writings on power, decision-making, and collaboration

Latest

Sep
09
A dark blue and white plate, broken into pieces on a gray floor.

The Privilege of Play

Every person, and every organization, should be capable of both play and worry. The problem arises when people get stuck in their roles.
4 min read
Sep
06
Close up of a young (4-5 year old) blonde child jumping into a sandbox. Trees and a building are in the background.

Play and Consequences

What makes play different from work? Freedom from external consequences.
2 min read
Jun
24
Sign freading "Caution: Automatic Door". The word door has been crossed out and been repalced by "law"

Code as Contestable Law

If code is law, and law can be disobeyed, how can we make code more contestable?
7 min read
Jun
14
A feedback diagram with no words and a variety of colors, an artistic illustration of the concept of feedback loops.

How Feedback Loops and Interpretive Labor Help Us Develop Better Software

Ideally, interpretive labor performed by users informs subsequent software design. What structural choices facilitate this?
17 min read
Feb
22
An image of a Gitlab issue tracker in dark mode, showing a kanban-style board. The text is largely too small to be read.

The Politics of Feedback in Software Development

Software development happens on multiple levels, from UX to international law. Authoritarian systems block feedback from flowing between levels.
12 min read
Dec
30
A close-up image of a brown doorknob on a rusty door.

Technology, Constraint, and Control

A lack of physical constraint grants digital technologies incredible flexibility. It also severs crucial informational pathways, without us noticing they're gone.
7 min read
Nov
22
A feedback screen in a toilet reading "Good afternoon, please rate our toilet" with options from 'excellent' to 'very poor'.

Five Reasons People Don't Give Feedback

Without good feedback mechanisms, systems cannot discover or address their flaws, and they become dysfunctional.
10 min read
Nov
11
A picture of the warning "mind the gap" taken at a London tube station.

Interpretive Labor: Bridging the Gap Between Map and Territory

Interpretive labor is the work of bridging an abstract model and the underlying reality. Privilege and power determine who does that work.
12 min read
Oct
26
Whose Context Counts?

Whose Context Counts?

High modernism favors the abstract and planned. It sees local context—complexity, contingency, individual needs—as flaws to be swept away.
5 min read
Oct
19
Mistakes Were Inevitably Made

Mistakes Were Inevitably Made

Trying to prevent failure, instead of creating spaces to learn from it, can paradoxically make systems even more dangerous.
5 min read