thoughtlessness in the digital realm

When it comes to things like relationships, the bonds we form are ever-evolving and impossible to fossilize, just as the living internet will always trace back to links that stop functioning. But if the internet is fundamentally not meant for keeping, I’d still like to imagine what more it has to offer us.

The frailty of profit-oriented projects tha

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When it comes to the quality of our thoughts and judgments, the amount of information a communication medium supplies is less important than the way the medium presents the information and the way, in turn, our minds take it in. The brain's capacity is not unlimited. The passageway from perception to understanding is narrow. It takes patience and c

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Insights from Byung-Chul Han: The rise of narcissism, the emphasis on authenticity, and shallow technological experiences are eroding essential societal bonds We need daily and lifelong rituals to help bring narrative structure into our lives In the past, people had time to contemplate information, consider its place within a larger narrat... See more

But this isn’t really about the software. It’s about what software promises us—that it will help us become who we want to be, living the lives we find most meaningful and fulfilling. The idea of research as leisure activity has stayed with me because it seems to describe a kind of intellectual inquiry that comes from idiosyncratic passion and inter

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people building tech products so often miss the point

the point is to help people live a good life, not an efficient life

the point is resonance, not scale

the point is to deliver comfort, not just convenience

the goal is not technology - the goal is human flourishing

Cognitive endurance refers to the capacity of independent engagement with a challenging problem, in the presence of accessible solutions. For example, a student’s cognitive endurance regulates how long they struggle with a math problem before looking up the solutions in the textbook’s appendix.

Like athletic endurance, cognitive endurance can be tra

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Personally, I see at least 2 "types" of websites. In short: I am for AI for "getting information quickly," against it for "consolidating the internet landscape." 1. "Get stuff done/get information quickly." Where efficiency is key. Get from A→B as fast as possible. "What does this error code mean?" would be an example. "How do I file this {IRS for... See more

We all reach for tools that save us time. But used incorrectly, AI saves us time at the expense of thoughtfulness. If you had chatGPT write all your emails and a meeting bot write all your notes, you would get your work done faster, but you’d be doing a terrible job.

At Granola, our mission is to build tools that elevate you to do your best work. We... See more