
99

The Sunflower and the Soul: Wendell Berry on the Collaborative Nature of the Universe and the Cure for Conflict

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jul 2024
"We are not the authors of ourselves. That we are not is a religious perception, but it is also a biological and a social one. Each of us has had many authors, and each of us is engaged, for better or worse, in that same authorship. We could say that the human race is a great...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
It's obvious why we hate social media We need better internet platforms. We're already building them.
1st Apr 2026
1

It's obvious why we hate social media

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Apr 2026
We need better internet platforms. We're already building them.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
✏️ Ernie Is Our Co-Pilot Hello. You’re receiving this long-dormant-now-re-reawakaned newsletter because at some point in the...
25th Sep 2021
17

✏️ Ernie Is Our Co-Pilot

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

25th Sep 2021
Hello. You’re receiving this long-dormant-now-re-reawakaned newsletter because at some point in the past you subscribed. (Thank you, by the way.) Back then, I was writing about some nexus of travels abroad, personal or professional news, and technology-ish topics. There are some...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Invasion of the Universe I wonder how many of those of us who write exclusively on literature and read only novels, poetry,...
14th May 2026
1

Invasion of the Universe

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th May 2026
I wonder how many of those of us who write exclusively on literature and read only novels, poetry, literary criticism and occasionally into related subjects, have an otherwise unaccountable curiosity with another beyond the literary horizon. Many, I imagine. I'm not talking about...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
SF Zine Fest 2026 The antithesis of slop. It's been a few years since I'd attended the SF Zine Fest. Friend Scott Boms...
7th Sep 2026
1

SF Zine Fest 2026

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th Sep 2026
The antithesis of slop. It's been a few years since I'd attended the SF Zine Fest. Friend Scott Boms had a table with his Matter Editions wares, and it's a 10-minute walk from home, so Jen and I had to go. Held at The Hibernia, it was a treat to actually go into this historic...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Love's Executioner (book) Countertransference applies to regular conversation.
1st Dec 2024
50

Love's Executioner (book)

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Dec 2024
Countertransference applies to regular conversation.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Socratic dialogue with kids I’m simply trying to understand how she thinks. When she answers in a way that does not match my...
7th Dec 2023
42

Socratic dialogue with kids

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th Dec 2023
I’m simply trying to understand how she thinks. When she answers in a way that does not match my understanding—that is interesting to me.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
“Dead Man’s Hand” The post “Dead Man’s Hand” appeared first on The American Scholar.
4th Aug 2025
31

“Dead Man’s Hand”

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Aug 2025
The post “Dead Man’s Hand” appeared first on The American Scholar.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Gary Snyder on How to Unbreak the World "What we’d hope for on the planet is creativity and sanity, conviviality, the real work of our hands...
1st Feb 2025
63

Gary Snyder on How to Unbreak the World

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Feb 2025
"What we’d hope for on the planet is creativity and sanity, conviviality, the real work of our hands and minds."
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Reading challenging books with kids is fun and probably useful I was looking through my diary from the summer of 2020 and found this entry about Maud, then three...
2nd Apr 2024
53

Reading challenging books with kids is fun and probably useful

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Apr 2024
I was looking through my diary from the summer of 2020 and found this entry about Maud, then three years old, in late toddlerhood. 25th of July 2020. I was doing the dishes. Maud came in. “I have looked a little in books,” she said.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
IMG_0416 Between 2009 and 2012, Apple iPhones and iPod Touches included a feature called “Send to YouTube”...
3rd Nov 2024
47

IMG_0416

from ben-mini [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Nov 2024
Between 2009 and 2012, Apple iPhones and iPod Touches included a feature called “Send to YouTube” that allowed users to upload videos directly to YouTube from the Photos app. The feature worked… really well. In fact, YouTube reported a 1700% increase in total video uploads...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Trust and Procedural Fetishism I recently finished reading Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. The book explains the...
14th Jun 2025
1

Trust and Procedural Fetishism

from ben-mini [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Jun 2025
I recently finished reading Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. The book explains the various missteps taken by the U.S. government that led us to where we are today: a bureaucratic sludge of policies and regulations that’s caused ambitious projects to go over budget...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Cities should own their land—like Vienna and Amsterdam Land autonomy beats governance autonomy every time.
2nd Mar 2026
1

Cities should own their land—like Vienna and Amsterdam

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Mar 2026
Land autonomy beats governance autonomy every time.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Book Review - Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant In the book Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant, author Roland Lazenby meticulously shares the...
29th Mar 2020
33

