Category concrete
Category science
Can we achieve symbiosis with machines? Neuralink and Facebook try to answer the question.
Today’s internet-enabled devices are competing for our attention, all the time. What if there was some way we could escape the loop of digital addiction? What if we could become...
The Many Definitions of Intelligence
What was Albert Einstein’s IQ? Many sources online will tell you it was 160. But a quick foray into the supporting evidence for this number reveals that most sources have...
Mood and Productivity, Pt. 1: Does happiness live up to the hype?
Today, Vincent Van Gogh is indisputably recognized as a gifted creative. In his lifetime, however, he was unsuccessful by nearly every measure of the word: his art was never commercially...
Oatmeal and Emergence: How a whole can be greater than the sum of its parts
Oatmeal. At best, it is a nutritious and filling breakfast. At worst, a sloppy and unappetizing gruel. In short, oatmeal exhibits stunning diversity. However, amidst all these seemingly disparate varieties...
Category essays
Can we achieve symbiosis with machines? Neuralink and Facebook try to answer the question.
Today’s internet-enabled devices are competing for our attention, all the time. What if there was some way we could escape the loop of digital addiction? What if we could become...
The Many Definitions of Intelligence
What was Albert Einstein’s IQ? Many sources online will tell you it was 160. But a quick foray into the supporting evidence for this number reveals that most sources have...
Mood and Productivity, Pt. 1: Does happiness live up to the hype?
Today, Vincent Van Gogh is indisputably recognized as a gifted creative. In his lifetime, however, he was unsuccessful by nearly every measure of the word: his art was never commercially...
Oatmeal and Emergence: How a whole can be greater than the sum of its parts
Oatmeal. At best, it is a nutritious and filling breakfast. At worst, a sloppy and unappetizing gruel. In short, oatmeal exhibits stunning diversity. However, amidst all these seemingly disparate varieties...
Category biology
Category food
Oatmeal and Emergence: How a whole can be greater than the sum of its parts
Oatmeal. At best, it is a nutritious and filling breakfast. At worst, a sloppy and unappetizing gruel. In short, oatmeal exhibits stunning diversity. However, amidst all these seemingly disparate varieties...
How to make toast
Though not everyone can make a juicy Beef Wellington or perfectly crunchy macarons, well-toasted bread should be something we can all have. After all, the materials are so simple: a...
Category tutorials
Writing reliable software in a service-oriented architecture
In the process of starting a startup – and writing code to make it work – I’ve read a lot of advice. Thanks to the internet, we can now access...
How to be Productive This Summer
What do you want to accomplish this summer break? Let’s say you want to do something meaningful. And yet, you may find that the weeks start to blur by without...
How to make toast
Though not everyone can make a juicy Beef Wellington or perfectly crunchy macarons, well-toasted bread should be something we can all have. After all, the materials are so simple: a...
Category psychology
The Third Bowl: Building Online Communities Centered Around Connection
Obesity, smoking, and alcohol are the typical targets of a United States Surgeon General. Dr. Vivek Murthy, however, realized that, outside of these well-publicized dangers, many of the problems he...
Can we achieve symbiosis with machines? Neuralink and Facebook try to answer the question.
Today’s internet-enabled devices are competing for our attention, all the time. What if there was some way we could escape the loop of digital addiction? What if we could become...
The Many Definitions of Intelligence
What was Albert Einstein’s IQ? Many sources online will tell you it was 160. But a quick foray into the supporting evidence for this number reveals that most sources have...
Mood and Productivity, Pt. 1: Does happiness live up to the hype?
Today, Vincent Van Gogh is indisputably recognized as a gifted creative. In his lifetime, however, he was unsuccessful by nearly every measure of the word: his art was never commercially...
Category narrative
The Two Sides of Liupanshui
Liupanshui is a city of incredible contrast. On one side is the “capital of cool” — a clean modern summer home for visitors escaping the heat of the big cities...
My Dealings with Museum Security in Florence
It was a blistering hot day in Florence, part of the record-breaking heat wave of 2019. The kind of day where, despite the thick white coat of sunscreen I lathered...
Category travel
The Two Sides of Liupanshui
Liupanshui is a city of incredible contrast. On one side is the “capital of cool” — a clean modern summer home for visitors escaping the heat of the big cities...
