distilling my taste and various bouts of inspiration and thought tunnels.

**currently deeply interested in how we can evolve from partially complete to richer data — and the human interaction layer that enables this information advantage.

Too often, systems assume reliability scales linearly with more data, as if data were discrete and absolute (this is a philosophy carried by many big data companies). But in dynamic systems data is rarely absolute. This perspective is dangerous in scenarios where we can never get the full operational picture (this is especially true in rapidly changing ecosystems like battlefields and space environments). How can we design systems that embrace this uncertainty, without assuming we have all the information, and still increase information advantage without brute-force data-labeling and simulations?

If you work in this space (or adjacent), or are thinking about the same problems, please reach out.**

brands

I enjoy things that are raw and stripped to its essence.

• moth fund — analogy of moths that are away from the spotlight. i.e. elevating unspoken or unflashy ideas that linger in the background. brands that are niche, not necessarily universally appealing.
  • an analogy for spotlight: building companies to stay on trend (ex: SF founder mode hype).
  • an analogy for moths: experimenting with something without immediate ROI because you deeply enjoy it (ex: making art with no promises of high pay nor public recognition).
• public transit trains in ny & dc — (though I dislike it as a form of transportation), I admire its raw and primitive nature. not polished or packaged up in pretty benches or wallpaper.
• this japanese resturaunt in torrence w no sinage (name disclosed) — raw interior (holes in the wall, bare bone utensils, low publicity), unrecognizable. I like how it strips experience to its crux. not the flashy visuals and brand incentives. stripping the experience of dining to its essence — a shared meal with friends.
• substack — raw thoughts that dont need polish. evolution of thought in real time.
• patagonia — low-aesthetic. durable. raw. functional.
• military field gear — influence conveyed through fashion. stripped to its raw functional units without unnecessary pizzaz

taste

• Nordic taste - design philosophy follows the idea of “lagom”: to find the godilocks equilibrium between beauty and function
  • In architecture: natural elements (wood, marble) are exposed in their natural form. Ex. We imagine trees to be tall and vertical — thus we commonly see furniture pieces follow the same form factor. thin wooden panels (alternating in color and texture) creates the impression of separation — even if the space itself is one giant rectangule
  • In music: atmospheric music. distilled to essential beats and rhythm
  • I also love how Minecraft was adapted from Swedish / Nordic tradition
  • My favorite coffee shop in nyc :) La Cabra
• raw utilitarian beauty, stripped of excess. distilled to its essence — whatever is absolutely necessary to accomplish a task. you can easily point to a set of principles that make it beautiful. I think there should be a level of explainability about why something is beautiful on top of intuition.
• aesthetics of influence that rally crowds around an idea
• analog systems & primitives: digital alarm clocks, analog watches, paper notebooks, blank work doc without templates nor simplification.
• obscure things that do not beg for attention. somewhat rough around the edges and overlooked. yet at the same time command attention and trust.
• primitive artifacts that linger and endure. ex: paper passports, physical clipper cards, handwritten letters, index cards. objects that carry weight and physical grounding yet can be easily destroyed in the next moment. keeping these safe becomes a deeply personal act.
• classical art movements — baroque and the weaponization of art as a method of influence and spiritual zeal to rally the masses. what is the human idea of perfection? how did we define the “ideal” during that period of time?