Book Review - Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant

from Blog - Anchorpointexpeditions.com [alt+shift+b] in literature

29th Mar 2020
In the book Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant, author Roland Lazenby meticulously shares the journey of Kobe Bryant, from ancestral influences up through his final game in the NBA. He is a clear fan of Kobe’s inarguable work ethic, but he allows readers to reinforce their...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Quotes from 'Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving', by Pete Walker I’ve found Pete Walker’s Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving to be deeply helpful. Some of you,...
11th Aug 2022
24

Quotes from 'Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving', by Pete Walker

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

11th Aug 2022
I’ve found Pete Walker’s Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving to be deeply helpful. Some of you, many of you, have blessed me and cared for me in kind ways, sometimes with very little knowledge of what was going on, or why I was the way that I was. Thank you. I’ve been...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
“A Bed for Your Voice to Sleep In” The post “A Bed for Your Voice to Sleep In” appeared first on The American Scholar.
3rd Aug 2026
1

“A Bed for Your Voice to Sleep In”

from The American Scholar [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Aug 2026
The post “A Bed for Your Voice to Sleep In” appeared first on The American Scholar.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
What I Read in June 2026 – I don’t know, that’s all words, never wake, all words, there’s nothing... Oh right, I can pretend I am writing something.  Some notes on books I read in the distant...
22nd Jul 2026
1

What I Read in June 2026 – I don’t know, that’s all words, never wake, all words, there’s nothing else

from Wuthering Expectations [alt+shift+b] in literature

22nd Jul 2026
Oh right, I can pretend I am writing something.  Some notes on books I read in the distant past. NOT SHAKESPEARE The Dutch Courtesan (1604), John Marston – Discussed long ago. Poems (1594-1612), George Chapman – A superb, innovative poet, somehow an Ovidian and an...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
I Once Worked Hard When I began working at my first job out of college, I knew I didn’t want to spend my whole career...
12th Apr 2013
23

I Once Worked Hard

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

12th Apr 2013
When I began working at my first job out of college, I knew I didn’t want to spend my whole career there. I was a college graduate (that means something, right?) working at a climbing gym, part time, teaching seven-year-olds how to climb at about $10 an hour. I had no idea what I...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Please The post Please appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.
26th Jul 2024
26

Please

from The Perry Bible Fellowship [alt+shift+b] in literature

26th Jul 2024
The post Please appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Modular life, meaningful work Highlights from the cutting room floor, pt. 3
5th Feb 2025
50

Modular life, meaningful work

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Feb 2025
Highlights from the cutting room floor, pt. 3
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Growing in your first software development job I started my first software developer role a year ago. (November 2017) This is tremendously...
28th Nov 2018
23

Growing in your first software development job

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

28th Nov 2018
I started my first software developer role a year ago. (November 2017) This is tremendously exciting, of course, but introduces its own set of challenges, like: I finished Turing and I’ve got a job! Oh snap. I just finished a grueling program, and my reward is I’m fit to sit at...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Summer 2025
5th Oct 2025
1

Summer 2025

from Ben Borgers [alt+shift+b] in literature

5th Oct 2025
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Everybody Needs a Rock A new homepage and site improvements. Looking at the Colophon from it’s last update, I mentioned...
14th Feb 2026
1

Everybody Needs a Rock

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Feb 2026
A new homepage and site improvements. Looking at the Colophon from it’s last update, I mentioned that a refresh had happened in February 2025. A year later, another refresh has landed I wouldn’t normally write about a site update like this, but the goal of the new homepage design...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
✏️ On a Low and a High A few days separate us from our time at Canyon of the Ancients and our last camp from this fall...
14th Apr 2022
19

✏️ On a Low and a High

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Apr 2022
A few days separate us from our time at Canyon of the Ancients and our last camp from this fall trip. After a mangled tale of an ER (mis)visit and a return for refuge at Sage Canyon (this time camping just outside the Workshop Loft — thank you, Grant, for the use of your bathroom...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
The Shape of a Mars Mission This post is the second in a series. Read part one here. p {line-height:1.6em; } p.caption {...
20th Feb 2025
54

