Hackszine.com: Philosophy Archives

Archive: Philosophy

April 3, 2007

Designing for hackability

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Brian Oberkirch has a great article about designing for "hackability" - the article tends to focus on software, but it's equally applicable for (some) hardware too...

In a world where anyone can create, mimic, remix Web components, the ideas that spread most easily and completely, win. Simple. You want attention? Make it simple for people to give you attention and to retell your story. Designing for hackability means giving people the things they need to retell your story in their own terms.

Who do we want to hack?

Users (customize look, add/drop features, data import/export, mash with other services they use, embed our app elsewhere)
Outside Developers (your app plus my app sitting in a tree)
Colleagues (make the system fungible to encourage max experimentation & freedom for your team; e.g. flickr api was essential for internal use first)

What are some of the ways we can leave the seams showing on our Web services to enable & encourage hacking?

Designing for Hackability at Like It Matters - Link.

February 9, 2007

Everyday Stoicism or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Enjoy the Show

Everyday Stoicism

Contrary to what you might think, based on the focus of most of the posts on this site, we don't necessarily believe there's always a technological solution to every problem. In fact, for many areas in life, I've often found the right life hack for my particular need may be discovered at perhaps the opposite end of the spectrum: philosophy.

In particular, the Ancients really knew how to live well and started hacking great ways to deal with the effects of technology from the moment Prometheus gave us fire. For example, I don't make it to the theater as much as I'd like anymore, but whenever I do, I take a page from Epictetus:

When you are going about any action, remind yourself what nature the action is. If you are going to bathe, picture to yourself the things which usually happen in the bath: some people splash the water, some push, some use abusive language, and others steal. Thus you will more safely go about this action if you say to yourself, "I will now go bathe, and keep my own mind in a state conformable to nature." And in the same manner with regard to every other action. For thus, if any hindrance arises in bathing, you will have it ready to say, "It was not only to bathe that I desired, but to keep my mind in a state conformable to nature; and I will not keep it if I am bothered at things that happen."

Okay, so we don't have public baths anymore, but this technique works well in movie theaters, lines at amusement parks, restaurants, or pretty much anywhere you intend to enjoy yourself around other people. Seriously, I consider this passage with many deep breaths at almost every movie I attend. It works.