Luddite Dispatch 02
Notes from the Summer of Ludd
Latest
Luddite Dispatch 01 - The Tyranny of the Short Form
Weekly events, and an essay 'The Tyranny of the Short Form', in celebration of our new (Longer-Form) Emails.
A Polemic Against Scrolling
No blogger wants to produce shallow fluff, and no reader want to do nothing but skim. Yet, because so many readers skim, writers feel forced to simplify; because the writing is simple, readers skim all the more. It's a destructive cycle – and at its root is scrolling.
A Better Penman's PDF Parser: Privacy-preserving conversion of Handwritten PDFs through Apple Shortcuts & Ollama
Or, 'Au thous swain'? Begone, Mathpix Misspellings!
Riddle Fortnightly No. 12
Of the 18th of November, 2024 Fortunately, the continuity of spacetime has resumed: the Fortnightly is back! In this edition, we have a round up of new E-ink and time-blocking tools, then an (unusually long) column with the Riddler’s take on “The Elite College Students Who Can’
Technological Criticism from the Land Beyond Time (Next slide, please)
Or, why PowerPoint is probably making us stupid — and how its failings reflect the first wave of modern technological criticism.
Riddle Fortnightly No. 11
On Goodhart's Law, better tools for presentation, the evils of PowerPoint, and another Johnnie problem.
Riddler's Book Review: How the Information Age's New Elite were founded on a paradox
A quarter century ago, David Brooks wrote "Bobos In Paradise: the new elite and how they got there". The Riddler asks: what's happened to them since?
Auto-drafting reading flashcards with Readwise Reader and Obsidian
Takeaways from your Readwise readings, auto-drafted into flashcards that sync to Anki through Obsidian.
Riddle Fortnightly No. 10
Of 25 August, 2024 Dear Readers, Welcome to this summer’s third installment of the Riddle Fortnightly. As you break out the tea and biscuits, and settle down with this edition, I wanted to offer a chant-worthy motto for the week ahead. That, and a mind-twister of a
Riddle Fortnightly No. 9
Of Aug. 11, 2024 Dear Reader, Put on a pot of tea, get out some biscuits, and fetch your E-ink tablet – it’s time for what we hope might become the pleasant Monday coffee-break ritual of reading another Riddle Fortnightly. In this week’s edition, 1. An extremely
Riddle Fortnightly No. 8
Esteemed reader! Welcome (or welcome back) to Riddle Press – and to another installment of its newly rechristened Riddle Fortnightly (née Riddle Weekly). This change was occasioned by the reflection that, under its previous cadence, the Riddle Weekly would be better called the ‘Riddle Biyearly’. After recovering from this affront to
Tools for Thought
A Marriage between Handwritten Notes and Obsidian
We live in a world of typed text. What place does the Penman have?
Riddle Membership Philosophy
TLDR: Riddle Press is not in the business of getting your business... All of our substantiated ideas will always be publicly accessible. Our membership & newsletter exist to nurture practices: both for our readers and writers.
Tools for Thought
Some E-ink Workflows for Mac Users
E-ink devices don’t “just work”. They require a bit of fiddling to set up — but, once set up, can be integrated seamlessly into your workflow, even with your Apple devices.
Big Floaty Ideas
Virtuous Tools are Tangled Hierarchies
The question is not "what to automate and what not," nor even "what should we use tools for and what is exclusively human," but rather: Are the tools corrupting, or virtuous? Are they instruments that lessen our contact with reality, or do they strengthen it...
Big Floaty Ideas
A Paean To the E-ink Tablet
Computers didn't have to be this way. E-ink gives us a glimpse into an alternate technological universe in which computers are conducive to focus –– and suggests ways to automate our existing technology to serve us better.
Big Floaty Ideas
The Medium, the Message, and the Myth of the Impervious Craftsman
Those in Whorf’s camp claimed that just about every aspect of human experience was constructed by language – a position they would abridge as “linguistic relativity.” Those opposing them adopted some version of the “impervious craftsman” mindset, arguing that language is but a tool...
Riddle Fortnightly
Riddle Weekly: Issue 7
A happy new year from the team at Riddle! We’ve got some big things in store for 2022, starting with our recent website redesign, and including a revamped newsletter and countless ideas, tools, and workflows we’re excited to share with you in the coming months. As ever, we’
Tools for Thought
What to do about todos?
by Chester Snuphanuph, PhD "Task Management" – it’s a sterile term, yet may take it as a centerpiece of their life’s work. Is it necessary? Sure, to some degree. But is it commonly overapplied or inflated beyond the bounds of reason? Most certainly. For a time, I
Book Club
The Every and the Automator
An installment of the Riddle Book Review. Musings on automation and free will.
Riddle Weekly 2021.11
Don't look at us, Wilabroard! We're only three-dimensional creatures. Welcome again to this week's Riddle Weekly, where we offer up our own squiggles and bits in a (futile) attempt to make sense of the world. This week's puzzle will begin the
Riddle Weekly 2021.03
To those who are new to the wild and ridiculous world of Riddle, welcome! Every Friday, we hail the coming week-end with a comic, a thought-piece, and a little puzzle to ponder over the next few days. Sometimes these puzzles are simple and charming. Other times, they are
