Finds

№ 55 | Inspiration Wild Cards, Path Dependence, Instagraph, The IA of PKM, Quilts as Things to Think With, and LEGO Braille Bricks

Stephen P. Anderson

22 Sep 2023 — 3 min read

Inspiration Wild Cards

By way of a Cardstock discussion about ‘cards that make use of both sides,’ I think it was Matt Ballantine who shared the Inspiration Wild Cards, a set of 50 cards in 5 categories (super forces, fiction laws, super heroes, stereotypes and nightmare) designed to stimulate creativity. Ordered! ✅

Path dependence

This visual representation of “path dependence” has stuck with me. I haven't read the paper this is from, but I get the gist of it: Historical events and decisions an organization makes narrow (and lock-in) the range of available options. For extra mind-expanding goodness, check out this discussion of path dependence on LinkedIn.

FWIW, the path dependence visual reminds me of this design thinking visual (adapted from Bill Buxton, I believe?):

And… you could very well liken the concept to that of pace layering, with the idea that things that change more slowly (e.g. the foundation of a house) kind of "lock-in" potential changes.

Instagraph

I love this concept: Parsing natural language prompts (or URLs?) into something like a concept map or flow chart. The code is available now on GitHub, or for non-coders, you can sign up for the waitlist at instagraph.ai.

The IA of PKM

Add “ACE” to the list of ways to organize information. Referenced in this post are ACCESS, LATCH, PARA, STIR, Johnny Decimal, and now ACE. This topic of how to manage personal knowledge has actually been on my mind lately, as I've been thinking about a more durable—intentional—way to organize 15+ years of files… 😬

Within the ACE framework, I’m drawn to these 4 classifications of “Efforts” (a preferable concept to projects?):

🔥 On: For the most active efforts & projects
♻️ Ongoing: For broader, ongoing efforts
〰️ Simmering: For back of mind efforts
💤 Sleeping: For everything else (random, done, cold storage, etc.)

Okay. Now for a bit of randomness. I want to share two—curious—kinds of things to think with…

Quilts as things to think with?

Why not? Here's a fascinating look at a particular solar system quilt from 1876, with details that are more than decoration…

To ensure the accuracy of her embroidered depiction, Baker traveled to the Chicago Observatory to view sunspots and a comet

LEGO Braille bricks

Ooh—nice. “LEGO is selling braille bricks that use the bumps on their iconic bricks to teach the Braille alphabet.”

BONUS / JUST FOR FUN: Famous Movies Reimagined as Classic Paperbacks

№ 91 | Short Films as ‘Playful Things to Think With’, The Workshop Map, Meeting Solar System, A Field Guide to Hype, The Time is Now Toolkit, and Two Short Posts on Cognition

Another issue. More playful ‘things to think with’ and think about! Short Films as ‘Playful Things to Think With’ I’m going to ‘cheat’ a bit, and share something I just published: Short Films as ‘Playful Things to Think With’. Before the Oscar season gets too far off in the

№ 90 | A Thinking Things ✨Special Edition:✨Hexagon Card Decks!

Welcome to a special edition of the Thinking Things newsletter. Instead of my usual, brisk, roundup of 5-6 ‘playful things to think with’, this issue is devoted to a very specific topic … 🥁 learning cards that use a hexagon shape. 🤪 Context: Hexagons are widely used in games. Popular board games such

№ 89 | Defense Against Dishonest Charts, Make It Toolkit, Scale Up! The Business Game, Decision Trees for UI Components, ShadowBox Training, and Shadow Dynamics

Hello, and welcome to another roundup of playful ‘things to think with’ and think about! Let’s dive in… Defense Against Dishonest Charts Over the years, I’ve collected various examples of bad charts (most often from certain news outlets and political groups). This is a topic explored in-depth in

№ 88 | Flipspark, City Making 101, Adventure Playgrounds, 🌀 How To Speak Squiggly! 🌀, AfroRithms From The Future, The Great Cognitive Depression, and The Periodic Table of Questions and Connection

More playful things to think with. Though, this issue is a wee-bit longer, given that two of my “finds” this time are articles to think about, and not strictly ‘things’ to think with. 🧠Also… a request! I’m prepping for the 15th anniversary reprint of the Mental Notes card deck;