The Shape of a Mars Mission

from Idle Words [alt+shift+b] in literature

20th Feb 2025
This post is the second in a series. Read part one here. p {line-height:1.6em; } p.caption { margin-top:0px;padding-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;text-align:center;} a.fnote {text-decoration:none;color:red} img {margin-bottom:0px;} “From a mathematics and trajectory...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Book Review - Shots from the Hip In the fields of Taoism, herbalism, and Chinese culture, Daniel Reid is a legendary author who has...
18th Jul 2021
42

Book Review - Shots from the Hip

from Blog - Anchorpointexpeditions.com [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th Jul 2021
In the fields of Taoism, herbalism, and Chinese culture, Daniel Reid is a legendary author who has written books that have changed the course of lives. His most recent publication is a two-book memoir entitled Shots from the Hip, a colourful account of his many exotic...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
History is More Like Science Fiction Than Fantasy I’ve been slow-reading Bettany Hughes’ Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities for months now, ever since I...
2nd Apr 2024
33

History is More Like Science Fiction Than Fantasy

from ribbonfarm [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Apr 2024
I’ve been slow-reading Bettany Hughes’ Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities for months now, ever since I visited the city (on Kindle, so I didn’t realize when I started that it’s 600 pages plus another 250 odd notes). It’s dense and absorbing and I’ll probably do a reflections post...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
The world reveals itself to those who travel by foot Nothing was as scary as we thought, and everything was weirder and more friendly.
6th May 2026
1

The world reveals itself to those who travel by foot

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

6th May 2026
Nothing was as scary as we thought, and everything was weirder and more friendly.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Denver Botanic Gardens - What, How, Why I recently got access to a delightful amenity, based on where I live. I’ve been sharing it with...
2nd Jun 2024
35

Denver Botanic Gardens - What, How, Why

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Jun 2024
I recently got access to a delightful amenity, based on where I live. I’ve been sharing it with others as quickly as possible, because they too have access to it. From here on out, when I reference “botanic gardens” or “the gardens”, I’m referencing the Denver Botanic Gardens,...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Open Thread 445 ...
3rd Aug 2026
1

Open Thread 445

from Astral Codex Ten [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Aug 2026
...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
bride and sister, be to your brother sentimental incest in Die Walküre
3rd Apr 2025
1

bride and sister, be to your brother

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Apr 2025
sentimental incest in Die Walküre
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
John Quincy Adams on Impostor Syndrome and the True Measure of Success “You will never get any more out of life than you expect,” Bruce Lee wrote to himself. All...
3rd Jun 2024
99

John Quincy Adams on Impostor Syndrome and the True Measure of Success

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Jun 2024
“You will never get any more out of life than you expect,” Bruce Lee wrote to himself. All expectation is a story of the possible. Every person lives inside a story of who they are, what they are worth, and what is possible for their life, and suffers in proportion to how...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
I'm crowdfunding my next book advance And sharing the earnings with readers.
2nd Mar 2025
48

I'm crowdfunding my next book advance

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

2nd Mar 2025
And sharing the earnings with readers.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Imagination vs. Creativity I like to make a distinction between imagination and creativity that you may or may not agree with....
14th Jul 2024
45

Imagination vs. Creativity

from ribbonfarm [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Jul 2024
I like to make a distinction between imagination and creativity that you may or may not agree with. Imagination is the ability to see known possibilities as being reachable from a situation. Creativity is the ability to manufacture new possibilities out of a situation. The two...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
On having more interesting ideas, pt. 2 Cutlery designed by Salvador Dalí
11th Aug 2026
1

On having more interesting ideas, pt. 2

from Escaping Flatland [alt+shift+b] in literature

11th Aug 2026
Cutlery designed by Salvador Dalí
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
'A Book That Everybody Can Understand' A partner at the Houston law firm where my youngest son is working as an intern this summer has...
1st Aug 2025
32

'A Book That Everybody Can Understand'

from Anecdotal Evidence [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Aug 2025
A partner at the Houston law firm where my youngest son is working as an intern this summer has loaned him two nineteenth-century law books. Both were compiled by John G. Wells (1821-80) and were bestsellers in their day, long before the practice of law was fully...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
High Variance Management How should you manage a team that is trying to achieve results out of the ordinary?
18th Jan 2023
27

High Variance Management

from sbensu [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th Jan 2023
How should you manage a team that is trying to achieve results out of the ordinary?
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Claude is kicking ChatGPT’s butt (in one thing) Back in high school, I remember receiving an email for a study guide from a friend. Instead of the...
15th Jul 2025
1

