No. 70 — Edit/mode ⫶ Paper hole puncher ⫶ The Day I Met Björk
And how do you make a person?
My name is Linda. I write a bi-weekly newsletter about computer science, childhood, and culture.
For the last months I’ve been mucking around on an unfinished manuscript, editing, cutting and expanding. I’m at a stage, where the structure and mass of words is there. Now there is a lot of invisible work, seams to pull and stories to sharpen. If all goes well, the book will be published in Finnish in spring 2025.
The book doesn’t have a name yet, but it is a curious, human-driven, literary and personal journey through the big ideas of computer science. These are stories that are usually only told through the language of economics, technology and mathematics. I want to do the same as Carlo Rovelli did for physics with his Seven Brief Lessons to the field of computer science, introducing poetry, brevity, and lightness.
(My other family lineage books include Turing’s Cathedral by George Dyson and Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer).
I’ve loved this phase of the writing. The foundations are already there and now I can spend time mulling over. The biggest surprise in writing has been what a Christmas tree a book project like this is. It’s a framework to hang things at, everything I read, write and experience in life. I’ve found following other writers work in real time offers much needed camraderie: Craig Mod’s fervent Nightingale, Tom Critchlow’s Winter of Word Craft.
A few recommendations on books on writing and editing I’ve particularly enjoyed below. These are classics, but they were helpful for someone like me, who has never taken creative writing classes.
Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Write by Roy Peter Clark. A brim filled toolshed with something actionable on every page. Sometimes I start the day by choosing one tool and applying it throughout the book.
Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process by John McPhee. I love McPhee’s diagrams and illustrations.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. More a meditation on writing/life, but instructive nonetheless.
Linked List
In computer science, a linked list is a linear collection of data elements whose order is not given by their physical placement in memory. But here it is a selection of things I’ve been reading lately.
Lego x Muji paper hole puncher. Paper as a material feels very relevant to computing as in the era of punchcards (it's a whole letter for another day), and I loved this little video on a forgotten collaboration. This led me also to discover Studio Playfool and its charming world.
The Day I Met Björk. I love all the video collaborations between Spike Jonze and Björk. This little gallery/archive/zine has irresistible elements (Bed bouncing Björk! 90s nostalgia! Chateau Marmont!)
Two people I deeply admire, professor Alison Gopnik and sci-fi writer Ted Chiang, in discussion on raising children (and AIs) and the care work that goes into it. ("That's a person! And how do you make a person? Well, for one thing, you need several hundred thousand hours of effort to make a person.”) Been thinking about this and the economics around it a lot.
Classroom
I’m hoping to surface and share stories from all of you and I’d love to see your creations! Here are a few teachers using Ruby in creative, fun and inspiring ways.
Last fall, I visited Georgia for the launch of the bind-up book. A while back, I received several heartwarming photos from local classrooms playing Ruby's Adventures. Stories like this, where the book offers a starting point for the student and educator's creativity, to ultimately make a memory, show me the greatest joy in my work. Here's the story in Georgian.
Exciting. Sure it is a famous tale.