influences
Sometimes people wanna know who my influences are. It’s tough to assemble a perfect or exhaustive list, but here’s an attempt that I’ll update from time to time. When I was really young, I read Charlie Brown’s ‘Cyclopedia. I think it influenced some of my aesthetic sensibilities. More broadly, I read everything I could get […]
iterating Introspect
I came up with the idea for INTROSPECT sometime in 2018 or so, even before I thought of writing FRIENDLY AMBITIOUS NERD (which I choose as my debut ebook). INTROSPECT has been through multiple drafts, iterations and rewrites. In retrospect (hah), I had to write some of the earlier versions of the book just to […]
friendly ambitious nerd
My first book, FRIENDLY AMBITIOUS NERD, is now available for sale! gum.co/FANbook You may also be interested in reading about the marketing behind FAN. Here’s a post I wrote at 2,000 sales. As of November 2022 I’m starting to write FAN 2.0. I’m thinking I could maybe put together a list of all of the […]
🔥 bestof 2010–2019
These are things that I’ve read or watched that stuck with me in the 2010s. 2010 Ugh Fields [lesswrong.com] Solitude and Leadership [theamericanscholar.org] 2011 The Information [newyorker.com] – this is my favorite essay of all time, so far. Sequelitis – Mega Man Classic vs. Mega Man X [youtube.com] Steve Yegge’s Google Platforms Rant [github.com] We […]
an analysis of power and social dynamics in ‘Mean Girls’
Theory: The movie has such enduring power and is quoted so much because it sheds some incredible light on real sociological phenomena. It’s compelling because it’s believable. It feels real. It might seem like a show about teenage girls, but it’s as nail-bitingly exciting as Late Night Poker, because it demonstrates decision-making, with stakes. Let’s […]
🔖 bookmarks that I often share with friends
Disclaimer – I find these reads interesting. I don’t necessarily agree with them. 2024 update: I’ve moved the last version of this bookmarks page to visakanv.com/archives/bookmarks because this was starting to feel cumbersome and I wanted to have a fresh start. I’ll now update this list every time I find myself sharing a link with […]