I watched an interesting biography about Martin Luther on Netflix while ironing some laundry the other evening. Luther initiated the Reformation of the Catholic Church in the 1500s largely as a reaction against the practice of indulgences (buying forgiveness of sin) that priests carried out. Luther starts his criticism by posting, on a Church door, 95 theses arguing that forgiveness and salvation are free gifts … more »

The most compelling idea from emergence, which I explained in my previous post, is the surprising wisdom of the crowd. The guesses of 800 people about the weight of an ox at the county fair averaged out to be just one pound from the actual ox’s weight. The wisdom-of-the-crowds idea is revolutionary. Traditionally “the masses” are unintelligent compared to the elitist class or the lone … more »

Most people take time off during the holidays, so if you don’t, you end up mostly sitting alone at work, wondering why you’re not taking time off too. I wanted to follow Penelope Trunk’s advice about pursuing your pet projects while working during the holidays, but instead I was trying to finish a project with an end-of-year deadline. The project I’m working on is critical, … more »

Ever since I came back from Doc Train West and had my epiphany about the transformative, empowering nature of user knowledge with the tech writer role, I’ve wanted to build stronger connections with my users. Having extensive knowledge of user behavior can make you a valuable asset on any project team, allowing you to deliver key advice on application design and development. Additionally, as in … more »