Table of contents

SOMETIME

Tools for Thought Rocks: February 2022

videoyt

%3 cluster_681a1904_d4ed_4116_a618_b74f8997e331 Tools for Thought Rocks: February 2022 cluster_a94b4eee_8c44_48df_b72f_2f126a76a8d7 [2/3] Presentations cluster_f1026b76_0982_4d3a_a38f_8a37dfb86ce7 Using twitter to cultivate ideas cluster_7ec4b774_189e_47d0_987e_2d1578fbfcb0 Techniques cluster_8a70e040_a7a4_467f_ad72_8de8418f5bae Questions cluster_209627d6_fe7a_4574_8e7f_93018b813400 [0/0] The future of personal computing cluster_46c24ad2_b22b_4719_8123_4473190798dc [0/0] Questions cluster_b421ab62_77b0_4b68_a3ee_09a94b1113b8 modeling, simulation, feedback systems cluster_539d0482_b5dc_4695_8890_881eec9b315b Questions _19b0908f_0e9d_4f9a_8f49_3c9dcd7f4337 Future plans _f0a46096_1bf4_4f28_b379_37a9b831f8c2 On sustainability: how can we help support it? _b75fe17e_1890_44b2_89a6_2f3fdc2f99ad Can the fact that many people use the extension help do things that are not possible by the API? _f3c4f41d_aaa3_4ee1_a5ff_ce082675b1c7 Thoughts on how Twitter can help things _1aa7dabb_ef81_42e7_9fdd_b26c41f9c1cf Does this find really old tweets? _eac882ea_c666_44e0_ba66_cb57d5a646c9 Reflections _f52f042b_c834_4b4b_9339_7802046ea44e Principles _39309f19_94e9_4c36_98e5_e91f26d6b092 Thoughts about mobile devices _c699b35c_6f9f_4d6f_886a_13761739326f Which are the inspirations _55df0e21_05d4_455b_880c_abab1a8bd841 Smalltalk _c699b35c_6f9f_4d6f_886a_13761739326f->_55df0e21_05d4_455b_880c_abab1a8bd841 _d247cb98_43db_4be9_8fba_e9ffdc3aad8a Hypercard _c699b35c_6f9f_4d6f_886a_13761739326f->_d247cb98_43db_4be9_8fba_e9ffdc3aad8a _d173e159_40cb_4bc0_963a_97b60a9a5907 Security _1a886869_e8e5_42db_8ea6_4ffbc4b5aac1 What new math would help this kind of ideas _dadf4a5f_19f9_44f6_a0e7_7bdae3394830 How would other parts, like algorithms fit here? _3d276d4a_66c0_43fc_af40_d7fb48a62da6 How are items different from FS files _bd9a80e0_e3fa_4943_96f3_c14921adeb93 How to deal with services that is too complicated/not itemized _d12b1113_b8c2_4d0f_a845_328af4e51ba8 Comment on downsides of simulations _ddf8fb77_f589_432f_bf26_6a55c5b8b8ca How do current works and areas are related to this? _7d89b99d_2743_458b_b8f8_34759b69dc47 Thinking of making a tool? _7130d996_74fe_4050_894b_53de5f48fd3a Viewpoint on what are the common compontents of Tools for Thought from this point of view _477c366c_0412_4588_bdd4_442247d5805b References [Bret Victor]'s work _cdbe753f_1086_4a57_aa84_e3ae68c0f7d7 Ink&Switch _48764664_c813_4031_8ab1_c9cfde12746c Tools for Thought Rocks _48764664_c813_4031_8ab1_c9cfde12746c->__0:cluster_681a1904_d4ed_4116_a618_b74f8997e331 _3251a1bc_c952_4c83_b301_a47b7ed611ff Tangent notes _7ffb9a67_fdb3_4d50_aeb2_26a7fbf05201 Viewpoint demo _e9fe78da_e5f1_442b_8d63_9679fc526726 Alexander Obenauer notes __1:cluster_209627d6_fe7a_4574_8e7f_93018b813400->_3251a1bc_c952_4c83_b301_a47b7ed611ff __2:cluster_209627d6_fe7a_4574_8e7f_93018b813400->_e9fe78da_e5f1_442b_8d63_9679fc526726 __3:cluster_f1026b76_0982_4d3a_a38f_8a37dfb86ce7->_cdbe753f_1086_4a57_aa84_e3ae68c0f7d7 __4:cluster_b421ab62_77b0_4b68_a3ee_09a94b1113b8->_7ffb9a67_fdb3_4d50_aeb2_26a7fbf05201

[ 2/3 ] Presentations

DONE

[ 0/0 ] The future of personal computing

video

  • Start/end

    00:01:00 -- 00:25:00

  • By

    Alexander Obenauer

  • Rethinking the user environments across your entire personal computing domain

  • How personal computers help to think

    • How we represents things affects our capability to reason about it

  • Rethinking the OS

    • Central elements

      items

      • Example

        notes, todos, emails, podcast episodes

      • Items might reference other items

        • Possible some items might be transcluded into others

          • This allows using and manipulating them from the other item's views

      • Associated items

        When items show together in a context, the system is able to connect them

      • Also, browsing contexts (eg. browsing paths)

        • Non-volatile workspaces

      • Separation of data from services and interfaces

      • Their transformations can be captured

        • Daily summaries, activity logs, ...