Claude is kicking ChatGPT’s butt (in one thing)

from ben-mini [alt+shift+b] in literature

15th Jul 2025
Back in high school, I remember receiving an email for a study guide from a friend. Instead of the PDF coming attached, it was a link to a site called Dropbox. Upon opening the file, you create an account. From there you’re introduced to a feature stack that went well beyond any...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Anarchy (or, less provocatively, Mutuality and Co-Creation) In 2017, I read The Problem of Political Authority: An Examination of the Right to Coerce and the...
3rd May 2024
22

Anarchy (or, less provocatively, Mutuality and Co-Creation)

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd May 2024
In 2017, I read The Problem of Political Authority: An Examination of the Right to Coerce and the Duty to Obey; everything and nothing changed. Lots changed because all of I sudden, I could clearly label a dynamic that had always irked me. I could see that some people would avoid...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
I want to love fiction I want to love fiction I want to love fiction. I want to love both reading and writing fiction. I...
14th Apr 2024
27

I want to love fiction

from Steven Scrawls [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Apr 2024
I want to love fiction I want to love fiction. I want to love both reading and writing fiction. I want to obsess over the craft of fiction, to pore over characterization and structure, to create stories that radiate color and humanity and hope. I want fiction to be a tool for...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
In Florida, the Pitch Is High and Hard A special Senate committee has opened an investigation into these “Misery Acres” that take dollars...
29th Mar 2023
23

In Florida, the Pitch Is High and Hard

from Robert Caro [alt+shift+b] in literature

29th Mar 2023
A special Senate committee has opened an investigation into these “Misery Acres” that take dollars from people who cannot afford it.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
A measure of forever For me, fiction is a space of plainness and excess.             Amina Cain When TS Eliot read...
3rd Mar 2025
1

A measure of forever

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Mar 2025
For me, fiction is a space of plainness and excess.             Amina Cain When TS Eliot read Dante for the first time, he noted a discrepancy between his enjoyment and his understanding, leading to the famous claim that "genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood"....
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
🔗 Rick Rubin on Listening If it’s music you’re listening to, consider closing your eyes. You may find yourself getting lost in...
15th Jul 2024
53

🔗 Rick Rubin on Listening

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

15th Jul 2024
If it’s music you’re listening to, consider closing your eyes. You may find yourself getting lost in the experience. When the piece ends, you might be surprised by where you find yourself. You’ve been transported to another place. The place where the music lives. — Rick...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
✏️ Mirrored Malaysia After almost three years apart due to the pandemic, we were heartwarmingly reunited with my family...
14th Sep 2022
17

✏️ Mirrored Malaysia

from Naz Hamid — Journal + Links [alt+shift+b] in literature

14th Sep 2022
After almost three years apart due to the pandemic, we were heartwarmingly reunited with my family in August of 2022. It was an intense and dense ten days, spending almost all waking hours together: talking, eating, and watching the time go by as fast as it would arrive. I...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Kawabata's The Sound of the Mountain - He began to feel that there was some sort of special little... Dolce Bellezza hosted her 19th Japanese Literature Challenge last month.  Once I have written...
7th Feb 2026
1

Kawabata's The Sound of the Mountain - He began to feel that there was some sort of special little world apart over behind the shrubbery

from Wuthering Expectations [alt+shift+b] in literature

7th Feb 2026
Dolce Bellezza hosted her 19th Japanese Literature Challenge last month.  Once I have written this post it will be the 54th book in this year’s event.  Amazing. The book is Yasunari Kawabata’s The Sound of the Mountain (1954, serialized 1949-54).  The sound of the mountain is a...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Why Your Belayer is Keeping You from Climbing Hard(er) Since climbing regularly again (!!!), I’ve observed lots of belaying in the gym. I can’t walk up to...
1st Oct 2014
25

Why Your Belayer is Keeping You from Climbing Hard(er)

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Oct 2014
Since climbing regularly again (!!!), I’ve observed lots of belaying in the gym. I can’t walk up to a stranger and say “Excuse me, sir, I noticed that your poor belaying is totally crippling your climber’s ability to try hard, and actively eliminating any hope you had of...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
The Inner Game of Tennis I just finished reading The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallwey. Originally published in 1974, the...
12th Oct 2024
45

The Inner Game of Tennis

from ben-mini [alt+shift+b] in literature

12th Oct 2024
I just finished reading The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallwey. Originally published in 1974, the book explores how the thoughts of an athlete affect their game. It’s lauded as being at the forefront of what we now call “sports psychology”. Although my competitive sports days...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
My TEDx talk about the future of fiction And publishing.
16th Jun 2024
117

