Basement Files

Basement Files 69

"Kill your darlings" - I really liked this ribbon of themes this week but we decided to cut it.

If there is no sacrifice there is no discipline, and if there is no discipline there is no progress.

Looking

Using

Reading

I finally finished The Will of The Many - one of the best books I've ever read. I can't wait for the next one early next year.

Extremely Hardcore

Sibling Rivalry

Thinking

Selected extracts from stuff I've read this week:

"Study decisions, not just ideas. It's decisions and the people who make them that define how ideas are evaluated. If you feel mystified and angry when "the best" idea doesn't get chosen it's because you've been studying the layer of ideas ideas which always yields to the layer of decisions."

Creative people are at their best when they’re blowing things up, tearing things apart, poking, examining, questioning and reconstructing. In short – finding new patterns in the chaos. And usually ones other people don’t see.

I am not perfect at this, but in that pause after a botched meeting or a dumbass oversight, we learned to sit, listen, think and find the lesson that would point us in the right direction.

You have to give yourself what you needed when you were a kid, and give your kids what they need now.)

Your hand’s skill can never surpass your eye’s taste. The world will try to turn your tastes average, so to sharpen your eye, choose to spend your time in communities of outlier tastes.

On Repeat

Listening W26

Basement Files 92

Reading "The first 10 years of your career are for learning what you want to do. The next 10 are for getting great at it. The next 10 are for making an impact and making money.” The worst-case scenario is someone looking up to pop stars or athletes for

Basement Files 91

Reading Career paths aren’t linear progressions. They’re complex graphs of relationships, often invisible until you step back and map them. Each node represents not just a job or a skill, but a person who took a chance, offered guidance, or simply showed up at the right moment. Don’

Basement Files 90

Reading * This great story about how the calculator was designed on the Mac. * Things like this are why I am not too concerned about AI, there will always be humans making wonderful things just because they can. * Things are feeling really gloomy in UX right now At Linear, I’ve

Basement Files 89

On Quality Great design springs from personal conviction, not just objective analysis. Instead of striving for objectivity—which can compromise your vision and potential—design something that inspires you. The quality of your designs is directly correlated to how well you understand the underlying problem. More often than not we