Big Floaty Ideas

Riddle's philosophy section. Completely impractical, yet somehow we can't stop thinking about them.

4 Articles

We need more Virtuous Tools

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...

by Kincaid MacDonald & The Riddle Team

Big Floaty Ideas Tools for Thought

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.

by Kincaid MacDonald & The Riddle Team

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...

by The Riddle Team