Think Week #17
Wordpress Madness, The Illusion of Progress, Distribution Determined Design
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Your reading list for the week of October 13th, 2024.
TL;DR
S: Open source royalty and mad kings
M: AI Writing and the Illusion of Progress
T: Distribution Determined Design
W: On the Joy of Writing for an Audience of None
T: The return of the late night doom scroll
F: On programming and poetry (not Python's tool)
S: Why we worry: The ABC method for mindfully managing worry
Sunday
Benevolent dictators in open source can be great.
Matt Mullenweg's recent actions against WP Engine are a dangerous precedent.
It's a slippery slope from BDFL to mad king.
Monday
AI writing tools don't make you smarter. They make you lazier.
The real value of writing is, well.. the actual writing itself.
It's how we think, grow, and solve problems.
Outsourcing your thinking to AI is a fast track to intellectual decline.
Tuesday
Distribution isn't just a channel.
It's the invisible hand shaping your product.
It dictates consumer preferences.
It molds design decisions.
It determines success or failure.
Wednesday
The very thing that provides recognition can stifle your creativity.
Sometimes you have to reset.
Remember to:
Write without constraints
Explore without limits
Create without fear
Thursday
Your phone is a seductive intruder.
It whispers promises of connection,
But delivers distraction.
One night of weakness becomes a bad habit.
A bad habit becomes a lifestyle.
Charge that thing far away from your bed.
Pick up a book instead.
Reclaim your nights.
Rediscover your focus.
The world can wait ‘til morning.
Friday
Code is poetry in disguise.
Both aim to share understanding.
Both craft meaning with precision.
Both convey complex ideas succinctly.
Treat your code like literature.
Analyze its effect on readers.
Consider alternative expressions.
The result?
Maintainable, clear, and adaptable software.
Saturday
We think worrying helps us be better prepared.
But it's just an illusion of control.
Learn to manage worry with the ABC method:
Awareness, Boundaries, Calm.