innovation culture
I wish patronage were widely adopted as an explicit social norm. So-called “gentleman scientists” and patron-funded scientists, such as Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton, were behind some of the biggest scientific advancements in the 17th through 19th centuries. I think we got a little confused with the introduction of crowdfunding in the early... See more
Nadia Asparouhova • Nadia Asparouhova on antimemetics, nuclear mysticism, and scrolling
This silicon union of intellect and action creates a culture fond of big ideas. The expectation that anyone sufficiently intelligent can grasp, and perhaps master, any conceivable subject incentivizes technologists to become conversant in as many subjects as possible. The technologist is thus attracted to general, sweeping ideas with application... See more
The Scholar's Stage • The Silicon Valley Canon: On the Paıdeía of the American Tech Elite
Startups, he argues, can be engineered in the same way. “Startups excel when they put all their energy into one main thing ,” he says. “If you want to hit escape velocity, your startup should be designed to focus on that. In other words, it better taste good. But if your startup is designed to have several teams all equal in size, where’s your... See more
Nan Yu • Make an Org Chart You Want to Ship — Advice from Linear on Designing Your Team
Conway’s Law is so commonly referenced in Silicon Valley at this point it’s almost a meme. But I still don’t think we take it seriously enough. Because your product will be a mirror of your teams. You will ship your org chart.
Make an Org Chart You Want to Ship — Advice from Linear on Designing Your Team
At work the junior engineer sends you some code to review. The code was clearly written in a first draft, and then just iteratively patched until the tests passed, then immediately sent to you to review without any further improvement. They do not care.
The guy on the hiking trail is playing his shitty EDM on his bluetooth speaker, ruining nature... See more
The guy on the hiking trail is playing his shitty EDM on his bluetooth speaker, ruining nature... See more
grantslatton.com • Nobody Cares
When writing in public, there is a common idea that you should make it accessible. This is a left over from mass media. Words addressed to a large and diverse set of people need to be simple and clear and free of jargon. It is valuable to write clearly of course, to a degree. Clear writing is clear thinking. But to make the content accessible? To... See more