Jay Matthews

Systems where defects are swept under the rug, or “will be dealt with at the end of the project” inevitably gain that unshakeable perception of being “buggy”, which will harm your digital product, no matter how innovative it is.

When I arrived at the old Qlapaw tribal site, I accidentally discovered the abandoned hut of a mountain farm. It was a shelter built with canvas printed campaign portraits, bamboo and wood of various lengths. It looks like a nest woven with plastic straps in order to lay eggs by parent birds who weave its nest in the wastes of the modern world. It... See more

"Long ago, before the Great Clock, time was measured by changes in heavenly bodies: the slow sweep of stars across the night sky, the arc of the sun and variation in light, the waxing and waning of the moon, tides, seasons. Time was measured also by heartbeats, the rhythms of drowsiness and sleep, the recurrence of hunger, the menstrual cycles of... See more

Yes — I think you have to, at some level, in some form, have the feeling for how things might be different and better in order to make a great discovery. I think you can be lucky, but even if you’re lucky and stumble into something, you’ve got to realize that it’s something and that you should pursue it. And that is usually driven by some feeling... See more

Never have so many people felt so unfulfilled in their career roles, and been so unsure what to do about it... This is a book for those who are looking for a job that is big enough for their spirit , something more than a ‘day job’ whose main function is to pay the bills.

From Ignorant Militance to Militant Ignorance: To me, however, the most important contribution of the modeling enterprise—as distinct from any particular model, or modeling technique—is that it enforces a scientific habit of mind , which I would characterize as one of militant ignorance—an iron commitment to "I don't know." That is, all scientific... See more

On beauty in science: “He’s a very intuitive person,” says Niemi. “He sees the equations, but he sees beyond the equation. He thinks immediately, does this make sense in a wider context? … He smells the equation, if it smells good or not. Or if it has the beauty.”

“Most people, if they do something that they feel is important, they want to keep at it, to maintain ownership. When I have an idea that’s successful and popular, that to me is a signal that my work is done. My style is to try to do something important and then abandon it and do something else.”