Author, writer, and creator sharing insights on learning, writing, philosophy, entrepreneurship, and more.
Roam Research – A note taking tool for networked thought.
As easy to use as a word document or bulleted list, and as powerful for finding, collecting, and connecting related ideas as a graph database. Collaborate with others in real time, or store all your data locally.
A Text Renaissance
There is a renaissance underway in online text as a medium. The Four Horsemen of this emerging Textopia are: Roam , a hypertext publishing platform best…
A revolution in our sense of self | Nick Chater
Psychologists have tried to plumb the depths of human motivation to make sense of our behaviour. But our inner mental world is a fiction, sustained by constant improvisation
Gradients of intimacy and creating shelter: An interview with Erin Kissane
How might we use nature as an inspiration for creating online communities?
Finding Fulfillment
What creates a fulfilling existence? Exploration leads to a framework I've used for years for myself and the people around me. I hope it helps you too.
Design for a Living Planet: Settlement, Science, & the Human Future
In this brief, accessible volume, the authors — an urban philosopher and a mathematician-physicist — explain the surprising new findings from the sciences that are beginning to transform environmental design in the modern era. Authors Michael Mehaffy and Nikos Salingaros explore fractals, networks, self-organization, dynamical systems and other revolutionary ideas, describing them to non-science readers in a direct and engaging way. The book also examines fascinating new topics of design, including Agile, Wiki, Design Patterns and other “open-source” approaches from the software world. The authors conclude that a profound transformation is under way in modern design — and today’s students and practitioners will need to be aware of its implications for our future.“Lucidly describes what’s coming in the world of design — and what needs to come.” — Ward Cunningham, Inventor of wiki, and pioneer of Pattern Languages of Programming, Agile, and Scrum“Essential reading for all urban designers.” — Jeff Speck, Author of Walkable City“Brilliant.” — Charles Montgomery, Author of Happy City“Inspired, compelling and fascinating… Recognizes that a true architecture can be dug from the facts, insights, and theories, that occur with a broadening of science to include the human being.” — Christopher Alexander, Author of A Pattern Language and Notes on the Synthesis of FormSome comments on the individual chapters:“Packed with detail and beautiful in presentation.” — Gil Friend“Human society must find a path of retreat. Salingaros and Mehaffy point the way.” — David Brussat, Providence Journal“Michael Mehaffy and Nikos Salingaros have written some brilliant articles on how we can co-create cities which are truly resilient, rather than being ‘engineered resilient’.” — Smallworld Urbanism“For me, this essay was like a flash of insight, and I suddenly saw the world in a new light.” — Oeyvind Holmstad, Permaliv“We’ve just come across a very thoughtful article by Michael Mehaffy and Nikos Salingaros… [who] draw a number of lessons from biological systems and use them to draw conclusions about how resilient human systems must be designed.” — Resilient Design Institute“Salingaros and Mehaffy take us from the configuration of city spaces to the order of cells in living beings.” — Jaap Dawson, Delft Institute of Technology“If you wanted to know where the cutting edge was in urban design, it is here.” — Patrick J. Kennedy, CarFreeInBigD“This is the single most intelligent and illuminating article I’ve seen on Archdaily in 3 years.” — Nìming Pínglùn Zhě, ChinaMichael Mehaffy is an urbanist and design theorist, and a periodic visiting professor or adjunct in five graduate universities in four countries and three disciplines (architecture, urban planning and philosophy) including the University of Oregon (US) and the University of Strathclyde (UK). He has been a close associate of the architect and software pioneer Christopher Alexander, and a Research Associate with the Center for Environmental Structure, Alexander’s research center founded in 1967. He is currently executive director of Portland, Oregon based Sustasis Foundation, and editor of Sustasis Press.Nikos A. Salingaros is a mathematician and polymath known for his work on urban theory, architectural theory, complexity theory, and design philosophy. He has been a close collaborator of the architect and computer software pioneer Christopher Alexander. Salingaros published substantive research on Algebras, Mathematical Physics, Electromagnetic Fields, and Thermonuclear Fusion before turning his attention to Architecture and Urbanism. He is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Texas at San Antonio and has been on the Architecture faculties of universities in Italy, Mexico, and The Netherlands.
rheingold's brainstorms: rheingoldian writing
MOOSE Crossing is a text-based virtual world (or "MUD") where kids, in Bruckman's words, "are imagining new places and objects, and creating them with words and programs. In their spare time for fun they are reading, doing creative writing, and writing computer programs. Through these activities, they are learning in a self-motivated, self-directed, peer-supported fashion." Imagine combining the educational value of a well-designed curriculum in writing, history, programming, mathematics or other subject areas with the innate fascination that kids exhibit when they play with video games or college students exhibit when they stay online for hours on end, engaged in the role-playing games known as MUDs.
What a community taught an AI about itself: Conservation Technology with Arte & Escola na Floresta
By Nurfatin Hamzah, Diego Rivera, David Dao & Arte & Escola na Floresta
Thoughts on Cyberpositionality: The Construction of Digital Communities in Digital Spaces, Damien Patrick Williams
I found Rebecca Monteleone, Martin Perez Comisso, and Elma Hajric’s “Cyberpositionality: Sociotechnical Location in the Digital Age” (2024) to be an extremely timely and important article which can…
EARTHKIN WILD
At Earthkin Wilderness School we hold that a deep relationship with nature, community, and self is essential to discovering one’s unique gifts so that cultural transformation rooted in earth-based ways can take place. We offer ancestral skills training, immersive experiences in the wild, deep nature connection programs, and primal movement practices for those looking for land-based learning and reconnection in the coast mountains of BC.
Revenge of the Dilettantes
Book club and AI adventures, age of bespokeness, study groups, new rules of engagement
Revenge of the Dilettantes
Book club and AI adventures, age of bespokeness, study groups, new rules of engagement
The Flâneur and Turtle on-a-leash: Exploring Flânerie as a Metaphorical Approach to Harmonizing Human-AI Interaction for Playful Placemaking
As part of the Digital Library's transition to Open Access, new features for researchers are available in the Premium Edition. Click here to learn more.
Article: Pace Layering: How Complex Systems Learn and Keep Learning
Boris Mann's digital garden and personal site.
Excited to share our new research demo, where you can freely traverse the world of Bluesky through 20,000 interconnected trails, spanning “analysis of fictional tropes” to “rotisserie chicken” to “zoning and land use policy.” Try it out, and let us know what you think!
skytrails · 20,000 trails through Bluesky
www.skytrails.org