My TEDx talk about the future of fiction

from The Elysian [alt+shift+b] in literature

16th Jun 2024
And publishing.
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Bollards: Why & What author’s note: it’s always fun to see your own stuff on the Hacker News front page! This very post...
30th Apr 2024
29

Bollards: Why & What

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

30th Apr 2024
author’s note: it’s always fun to see your own stuff on the Hacker News front page! This very post sparked >450 comments worth of conversation! I didn’t even know this got posted until days later! What are bollards The what and the why in a single image: The what and why in a...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
After Love: Maxine Kumin’s Stunning Poem About Eros as a Portal to Unselfing It is one of the hardest things in life — discerning where we end and the rest of the world begins,...
3rd Oct 2023
32

After Love: Maxine Kumin’s Stunning Poem About Eros as a Portal to Unselfing

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Oct 2023
It is one of the hardest things in life — discerning where we end and the rest of the world begins, negotiating the permeable boundary between self and other, all the while longing for its dissolution, longing to be set free from the prison of ourselves. That is why we cherish...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
On Not Consuming Animals Or Viewing Them As Exploitable This is such a draft, but I wanted to get it written so I could point to this big compendium of...
3rd Aug 2026
1

On Not Consuming Animals Or Viewing Them As Exploitable

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

3rd Aug 2026
This is such a draft, but I wanted to get it written so I could point to this big compendium of things related to “now I eat/consume plants and not animals”, or “i went vegan recently, here’s some observations”. I ‘went vegan’ a few months ago, as of when I began drafting this...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Structural Holes and Good Ideas Note from author: This is part of an experimental series, more-or-less based on “white papers” and...
18th Mar 2021
21

Structural Holes and Good Ideas

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th Mar 2021
Note from author: This is part of an experimental series, more-or-less based on “white papers” and academic literature, as applied to somewhat practical-ish domains. These pages serve as a brief overview of a paper, and I’ll be able to link to this paper down the road when I what...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Grace Paley on the Countercultural Courage of Imagining Other Lives “Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real,” Iris...
1st Aug 2024
69

Grace Paley on the Countercultural Courage of Imagining Other Lives

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Aug 2024
“Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real,” Iris Murdoch wrote in her superb investigation of the parallels between art and morality. There could be no such realization without imagination, which is our only instrument for fathoming...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
George Chapman's Bussy D'Ambois - As Rhetoricke, yet workes not perswasion George Chapman’s Bussy D’Ambois (c. 1604, pub. 1607) is another play performed by one of London’s...
yesterday
1

George Chapman's Bussy D'Ambois - As Rhetoricke, yet workes not perswasion

from Wuthering Expectations [alt+shift+b] in literature

yesterday
George Chapman’s Bussy D’Ambois (c. 1604, pub. 1607) is another play performed by one of London’s boys’ companies.  It is a bloody, crazy tragedy disguised as a history, a strange blend of the static Senecan and dynamic Elizabethan play.  Chapman’s verse is allusive and compact –...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
"Sometimes God, sometimes nothing" Once I imagined a novel in which everything seen throughout the day by a single person is reported...
18th Jul 2026
2

"Sometimes God, sometimes nothing"

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th Jul 2026
Once I imagined a novel in which everything seen throughout the day by a single person is reported in detail. I was a teenager in my first job and began by using company paper to describe the scrub on the slopes beside a motorway as seen from a car. I never got any further. No...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Million-Mile Tech Durability is the ultimate feature. I wrote in October last year that I wouldn’t upgrade my iPhone...
21st Oct 2025
1

Million-Mile Tech

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

21st Oct 2025
Durability is the ultimate feature. I wrote in October last year that I wouldn’t upgrade my iPhone 14 Pro. That’s also not quite true. I did upgrade my phone — with a new battery and leather case. This isn’t what people typically think of when they say they upgraded their phone....
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
[RIDGELINE] A Few London Strolls Ridgeline subscribers — For the last ten days I’ve been walking around London. Mostly in a little...
8th Sep 2026
2

[RIDGELINE] A Few London Strolls

from Craig Mod — Writer + Photographer [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Sep 2026
Ridgeline subscribers — For the last ten days I’ve been walking around London. Mostly in a little corner of it in the northeast part of the city. But can you even call a part a “corner” when the city extends in every direction without stopping? Whatever you call it, I’ve been in...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
How to complete a project Most of us have goals. And we usually don’t reach any of them. The Minimum Viable Product “concept”...
1st Jan 2014
18