My Dealings with Museum Security in Florence
It was a blistering hot day in Florence, part of the record-breaking heat wave of 2019. The kind of day where, despite the thick white coat of sunscreen I lathered...
Category essay
How to be Productive This Summer
What do you want to accomplish this summer break? Let’s say you want to do something meaningful. And yet, you may find that the weeks start to blur by without...
What does media sensationalism say about our ability to fight pandemics?
Chaos. Everything I see is a blur of red and gray: people in the streets doubled over in pain, hacking up fresh crimson blood, ambulances rushing back and forth, only...
Why Sustainability Makes Economic Sense
“We are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance.” – Larry Fink, 2020
Category economics
Thoughts on Futarchy
Democracy, the way we know it, has a lot of problems. Many Americans are now reporting record levels of discontent with the government, in a pattern echoed across other democratic...
Why Sustainability Makes Economic Sense
“We are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance.” – Larry Fink, 2020
Category programming
Understanding blockchain from a distributed computing perspective
Running programs on a single computer is great, but what if you want to run a program on multiple computers? For example, Amazon’s database is never going to fit on...
Writing reliable software in a service-oriented architecture
In the process of starting a startup – and writing code to make it work – I’ve read a lot of advice. Thanks to the internet, we can now access...
How I Built a Semi-Automated Matching System for Big & Mini
I co-founded Big & Mini in early April, as a nonprofit organization dedicated to combatting social isolation and creating virtual connections by matching older and younger people for video calls....
Get Involved: Open Source Technology Fighting COVID-19
The purpose of this document is to provide a guide to the open source initiatives working to fight the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Read on if you would like to help...
Category media
What does media sensationalism say about our ability to fight pandemics?
Chaos. Everything I see is a blur of red and gray: people in the streets doubled over in pain, hacking up fresh crimson blood, ambulances rushing back and forth, only...
Category books
My Favorite Books of 2020
I used to think books were like drugs. And I don’t mean garden-variety pills like Benadryl or Tylenol–I’m talking hardcore drugs: nicotine, cocaine, and so on. How did I come...
Category reading
My Favorite Books of 2020
I used to think books were like drugs. And I don’t mean garden-variety pills like Benadryl or Tylenol–I’m talking hardcore drugs: nicotine, cocaine, and so on. How did I come...
Category philosophy
Exploration and Exploitation: Finding Consistency Across Business, Personality, and Food
Imagine you’re a comedian, debating between two routines. The first is a safe bet, a tried-and-true routine where the audience is guaranteed to laugh. The second, however, is more experimental,...
Category business
The Third Bowl: Building Online Communities Centered Around Connection
Obesity, smoking, and alcohol are the typical targets of a United States Surgeon General. Dr. Vivek Murthy, however, realized that, outside of these well-publicized dangers, many of the problems he...
Exploration and Exploitation: Finding Consistency Across Business, Personality, and Food
Imagine you’re a comedian, debating between two routines. The first is a safe bet, a tried-and-true routine where the audience is guaranteed to laugh. The second, however, is more experimental,...
Category productivity
Managing time vs. managing attention
We often hear the refrain: “I don’t have time for this!” In reality, what this often means is: “I don’t have enough attention for this.” For people whose schedules are...
Exploration and Exploitation: Finding Consistency Across Business, Personality, and Food
Imagine you’re a comedian, debating between two routines. The first is a safe bet, a tried-and-true routine where the audience is guaranteed to laugh. The second, however, is more experimental,...
Category society
The Third Bowl: Building Online Communities Centered Around Connection
Obesity, smoking, and alcohol are the typical targets of a United States Surgeon General. Dr. Vivek Murthy, however, realized that, outside of these well-publicized dangers, many of the problems he...
Category politics
Thoughts on Futarchy
Democracy, the way we know it, has a lot of problems. Many Americans are now reporting record levels of discontent with the government, in a pattern echoed across other democratic...
Category problem-solving
Category optimization
Long Walks at the Airport
Terminal B of the Salt Lake City airport is unique among the airport terminals I’ve been to. Perhaps as an homage to Utah’s love of nature, this destination features a...
Category technology
Understanding blockchain from a distributed computing perspective
Running programs on a single computer is great, but what if you want to run a program on multiple computers? For example, Amazon’s database is never going to fit on...
Category ethics
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