#1 - Everything Random
Welcome to the first edition of Everything Random. A regular post of links, articles, notes, ideas, and everything random living rent free in my head (and my open browser tabs). Hopefully you find them interesting. Some of these topics I'll explore further in future posts.
Quick Links
NASA Launches Streaming Service
NASA is elevating its digital platforms for the benefit of all by revamping its flagship and science websites, adding its first on-demand streaming service, and upgrading the NASA app. With these changes, everyone will have access to a new world of content from the space agency. Users can access the early, in-progress preview of the beta website now and are encouraged to visit and submit feedback at: https://beta.nasa.gov/
I know every organization that has ever used iMovie has a streaming service now, but NASA is really interesting. They don’t just have some original content, they have content that is inaccessible unless you leave this earth. I will be following along with the beta launch.
Why Note-Taking Apps Don’t Make Us Smarter - From
For decades now, software tools have promised to make working life easier. But on one critical dimension — their ability to improve our thinking — they don’t seem to be making much progress at all. Meanwhile, the arrival of generative artificial intelligence could make the tools we use more powerful than ever — or they could turn out to be just another mirage.
I have a definite soft spot for note taking and organization software. Every one of these apps promise to make you smarter and more organized. Building a “second brain” has become a popular phrase recently. But this software is all about data retention, more than data retrieval. Will AI be able to change this?
I enjoyed reading this article and it’s approach to the topic. Do you have a software or system that really works for you? Share it in the comments.
Why Chatbots Are Not The Future
Unfortunately for the countless hapless people I've talked to in the past few months, this was inexorable. Ever since ChatGPT exploded in popularity, my inner designer has been bursting at the seams.
To save future acquaintances, I come to you today: because you've volunteered to be here with me, can we please discuss a few reasons chatbots are not the future of interfaces.
A pump the brakes moments for the runaway ideas on AI and ChatGPT. This article helps put some perspective to the perception of AI. Providing some of the limitation or needs improvements parts.
Learn Something New
When I first started planning this newsletter format I thought I needed a witty title to call this collection of links. Some of the titles I thought of were;
Stuck in My Head
Living Rent Free
Too Many Tabs
The Tetris Effect
I eventually came to the realization that I was greatly overthinking this. Thus the simplest and obvious option arose, Everything Random. But, this thought process let me to discover the term Tetris Effect. A phrase I intend to incorporate into my vocabulary because it describes this phenomena so well.
From Wikipedia
The Tetris effect occurs when people devote so much time and attention to an activity that it begins to pattern their thoughts, mental images, and dreams. It takes its name from the video game Tetris.
And from Practical Psychology
The Tetris effect, or Tetris syndrome, occurs when something that we focus on for extended periods of time starts appearing in our thoughts, perceptions, and dreams. The term was coined by journalist Jeffrey Goldsmith in his Wired magazine article “This Is Your Brain on Tetris” in 1994.
I am dating my self a bit, but Tetris was the game that never left my original GameBoy. Any other readers had one of these? So the concept was so obvious to me once I read it. I’ve felt this way many time. I get some idea or thing stuck in my head that I see it everywhere. I start thinking in terms how everything I do relates to this idea. Sometimes the feeling just goes away, sometimes it won’t go away until I do something with it.
At least now I have a vocabulary to explain what is going on.
Living Rent Free
Did you know there is a new version We Didn’t Start the Fire by Fall Out Boy? It covers the years 1989 - 2023. If you’re unfamiliar with the original by Billy Joel, please check that out first.
This song came on one of my Pandora Stations (anyone still use Pandora?) and as soon as I heard it, I needed to look it up. I have since noticed it playing several times and find it stuck in my head daily.
That wraps up Edition #1 of Everything Random. Want to discuss further? Please leave a comment for discussion.