the part about agency through experimentation to help users carve out "a middle path between total renunciation of any given product, and total indulgence" has got me thinking about potential interventions (experiments?) I could start applying to myself. on social platforms I've leaned more towards the total renunciation side of things and struggle to engage meaningfully online (though I still manage to waste tons of time in other ways on my phone). I think it's an interesting challenge to figure out what that middle path looks like as individuals, and then, as you brought up, actually be intentional about our use. I think there will be interesting ties with intentionality and the crossroads of mindfulness/spirituality/tech too and I'll also be curious to hear more about the experiments you conduct on yourself!
Nice to read v2 of this. I like your point that "human flourishing" is too vague and personal a thing to optimize for, and it's actually up to each of us to define what that means. A few years ago, I realized I was in something like an efficiency attractor, and I need to be more specific about my virtues around technology adoption. I have a folder somewhere with 50 or so written out, but confess that they aren't actievly applied. I think the open question for me is a practical one; how do I run simple but powerful experiments like this? Maybe one per month?...
Currently I have the notion that consolidating all of my text into an Obsidian vault is a good idea. I've begun shifting into this new system, and while there are some very neat affordances of this setup (ie: Claude Code has access to everything), I also feel some friction (ie: Obsidian is not really designed for tasks). It's getting me to revisit these values. What do I lose and gain by this new system? Feels like I should write a proper brief/thesis before hand, take notes, and then do a retro. There are probably lots of best practices around how companies do this that can be helpful for individuals.
Five years ago at a global tech company to remain nameless, we were actively experimenting with internal staff -- e.g., how to evolve our experimentation culture and practices.
That's the great thing about dogfooding experimentation, because the anthrocomplexity of humans and organizations is highly suitable to experimental approaches.
Maybe the well-being angle is more specific, but this is hardly a new phenomenon at tech companies.
the part about agency through experimentation to help users carve out "a middle path between total renunciation of any given product, and total indulgence" has got me thinking about potential interventions (experiments?) I could start applying to myself. on social platforms I've leaned more towards the total renunciation side of things and struggle to engage meaningfully online (though I still manage to waste tons of time in other ways on my phone). I think it's an interesting challenge to figure out what that middle path looks like as individuals, and then, as you brought up, actually be intentional about our use. I think there will be interesting ties with intentionality and the crossroads of mindfulness/spirituality/tech too and I'll also be curious to hear more about the experiments you conduct on yourself!
Experiments are necessary for human progress.
But unaccountable experimentation is one of the quiet dangers of modern tech.
Nice to read v2 of this. I like your point that "human flourishing" is too vague and personal a thing to optimize for, and it's actually up to each of us to define what that means. A few years ago, I realized I was in something like an efficiency attractor, and I need to be more specific about my virtues around technology adoption. I have a folder somewhere with 50 or so written out, but confess that they aren't actievly applied. I think the open question for me is a practical one; how do I run simple but powerful experiments like this? Maybe one per month?...
Currently I have the notion that consolidating all of my text into an Obsidian vault is a good idea. I've begun shifting into this new system, and while there are some very neat affordances of this setup (ie: Claude Code has access to everything), I also feel some friction (ie: Obsidian is not really designed for tasks). It's getting me to revisit these values. What do I lose and gain by this new system? Feels like I should write a proper brief/thesis before hand, take notes, and then do a retro. There are probably lots of best practices around how companies do this that can be helpful for individuals.
Excited to read more on this thorugh the year!
Five years ago at a global tech company to remain nameless, we were actively experimenting with internal staff -- e.g., how to evolve our experimentation culture and practices.
That's the great thing about dogfooding experimentation, because the anthrocomplexity of humans and organizations is highly suitable to experimental approaches.
Maybe the well-being angle is more specific, but this is hardly a new phenomenon at tech companies.