The key layout on a standard QWERTY keyboard is built on a design brief that has long since become irrelevant:
What seems as an irrational and random orientation of letters for everyone familiar with the sequence of the roman alphabet, is actually set up to prevent mechanical typewriter jams by slowing typists down.
The position of the letters in relation to one another is purposefully a pain, and not of derivative logic to someone taught the ABC’s and cursive handwriting.
engineered inefficiency in the user, in order to bolster a product’s technical reliability.
The design of the QWERTY keyboard layout persists a century after the problem it solved has ceased to exist.
(the last typewriter I remember using was a historical novelty in my Primary school classroom)
but its inefficiency is now embedded in billions of devices and muscle memories worldwide.
This is the danger of optimization without examination.
We refine answers to questions we've forgotten to ask and polish solutions to problems that may no longer be relevant…
...or worse, were perhaps misdiagnosed from the start.
First Principles Thinking offers an exit ramp to similar design feedback loops.
Rather than accepting existing frameworks as immutable, it ensures that we dismantle complex problems into their fundamental truths, and rebuild understanding from the ground up.
Before you dive head-first into your design work, challenge the assumptions of the brief...
...aggressively.
Hope you're having a great day, man. Your updates always bring a smile to my face.
To stand within building of pre-fiat grandeur is one thing.
But to actually live within it, to become intimately aware of its details and impress your own narrative as a tiny part of its storied legacy is something else entirely.
From birth until age 22, I lived between Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland. Cities steeped in immersive history. I consider myself very lucky for this upbringing.
My high school was built in the mid-1800s (originally a hospital).
And I studied design at Glasgow School of Art which, before its tragic fire, was considered a jewel of late-1800's Art Noveau architecture.
I left for the West Coast of North America in 2009 (financial crisis forced my hand) and I planted long-term roots in the city where I secured a career foothold.
While there was huge novelty in being surrounded by glass skyscrapers and unfettered modernity (which I'd previously only experienced in cinema or the American vacation), the lack of ambient aesthetic richness became noticeable after a few years.
The gleaming surfaces and geometric precision of contemporary architecture created visual impact but somehow left me feeling spiritually unstimulated.
These spaces felt efficient but disconnected from the deeper human experience of inhabiting a place that carries the weight of generations.
I've found that since leaving Scotland, every time I visit a heritage city (usually in Europe or East Coast US), there's great mental and emotional replenishment that comes from 'stone bathing' in old architecture of profound beauty and deep narrative.
Walking through narrow cobblestone alleys of Barcelona or running my hand along weathered limestone walls in Italian piazzas: Each triggers something primal and restorative.
When people discuss the power and sensation of 'grounding' (connecting your body directly to the earth to discharge your natural electricity) I feel the sensation is similar to being immersed in a building crafted in stone and drenched in history.
Grounding, is based on the idea that direct physical contact with the earth's surface electrons can neutralize the positive charge that builds up in our bodies from modern living.
Practitioners remove their shoes and socks to walk barefoot on grass, sand, or soil, believing this connection helps reduce inflammation, improve sleep, and restore natural electrical balance.
While the scientific evidence remains mixed, many report feeling more centered and energized after grounding sessions.
What I experience in historic stone buildings feels remarkably similar to what grounding enthusiasts describe (despite wearing shoes...).
Or perhaps similar to the internal 'quiet' that comes from 'forest bathing'- Being out in the forest to detox from the modern city.
There's a palpable shift in my nervous system when I enter old spaces.
A settling, a slowing down, and a sense of being held by something larger and more enduring than myself.
The cool touch of ancient stone seems to draw tension from my body the same way earth supposedly draws excess electrical charge.
And the aesthetic richness that comes from immersive 'proof of work' magically inspires me to simply try harder in all facets of life.
This practise of dwelling for a time within old architecture -along with the practises of forest bathing and ground- all involve connecting with something elemental and enduring, whether it's the planet beneath our feet or the accumulated human effort crystallized in stone and mortar across centuries.
Sounds a bit hippy dippy as I type it out.
But I find there are few better ways for me to creatively reset.
[Photo is Glasgow School of Art, pre-2018 destruction]
Very well said. Incentivized advancement at the periphery of science and culture leads to human flourishing
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Yeah, it’s particularly tough if you’re building a personal brand, and the quality of your work is 100% dovetailed to your personal identity (even if just in your own mind).
Allowing it to be presented “raw” is putting the potential value to others ahead of your own ego.
I struggle with this for sure 😅 I’m a long way off from making it a habit
Consumers gravitate toward brands that feel AUTHENTIC: Brands willing to take creative risks in order to be true to their mission, even if they occasionally stumble, socially or fiscally.
Consumers want to buy into WHY you're selling, not just WHAT you sell.
This is why genuine founder stories are such a compelling marketing tool.
And this is one reason why the Nostr ‘digital farmer’s market’ is such a great spring board for indie growth: An anti-fiat founder story is baked in.
And taking the tougher PR route by choice shows commitment to the mission over profits. 👏
My gut's telling me that creative mistakes and unpolished drafts will increasingly be seen as more desirable in commercial design.
In the same way ad-lib stand-up comedy is somehow funnier than pre-scripted jokes:
You have an appreciation for witnessing the flourish of creativity in real time. And the flaws will be a relatable error in a world of AI perfection.
This goes beyond BTS snippets as a retail campaign addendum on Instagram.
It's more about allowing the raw version of the creative output, with all its human defects, to take centre stage.
The unpasteurized output of the first draft.
Beautiful mistakes.
Human-induced entropy.
"Anthroflair".
