Blog - Ben Guttmann

Don’t name things “my-“ or “your-“

Log on to your utility company’s website. What’s the section for your account called? Probably something like “My Account” “Your Account.” Ever since MySpace launched in 2003, this naming convention has sneakily stuck around in digital products. Twenty years later, it’s probably time for it to go.

February 23, 2023

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Samuel Morse and the power of thinking smaller

For most of human history, the speed limit on long-distance communication wasn’t a matter of 5G bandwidth or even how fast an operator could connect your phone call. It was how fast a horse could gallop. Samuel Morse changed that by thinking small.

February 9, 2023

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Do, delegate, decide, and delete using the "Eisenhower Matrix"

We’re never done. An infinite number of things are demanding our attention and efforts at any moment. So, how do we decide what to work on next? The answer lies in determining what's important, what's urgent – and what's neither.

February 1, 2023

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One Good Thing: Lunchclub

By this point, it’s pretty obvious that working from home certainly has its perks. But, there’s certainly a tradeoff in terms of our diminished surface area. That’s where we arrive at one of the most joyful apps I’ve discovered in the past few years: Lunchclub.

January 26, 2023

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The illusion of explanatory depth: we don’t know anything

How does your heart pump blood? How does a helicopter fly? How does a piano make music? All of these things are exceedingly normal. We aren’t frozen in shock and perplexed every time we flush a toilet or hear a piano player. We should know these things. We might even claim to have a grasp on them. But, when push comes to shove, we probably don’t know as much as we think we do.

January 18, 2023

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The biggest thing I learned from writing my first manuscript

Research is broken. I shouldn’t complain too much, as it’s infinitely easier to find facts, data, studies, quotes, and other resources than pretty much ever before in history. When I read of how famed biographer Robert Caro researched his seminal works– something he and his wife are still doing well into their 80s – I count my digital blessings.

January 10, 2023

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A few things I'm curious about in 2023

At the beginning of last year, instead of a resolution, I wrote a list of things I was curious to explore more in 2022. I did so-so – but I did have fun. So, here's the new list for 2023.

January 4, 2023

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The people want train travel

Our relationship with air travel is tenuous. But, on contrast: trains are great. Hopeful travelers, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, are noticing this. In Pinterest’s 2023 predictions, they called out train travel as gearing up for a “major comeback.”

January 3, 2023

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22 things I enjoyed in 2022

Inspired by the "media diets" curated by the great Jason Kottke, I've been taking some time over this past year to notice the things that made this year what is was. This is beyond the normal gratitudes of health, family, friends, etc. Instead, these are the things I did, ate, read, watched, or listened to over the past twelve months I enjoyed, and that I would recommend.

December 14, 2022

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ChatGPT is blowing up everything

Just a week ago, OpenAI dropped the most revolutionary piece of tech of the year in an unassuming blog post: ChatGPT. It’s HAL 9000. It’s the USS Enterprise computer. It’s what Alexa and Siri wish they were. There’s now an argument to be made that 2022 is the historical inflection point where we can no longer trust anything we see, read, or hear – everything can be made by software.

December 8, 2022

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