Research as a portfolio
Research as a portfolioOver the past year, I've been soliciting advice for how to pursue "transformative research." The cornucopia of counsel I've received is worthy of its own essay, but today I...
View ArticleProgramming and literacy
I'm setting aside my devices for a full week to enjoy a digital fast / analog feast in the Utah mountains with my extended family. I wrote the following thoughts a few weeks ago as I reflected on the...
View ArticleWhy tools for thought need an interchange
Today I’m going to be facilitating the third Tools for Thought Interchange event. While each of the speakers will have something interesting to show off and talk about, that’s not why I’m most...
View ArticleChasing Alan Kay
In the past week, something finally clicked for me: mediums > tools.About a year ago, I was the recipient of a 2+ hour lecture from Alan Kay on everything from the history of computing to the...
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Embodied computing
It's Monday and I'm back at my desk, in my home office, after a bunch of travel. I was on the road for three of the last four weeks, in Texas, then Utah, and finally Kure Beach, NC. That means my...
View ArticleWeekly research summaries and glimpses of the future
Today marks the 8th week in a row I’ve written an update. If you haven’t read the past updates, they are available online here.In my first weekly update, I reflected on these weekly update as a means...
View ArticleBlockchains are a big deal
Blockchains are a big dealIf you’re where I was several months ago, you may have this general sense of “something is happening over there with the blockchain stuff.” You may have even purchased some...
View ArticleKickin' tires with Croquet
I know I promised part two of Blockchains are a big deal where I describe why they are a big deal. That’s still coming! Instead, today I’m giving a quick update on my contracting work.Kickin’ tires...
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My time, Looted
Oh my! I've missed sending out my weekly update the last two weeks. And I've genuinely missed it! Writing this update each week has become an important rhythm for making sense of my thoughts,...
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Why Blockchains Matter
A few weeks ago I wrote about what blockchains are, describing four technological analogies for the blockchain: the blockchain can be thought of as a database, a network, a computer, and a bank. And...
View ArticleMy Research Portfolio, Updated
My Research Portfolio, Updatedif you are a creative person who is drawn to working on many things at once, there is nothing wrong with you there is only a massive system that doesn’t align with you,...
View ArticleGlimpses of the future
I have a bunch of half-finished articles I’m working on right now, none of which are ready for publication. Instead, enjoy a few inspirational links I’ve come across in the last two weeks!Glimpses of...
View ArticleReal-Time Apps and Thinking about Thinking
It’s been almost a month since I’ve written an update. Things have been busy! If I don’t write these on Monday morning, they mostly don’t get written.Here are a few things I’ve been up to.Building...
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Independent Research: A 6 Month Retrospective
Happy New Year!In June of 2021, I stepped away from full-time employment to focus on research. Over the last six months, I've been scouting the territory, trying to understand what "doing research"...
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Learning, Thinking, Building
These days, my mind feels locked in a three-way tug-of-war. Aside from adjusting to life with a newborn (we've got 4 now!), my priorities and thoughts are wrapped around three seemingly-separate...
View ArticleCool Stuff On The Internet
A lot of my time the last few months has been focused on getting our homeschool up and running and adjusting to life with a new baby. This translates to a lot of time with one hand scrolling a phone...
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How Buildings Learn
How Buildings LearnI've been reading a bunch of books on architecture lately, both out of general interest and necessity as we work on a major remodel of our home, and this weekend I finally dug into...
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A Few Research Updates
Today's update will be a quick one. I'm at the beach with my family, and I'm writing before anyone wakes up. But I wanted to update you on a few fun things from this week.A New Research NotebookI'm...
View ArticleFission and the Future of Computing
In the last update, I announced that I was joining the team at Fission as a research engineer. If you visited the Fission home page at the time, you might have had trouble connecting the dots between...
View ArticleAutomations, Time spent in the environment, "And then what?"
Yesterday I was musing on automations for note-taking tools and I was struck by the idea that automations in our tools can go too far. It seems there is some amount of desirable friction in working...
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Weekly Livestreams, Tools for Thought Rocks, and E-paper
Many of you have joined in the last two weeks. Welcome, and thanks!Since we may not have been introduced, my name is Jess Martin, and I'm an applied researcher inventing the future of computing. I'm...
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Decentralization and Architecture
Over the last month, I've been working on a decentralized blogging tool called mumblr (remember tumblr?). It uses Fission's WebNative library to store blog posts as markdown files in IPFS. Boy, do I...
View ArticleMumblr, TFT NYC, SocioTechnica
This last week, I’ve been splitting my time across three major projects and made significant progress on each one. Which felt really good!mumblr: a decentralized blogging platformI’m still not quite...
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TFTs, Funding Open Source, Decentralized Apps, Oh My!
It’s been two months since I wrote to you. And what a two months it has been. This missive will be a sampler platter of updates on the projects I’ve been working on. Bon apetit!Tools for Thought NYC,...
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Building the future of software with DXOS
Oh my! I can't believe it's been ten whole months since I've written to you! It's been an interesting season. I could tell you quite the tale of all the things I've worked on, but instead I'll skip...
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The dwindling distinction between docs and apps
Hail, fellow explorer! Last time I wrote about joining DXOS.One doc, many apps, many viewsI'm intrigued by the idea of sharing a single "document" between applications, where each app can be good at...
View ArticlePeer-to-peer is simpler than client-server
Since joining DXOS, I've been reflecting on the intrinsic architectural characteristics of peer-to-peer, local-first software systems. My brain has lived in client-server mode for a few decades; I've...
View ArticleDistill and Disseminate Generalizable Insights
Sometimes an article you read years ago resurfaces and hits like a bolt of lightning. Andy Matuschak's Ratcheting progress in tools for thought was that bolt for me the last few weeks.If you've...
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Reshape your notebook, reshape your brain
Reshape your notebook, reshape your brainThe past few weeks I've been re-organizing my personal Lab Notebook in order to better orient myself around my goal of Discovering and Disseminating...
View ArticleIt's the environment, duh.
Heads up! I'm in St. Louis September 21-23 for Strange Loop and a Local-first Unconf. Reach out if you're around!The Long, Slow HunchI have this idea, this nagging, gnawing hunch that's been growing...
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