How to complete a project

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st Jan 2014
Most of us have goals. And we usually don’t reach any of them. The Minimum Viable Product “concept” has helped me with some goals, and it could be helpful to you. It’s a simple concept: When starting something new, figure out what the minimum investment would get you the...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Beyond Curiosity I'm not sure he meant it that way. We were walking together in the shopping center. The central...
15th Jul 2025
1

Beyond Curiosity

from Naz Hamid • Journal [alt+shift+b] in literature

15th Jul 2025
I'm not sure he meant it that way. We were walking together in the shopping center. The central escalators made you loop around on the floor on the short side to proceed to the next set. As we neared the ground floor, headed to the food court sub-level, my father posited a...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
A Retrospective on Seven Months at Turing Collection of thoughts on Turing It’s the last week of Turing. I went through the backend software...
8th Aug 2017
19

A Retrospective on Seven Months at Turing

from Josh Thompson [alt+shift+b] in literature

8th Aug 2017
Collection of thoughts on Turing It’s the last week of Turing. I went through the backend software engineering program, and it’s been a journey. In no particular order, I’m throwing down thoughts in three general categories: What went well What didn’t go well What I might have...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
against the fleeing to europe industrial complex a brief polemic
18th May 2025
1

against the fleeing to europe industrial complex

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

18th May 2025
a brief polemic
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
this is the late review a casual blog of late reviews
21st Jul 2024
1

this is the late review

from the late review [alt+shift+b] in literature

21st Jul 2024
a casual blog of late reviews
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
This Space of Writing ten years on Today in 2015 my blog-collection This Space of Writing was published as a book. An ideal Christmas...
11th Dec 2025
1

This Space of Writing ten years on

from This Space [alt+shift+b] in literature

11th Dec 2025
Today in 2015 my blog-collection This Space of Writing was published as a book. An ideal Christmas gift. Not a happy memory to be honest; an editor would have made it a better book. However, I can't fault the cover design, and I was lucky to have Flowerville's permission to use...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
The Universe in Verse Book "We need science to help us meet reality on its own terms, and we need poetry to help us broaden and...
1st May 2024
52

The Universe in Verse Book

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

1st May 2024
"We need science to help us meet reality on its own terms, and we need poetry to help us broaden and deepen the terms on which we meet ourselves and each other. At the crossing point of the two we may find a way of clarifying our experience and of sanctifying it."
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
Wherever You Are, Stop What You’re Doing Nothing magnifies life — in the proper sense of the word, rooted in the Latin for “to make greater,...
4th Jan 2025
91

Wherever You Are, Stop What You’re Doing

from The Marginalian [alt+shift+b] in literature

4th Jan 2025
Nothing magnifies life — in the proper sense of the word, rooted in the Latin for “to make greater, to glorify” — more than the act of noticing its details, and nothing sanctifies it more: Kneeling to look at a lichen is a devotional act. We bless our own lives by recognizing and...
Direct Link [→] Remove from reading list Add to reading list [alt+a]
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

We love reading as much as you do!
Every week we share the top 5 articles we enjoyed reading. Subscribe to get them in your inbox.

Subscribe

The best way to read the internet.
Made for nerds, by a nerd.

The best way to read the internet

© 2023 Bored Reading. All rights reserved.

Legal

Terms of Service Privacy Policy

External Links

Borderline.biz Buy & Sell Apps PixelsOnGrids App Design Agency

Explore

Top Blogs
Suggest a Blog [email protected]

bored reading

v. 229.328 compliant with
earth/mars-x8292 communication
protocol 29xjw899992

When Google killed Google Reader, the bloggosphere took a severe hit and the content quality went down because there weren't enough readers to justify the effort it takes to maintain a high quality blog.

What's left is a decaying wasteland of blogs, most abandoned, a lot are now SEO spam, and 99% are not worth reading. BoredReading is a way to read the remaining great blogs that survived the ice age.

To add your favorite blog, please suggest it here! I get emails every day which helps me maintain a high quality selection of blogs!

Avatar

Made by,
Kumail Hunaid

@kumailht on Twitter.
My website and email.

Close [esc]
📚 BoredReading

You seem to be enjoying this.

Join free to unlock everything.

Create free account

Already have an account? Sign in