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.
values
participation
The jammer is the ball: Learning about community from roller derby
Roller derby (a team sport on roller skates) is embedded in a culture of self-organization, inclusion, and openness. What can other values-led communities learn from a sport that's made a virtue of inclusion?
AI
AI defeatism
There seems to be a growing undercurrent of despair and disempowerment in discourse around "AI." The belief that the horse has left the barn encourages apathy and acceptance. But I'm to ready to give in just yet.
F/LOSS
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.
nature
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?
AI
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?
participation
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.
values
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.
technology
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.
work
Food, capital, and work
Super-charged capitalism creates an environment where individuals feel the need to cram more day into their day. We still need to live, but time pressure presses down on our ability to do it without help. Enter solutions like the meal replacement drink.
ecosystems
Feels like home
The feeling of being at home is precious. Finding places and situations where it's possible to relax and trust that we have space to build things, space to make mistakes, and space to be ourselves is essential in a world going through a perpetual polycrisis.
definitions
Categories
I like doing the boring work, and the work that underlies the shiny things. Often, what’s needed but not top-of-mind is the ability to understand and critique the underlying structures we seldom think to challenge. In that spirit, I want to talk about categories.