        • Create automations from the changes detected

          • Eg. user-defined notifications

    • Advantages

      • Might enable data sovereignty

      • Higer-level primitives for software development

      • Reduced duplication in third-party software development

      • Users would be able to move beyond the app

    • References

      Tangent notes talk on Tools For Thought rocks Jan 2022

[ 0/0 ] Questions

  • Start/end

    00:25:00 -- 00:40:00

How would other parts, like algorithms fit here?

  • Start

    00:26:00

  • Algorithms specifically might be implemented as system-wide views

Thoughts about mobile devices

  • Start

    00:28:40

  • Services might support interfaces they are not directly addressed, as UI's are other components

How are items different from FS files

  • Start

    00:30:20

  • Items can be supplied dynamically by "item drives"

What new math would help this kind of ideas

  • Start

    00:31:00

  • Question asker is working on mathematics for digital representation and asks which kind of tools would be useful

  • Work will continue on this

Which are the inspirations

  • Start

    00:33:30

  • Potential inspirations sent by question asker

  • Not clear, but thinks about which are the problems that led to the demise of these systems

How to deal with services that is too complicated/not itemized

  • Start

    00:35:10

  • Examples

    • Email

    • Slack

    • ...

  • Lean on "item drives"/metalayer to link elements that do not support functions like two-way-linking

Security

  • Start

    00:38:10

  • How to deal with accumulating this many micro-pieces of code from a bunch of people

  • Probably isolation is a good path

    • OCAP

    • Capabilities

DONE

Using twitter to cultivate ideas

Principles

  • Consider using Twitter not as a "village café", but as a Memex, a web of interconnected ideas

    • Having it be "blocks" be short helps this

  • Problem

    twitter is not prepared for this, there's no easy way to do this

    • An extension (Twemex) was created to solve this

Techniques

  • Show most liked tweets from random followed user

  • Show most liked tweets from user in the selected post

  • Show conversations between the reader and the selected user

  • Search for tweets published by the reader's followees

  • Search for tweets published by a specific user

Future plans

  • Search likes and bookmars

  • Profile notes

  • Curate multiple highlights

Reflections

  • Tools can shape behavior

    • Extensions let us reshape it

  • How to preserve this (twitter)?

    • Decentralize it?

Questions

  • Start/end

    00:59:20 -- 01:07:00

Does this find really old tweets?

  • Start

    00:59:20

  • Probably, the API used by the extension is different from the public API

On sustainability: how can we help support it?

  • Start

    01:00:00

  • Community support or subscription

Can the fact that many people use the extension help do things that are not possible by the API?

  • Start

    01:02:08

  • (Not explored directly, but...)

    • The app can do things that the API does not directly support with some "clever engineering" (like searching for most liked tweets)

Thoughts on how Twitter can help things

  • Start

    01:05:06

  • Question

    Prefers for Twitter to bring in the functionality or better to stay independent?

  • Answer

    does not expend for Twitter team to care about it, as it's very niche

SOMETIME

modeling, simulation, feedback systems

  • Start/end time

    01:07:00 -- 01:24:15

  • Looks for inspiration on CAD <-> SIM -> FAB systems

    • Closest local maximum on software

      [ Functional Reactive Programming ]

      • Issue

        chaos theory

  • References

    Viewpoint demo

References [ Bret Victor ] 's work

  • Manipulation software design is hard

  • Most software is information software

    • Pet peeves

      what does "information" mean here?

Questions

  • Start/end time

    01:24:15 -- 01:49:04

Viewpoint on what are the common compontents of Tools for Thought from this point of view

  • Start/end time

    01:24:35 -- 01:31:51

  • Things will take of when "we can run each other's systems on our own systems"

    • References OCAP model

    • Roam-style interface

    • In real-time

  • [ 01:30:00 ] Issues are produced in the interface between the real domain and the domain represented in the tools

Comment on downsides of simulations

  • Start/end time

    01:31:51 -- 01:39:12

  • Question asker mentions differences between simulation styles (like game engines) and functional styles (where everything is "separated") and that they don't mesh together

SOMETIME

How do current works and areas are related to this?

  • Start/end time

    01:40:07 -- 01:44:58

  • There's a groundedness on [ Control Systems ] and that field on engineering

Thinking of making a tool?

  • Start/end time

    01:44:58 -- 01:49:04

  • Still on the discovery stage, not thinking of making a tool yet

  • Considering the downsides of developing tools with a small team for a small audience

  • Thinking about developing a sort of Personal OS

  • Thinking about not using text as the grounding model for systme design

    • Looking for a system that can be boostrapped without textual processing