Thoughts on Friction

In some ways this is a fresh start. Moving on from 20 years of blogs and all the subsequent baggage and messiness that comes with publicly writing every stupid thought out for the whole internet to consume. And yet... I'm still me and this isn't going to be too much of a departure from my old blog Library Attack! or even the older blog. I'm just trying out a new platform, a new mode, and (hopefully) a new way of thinking and sharing.

I think a lot of about friction. Two things rubbing together with some resistance. Friction means it isn't smooth, it's not seamless, it's not easy.

Friction is part of living with others and being in community. Talking to your neighbors, organizing your colleagues, and playing pickup soccer all brings various levels of friction which we (hopefully) collectively work through and build relationships.

I've been meditating on friction, and why we need to celebrate friction more. Adding friction back into our world can help focus the work ahead. Rather than assuming things just work and seeing technology as article of faith, we can reflect on how tools work (or don't) and what these technologies mean for our lives. Friction is a constant of the human condition.

I recently got into reviving our old Walkman and bought an mp3 player because I wanted to wean myself from only streaming music from my phone when I'm out and about. It's really great being able to stream whatever pops into my head. It's the type of convenience we've come to expect in the constantly connected world. The move to non-connected devices requires planning and intention (did you load the files? do you have the tape?) and also doesn't snitch on you (the Walkman won't tell you what I'm listening to).

So this newsletter/blog will be a new step in the same old path. I'll share my observations and experiences about things, and highlight how friction reminds me what it means to be human.

Thanks for reading.