Latest in the series / Part II
Essays / Notes / Field observations
Software, systems, and the work of thought.
Current inquiry
Cognitive Resource Management
How do we use AI to extend human capability without surrendering understanding, judgment, or the skills the system still depends upon?
Read Part II →
Begin the series / Part I
Your Brain Is a Cognitive Resource Too
Why working effectively with AI requires deliberate maintenance of human understanding and judgment.Explore the diagram
Recent writing
Complete archive →AI / Software · 9 min.
AI May Be Your Neediest Reader of Code
Readable code was supposed to become unnecessary. The instruction files multiplying around our codebases suggest otherwise.
Read the essay →
AI / Judgment · 6 min.
Thou Shalt Not Destroy Your Own Value
If professional judgment is valuable enough to automate, it is valuable enough to keep developing.
Read more →AI / Engineering · 9 min.
AI Is a Cognitive Resource, Not a Replacement
Use the machine, but keep your hands on the wheel.
Read more →AI / Culture · 8 min.
When the Force Doesn’t Provide
Extraordinary leverage should not cost us ordinary competence.
Read more →AI / Cognition · 10 min.
Your Brain Is a Cognitive Resource Too
Cognitive resource management in the age of AI.
Read more →Data / Deployment · 3 min.
Deploying a Version Is Not the Same as Applying a Change
Sometimes we apply a tested change to a state we did not test.
Read more →Engineering Culture · 6 min.
Admitting You’re Wrong Isn’t Weakness
Good engineering depends on caring more about reality than ego.
Read the essay →From the notebook
Recent field notes
FN / 01
What AI Predictions Reveal About Engineering Values
Sometimes a prediction about the future is a confession about what someone never valued in the present.
Read note →FN / 02
When the Metric Becomes Reality
A ticket status is a representation of work. It is not the work itself.
Read note →FN / 03
RCA Still Matters Despite AI Assistance
An incident review is where engineers demonstrate that understanding still exists.
Read note →