participation
Participatory research methods
Research which centres the experiences of people who are under-represented is not new, but is increasingly important as power imbalances grow more stark. Participatory research is a good place to start.
Coping 13: Carving out spaces for joy
Coping is short posts on Fridays about coping methods for doing creative and focused things in an unfocused world. In Coping 13, carving out room for joy in one's work.
Seeing yourself in software
Software choices are about both capacity and self-perception. When we decide on a certain tool, it is not just a choice about accomplishing a task, but also about using tools that resonate with who we think we are.
Coping 12: Reading the world instead of the news
Coping is short posts on Fridays about coping methods for doing creative and focused things in an unfocused world. In Coping 12, reading the world instead of the news when out and about.
The port
Rotterdam is defined by its port, one of the largest in the world. What does it mean for a city to be so closely entangled with global shipping?
Friday bonus: What's so wrong with pigeons
As I continue to work on a project about urban pigeons, I've been struggling with the human-pigeon relationship. More than anything else, I've been wondering: what is it that humans find so wrong with pigeons?
When all the air gets sucked out of the room
The last five years have done a lot, in terms of "AI" and its impact on the world. The things I love on the internet are being hollowed out by the effects of scrapers and hyperscale data centres. Education is struggling with a race to the bottom, academic publishing is in the same boat. Now what?
Coping 11: Working in parallel
Coping is short posts on Fridays about coping methods for doing creative and focused things in an unfocused world. In Coping 11, doing related tasks in parallel.
Making is political
Making things yourself can be a political act. Does doing it yourself offer a meaningful opportunity to challenge hegemonic political structures? It depends on how you see the politics of consumption.
Friday bonus: Homemade things
If I can, I will build it, cook it, grow it, or mend it. Why do these things matter? There are a lot of answers to that question, but the main ones have to do with feeling a sense of agency in a world that encourages dependence.
On inevitability in technical systems
It's easy to fall into the trap of believing that certain choices, tools, or systems are inevitable and can't be changed. This doesn't need to be the case, and shouldn't be.
Coping 10: Community
Coping is short posts on Fridays about coping methods for doing creative and focused things in an unfocused world. In Coping 10, doing things with other people.
AI and the terminology land grab
We’re in the middle of a terminology land grab: words are being co-opted and freighted with new meaning. While "AI" can mean a lot of things, it now typically means “whatever helps us sell our product.” I explain why pushing back on the land grab is politically important.