I’m not trying to say that
drawings > photographs.
This isn’t about superiority.
I’m evaluating at pen & paper as a technology, and as a technology, it’s capable of some very powerful things:
<- Pen and paper
is capable of
retrieving memory...
<- And while photographs
help me remember the
setting and events of
a trip...
(and I still print lots of photos, don’t get me wrong!)
<- A drawing transports me
into a specific moment
more effectively than
anything I’ve ever
experienced
Plus, when you draw your memories, you don’t need to inject a recording device
...more
immersively
than this ->
into whatever you’re doing.
This broke my brain a little bit as a software engineer!
There was a time I used to work on VR, but looking back now... is it not absurdly over-engineered??
Why don’t we teach people to draw instead?
I do think there’s still a time & place for VR! But when and where? Should it be the “default” experience? Who gets to decide that?
Couldn’t find photos of me in a VR headset, but I did find screenshots of my debug screens lol
<-- My little scribble
is not very meaningful
to someone who wasn’t there
Similar to how -->
object of nostalgia are
usually meaningless to
others who weren’t there _
Of course, there are limitations to pen & paper.
In this particular case, keys into memory
only work on that individual
So it’s a magic trick that only works on me,
but who else does it need to work on?
Isn’t it more important for my memory to be stored in my body than on a server?
Isn’t it more important for my memory to be retrieved in my body than on a screen?
Sometimes fellow software engineers ask me,
“Aren’t you bored with paper?”
“Aren’t you done yet?”
And I’m like...
Paper is a technology that can be more powerful, immersive, and effective than our most advanced digital solutions, plus it’s extremely fast, cheap, sustainable, accessible, private, secure and can’t be scraped by AI by default.
As an engineer in 2025,
how could I ignore pen and paper?
I have 3 beliefs central to my independent work:
1) Paper is not obsolete.
It has never been obsolete.
It’s worth our attention more
than ever.
2) I reject the idea that digital solutions are
“more advanced” than analog ones.
(And along these lines, I reject the idea that AI is our “destiny,” as humans or technologists. But that’s a separate talk!)
I reject the idea that technology evolves linearly.
=>
3) I reject the idea that dominance is an inherent or
worthy goal for any technology to have.
I do not believe it is inevitable or desirable for a technology to destroy and replace all that came before it.
I believe in embracing the best of all technologies,
digital and analog, past and present, to optimize
for human experiences.
~TIME
CHECK~
lol how much time do I have left?
A) We’re good 😎 Go to Part 2
B) We’re done 😎 Wrap this up