CYBORG_
Lessons learned about humans through technology and systems...and vice versa. A deeply personal look at the modern world and all of the complexity within it.
[cyborg] When Mars Attacked the U.S.
87 years ago on a quiet Sunday evening, people were tuning their radios to find something to listen to as they wound down from the day. Much like we might switch on the TV and flip through the channels back in the 90s (does any watch actual TV anymore?), an enormous amount of listeners across the country landed on a CBS broadcast that immediately grabbed their attention. Something unexplainable was happening in New Jersey. A journalist was there trying to make sense of the event: Ladies and...
[cyborg] The Apocalypse Is Here
It was a brisk November night. I was anxiously touching the trigger of my gun just to reassure myself that it was there, ready. A giant soccer goal was being pulled into place at my right, acting as a barrier, and 40 or 50 people backed up with me into the chain link fence. "Get ready!" someone shouted into the moonless night. The only light dimly drifted onto the field from a building 300 feet away. The chill of the imminent threat zapped through my spine and around my ears. At the other end...
[cyborg] The Problem We're Avoiding with AI
We, as a species, have been thrown into exceptionally dangerous circumstances with the new breed of AI. I’ve been waiting to write this particular email on this particular topic, because I found myself waffling between opinions and false understanding. I’ve been examining AI from philosophical, technical, political, and even science-fictional standpoints. I don’t have the answers yet—no one really does. But I have stumbled upon some concerning and critical topics that aren’t prevalent in the...
[cyborg] What Bob Ross teaches us about thriving with tech
What, not How At the end of a random Bob Ross episode, he dropped some prophetic wisdom. “Soon, how to paint won’t be the problem anymore. The hard part will be what to paint.” In context, he was simply marketing his books and certified instructors. In our context almost 45 years later, this gives us a hint for how to thrive. Decision-making, strategy, and creativity are the only differentiators in a saturated world. Courses, products, equipment, AI, arbitrage, etc. can fill in the technical...
[cyborg] Rigidity is death...
...flexibility is life. So says my Sensei. When we build systems and tools to help us solve problems, there is a pitfall, especially when you first start. The first version of the CMS I created at work was exceptionally rigid. There was a field for every bit of text, and you weren’t supposed to be able to break the template design because each field was mapped exactly. The pitfall came when people discovered they could start hacking—inserting their own (less ideal) HTML code in certain...
The Problem with Creativity...
"Whoa, did you draw that? I can't draw—even my stick figures are bad."—Everyone, ever As an artist, the worst part of showing my work—besides the showing the work part ;)—is the way people self-deprecate in response. This doesn't happen as much when the artist isn't present, but it does seem to be a problem with art and our current culture. It makes people judgmental, and not in the constructive way that critiques of the art piece can be. They, the viewer, are judging themselves—their...
cyborg init
INITIALIZING CYBORG SEQUENCE Thanks for joining the ranks of fellow cyborgs. Before we do introductions, here's your first tip! Can't tell you how many times I have accidentally closed the wrong browser tab (usually doing too many keyboard shortcuts in succession). Close the wrong tab? A simple CMD / CTRL + SHIFT + T should help save the day! It re-opens the last tab closed—and it's repeatable, often even across multiple browser windows. Re-open the last tab closed with CTRL / CMD + SHIFT + T...
Lessons learned about humans through technology and systems...and vice versa. A deeply personal look at the modern world and all of the complexity within it.