brenda michelson

gone astray

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  • Winter Refresh (testing)
  • PEW Research: Tech Saturation, Well-Being and (my) Remedies
    Back in January, I was asked to participate in PEW Research’s survey on the impact of digital life: “Over the next decade, how will changes in digital life impact people’s overall well-being physically and mentally?” The choices: more helped than harmed, more harmed than helped, not much changed. PEW and partner Elon, published comprehensive results … Read more
  • Comics & the Curse of Knowledge
    A few years ago, I came across Steven Pinker’s writing on the Curse of Knowledge: The curse of knowledge is: …a difficulty in imagining what it is like for someone else not to know something that you know. Because: The better you know something, the less you remember about how hard it was to learn. … Read more
  • Experts Sketch
    I think best with a marker in my hand. Always have. My workspace, and all paths to and from it, are littered with box and line diagrams, doodles, code snippets, and my (at that moment) best idea ever, on any scrap of paper, notebook or whiteboard within reach. Quirky, my friends think. But, I’m far … Read more
  • Lessons from Critical Making: Thingking
    As technology and data increasingly pervade our everyday, technologists and teams are incorporating new practices, especially design thinking, as a means to deliver digital products, services and experience that fit. The person. The situation. The system. Teams responsible for these new digital endeavors and transformations often model their practices on elite technology companies, fast moving … Read more
  • Current Path
  • Onward
  • Archives: Making the case for polymaths
    [Note: Originally published on my business technology blog, elemental links, March 2014.] Not everyone can be a specialist, and that's a good thing. Four good sources on why we still need polymaths (generalists, versatility) in an age of increasing specialization, and complexity. For natural polymaths, check out the bonus link on Maya Angelou, and then … Read more
  • earlier writing 2004-2016
    Remains: at elemental links Most popular: event-driven architecture overview (original post) (5 year anniversary report)