I’ve been meaning to post on a few different topics that have been on my mind lately, but without the extra time or energy to do that, I’m going to condense them into a more brief dispatch for now, so here are three…

The Glitch-Haunted World
Sometime recently the word “glitch” came up at the office and I wrote it down in my notebook. I can’t remember the context, but it set in motion many thoughts on the nature of glitches, and why they carry with them an appeal that has led to all kinds of glitch-oriented culture. Of course, most of the glitch culture involves the control of pseudo-glitches, or, in other words, reverse engineering particular visual or sonic glitches and reproducing them in an intentional way. The aesthetic of glitches can be found in plenty of contemporary art, design and music, not to mention the strange phenomenon of fashion glitches (pre-worn jeans with all kinds of tears, holes, and frays). Anyhow, it got me thinking about how glitches could be discerned on a universal (or microscopic) scale and perhaps form a pattern of their own that, when studied, gives us deeper insight into the nature of time, space, and the like. For those who wonder if we are actually living in a simulation, glitch-study could perhaps verify or falsify the theory, although it would seem that our ability to truly perceive a glitch would require that we know the full system inside and out, which we don’t, which is what we were hoping the glitch pattern might help us to do. So there is a tautological problem there…

An Ideal Online/Offline Ratio
This week I wrote a shorter piece for Imprint on the benefits of offline thinking for “screen workers.” Toward the end of the summer, I noticed that I had all but abandoned drawing and writing on paper—something I used to do much more frequently—and was probably spending the equivalent amount of time in front of a screen instead—something I do most of the day, anyway. Since then, I’ve been experimenting with a routine in which I produce at least one page in my notebook each week. That doesn’t seem like much, I’m sure, but the way I’m doing it seems to be just enough for me. So, I wonder—how much time is each page I produce worth, and, compared to the amount of time I work on my computer, is it enough? Is my fear that something will be lost if I give up “paper thinking” for “screen thinking” a symptom of the growing pains of humanity progressing from the “analog age” to the “digital age?” I don’t think I’m ready to conclude that. To the contrary, working with paper and pen has been a needed break from the screen and has broadened my mind just as I’d hoped it would. On that note, I’ll end this point by pasting in the concluding line from my Imprint post on the benefits of making things by hand:

“…the immediate sensory feedback of analog processes, the risks and commitment in the absence of an ‘undo’ command, the freedom from requiring a final gloss of professionalism, the slower pace our hands demand and mind thanks us for later, or even simply the relief of looking at things illuminated by a lamp rather than a lamp itself.”

Stranger Mentors
I should say first that I understand “mentor” to mean something fairly basic, like a trusted guide. I’ve had a few mentors in my life so far—people who have introduced me to new ideas, inspired me to learn new skills, or made me long to be a better man—some of them have been family, friends, teachers, leaders, and some even strangers. In fact, many of them have been complete strangers. Meaning I’ve never met them in person and probably never will. I’m not sure what to make of that—whether it’s a good thing, normal, or if any of that even matters. But the point is that I’ve been introduced to countless new ideas, taught new skills, and had my character shaped by people whom I have accessed almost entirely through the information they have produced. I was reflecting on this a few weeks ago and jotted down a web of names of the people who have influenced me lately. It’s incredible to think that these people could have such a profound effect upon someone they’ve never met. I suppose it should remind each of us—even if we have or will never publish a word—that we have no idea the impact we will have on others. Who are your “stranger mentors”?

Posted at 8:43pm and tagged with: glitch, mentors, screen-workers, two column, longreads,.