I write, host a podcast, and run a writing school called Write of Passage.
The revolt of the reader | The Observation Deck
Reading is important to me. While I’m not a quick reader nor an especially voracious one, I have found that long-form reading has had a profound influence on me over my life. And because reading is important to me, writing is too: writing not only allows us to convey our ideas, but the very act forces us to test and distill them — at once making our ideas more robust while providing the vehicle by which to share them.
Connecting with your readers on Semble [Patterns of Sensemaking #2] - Cosmik Labs
On how the references you make help your writing find its natural audience
Today · Standard Reader
Fresh writing from the publications you subscribe to, every day.
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This is where I post my articles and interviews. My most recent writing is on the science and ethics of genetic enhancement.
The 'Paperwork Flood': How I Drowned a Bureaucrat before dinner., Sightless Scribbles
A fabulously gay blind author.
Literature fans should welcome AI as a fellow wordsmith | Aeon Essays
Strong resistance to AI among writers is understandable. But it obscures what we share with the machines: language itself
Build the web you want to see
My website, James’ Coffee Blog, is now over five years old. I seldom thought about how old my website was until recently, when I looked and realised that years had passed since the single black-and-white HTML page that comprised my site. “Hyperlinks are my friend,” I said, in a playful tone whose message foreshadowed my deepening appreciation for the web and what the web could be. Five years on, I find myself as invigorated about the web as I was at the beginning. I started what would become James’ Coffee Blog interested in blogging, seeing a personal website as a way to share words on the web. Those words would help me nurture my passion for writing. My website could, I learned, be a place for me to grow and experiment as a writer. Having a website encouraged me to ask the question what could I write today? Whether or not I published what I wrote, I was writing. I was making something. I was proud. My passion for the web is fuelled not only by my own experiences writing, but by seeing what others make. Seeing others’ websites, I have asked myself questions like How did they make that?, spurring my interest in web design. Web design is a topic I would later find the motivation to study in greater depth. I have been delighted by stories that people have shared, eliciting reactions in me from I see myself in this to That was fascinating! Blog posts on personal websites have made me curious, they have made me feel seen, they have satisfied my interest in learning – they have opened up new worlds, from the technical to the poetic, from the introspective to the collaborative. When I was thinking what would be a good fit for The Good Internet Magazine – a publication whose very existence makes me excited about the future of the web – a question came to mind: “what have I learned over the years that a new web weaver would find interesting?” Here is my answer to that question.
How to write it like you told it
What do you say to someone who wants to write but struggles with writing and is tempted to use an LLM-based chatbot?
Standard Paper — Independent writing, beautifully read
Discover articles from across the atmosphere, gathered in one place for focused reading.
atproto made simple: publishing lexicons - underreacted
atproto made simple: publishing lexicons - underreacted
