Jason Farman

Exploring tech, culture, & human experience. Prof and author of Delayed Response | Mobile Interface Theory.

[Jason Farman @farman]

My book, tentatively titled “A History of New Things,” shows how industrial design created newness as a value. I trace the history of our desire for the new, show its impact on our lives & environment (as we dispose of things at an accelerating pace), and what we can do about it.

[Phillip Muñoz @VPhillipMunoz]

Harvard, apparently, is about to adopt a new policy to combat grade inflation. I devised my own anti–grade inflation policy 25 years ago. I’ve shared it with provosts and deans, to no avail. Here it is:
The Muñoz Plan Against Grade Inflation
The plan has three key components:

[Athenaeum Book Club @athenaeumbc]

So it turns out that writing is thinking. It's the same process.

"Writing compels us to think — not in the chaotic, non-linear way our minds typically wander, but in a structured, intentional manner."

Outsourcing writing to LLMs is THE SAME THING as outsourcing thinking.

[Natalie Khalil @natalienkhalil]

Basically

[DesignObserver @DesignObserver]

@farman thinks usability in tech design is a problem, but not the way you think. “The problem isn’t usability itself; it’s what it has become—a design approach that replaced any need whatsoever to understand complex systems with the ability to thoughtlessly interact with them.” https://t.co/veDwJxEV25...

[allisonfonder @howtogodeep]

A great piece by @farman on frictionless design's perils:

"Intuitiveness is often achieved by hiding complexity...When we trust systems we can't see into, we lose the capacity to recognize—let alone resist—how they've been built to shape our behavior."

https://t.co/Z94Euwme9I

[Slate @Slate]

It’s a design principle that has transformed the world and even saved lives. It has gone way too far. https://t.co/llJKhRmgqp

[Jason Farman @farman]

@jengolbeck Thank you! Yes, I’d love to get together soon!

[Jason Farman @farman]

My latest piece in Slate

[Slate @Slate]

It’s a design principle that has transformed the world and even saved lives. It has gone way too far. https://t.co/llJKhRmgqp

[Jason Farman @farman]

Why We’re Wired to Want, But Not Enjoy, Black Friday Deals: A Neuroscientist and an Industrial Designer Have Advice About Your Black Friday Buying Habits. My latest post on Substack https://t.co/mP3Pth1uio

[Jason Farman @farman]

Why We’re Wired to Want, But Not Enjoy, Black Friday Deals: A Neuroscientist and an Industrial Designer Have Advice About Your Black Friday Buying Habits. My latest post on Substack https://t.co/mP3Pth1uio

[Jason Farman @farman]

My new Substack article: How a Camera’s Design Changed Technology Forever

When industrial design gave technology a sleek surface—one that could be change each year to represent updates—consumers were distanced from how these devices actually work.

https://t.co/db0asqvclM

[Jason Farman @farman]

Baudelaire in 1859 on photography (or perhaps a 2024 critic of #AI promptography?): "If photography is allowed to supplement art in some of its functions, it will soon have supplanted or corrupted it altogether, thanks to the stupidity of the multitude which is its natural ally.”

[Jason Farman @farman]

Those Black Friday desires hit hard

[Jason Farman @farman]

My new Substack article: How a Camera’s Design Changed Technology Forever

When industrial design gave technology a sleek surface—one that could be change each year to represent updates—consumers were distanced from how these devices actually work.

https://t.co/db0asqvclM

[Jason Farman @farman]

I’ve been on Twitter since 2007. Find me over on Bluesky, please: https://t.co/Fh9UYmacB1

[Jason Farman @farman]

When he told me, “We are more adept at wanting than we are at liking,” it felt like he gave me the keys to unlock the deeper reasons why we’ve ended up in a cycle of endless upgrades. https://t.co/7sf9yHvFgV

[Jason Farman @farman]

Against Panic: A Survival Kit https://t.co/LnReV8sbuj

[Jason Farman @farman]

Sabbatical Update: My New Book on Our Age of Endless Upgrades! https://t.co/WMNgmqhGUn

[Jason Farman @farman]

I cannot wait for this event! Everyone reading this should sign up to join the conversation! I’ll be joining via Zoom and hope you do, too!

[Lee Vinsel @STS_News]

Giving an online talk, "Getting Maintenance Organized," for @LindaHall_org and @SocHistTech this Thursday at noon CT. https://t.co/QBAFIXMkxV

Looking at the history of the phrase "operations and maintenance." The British Navy adopted it in 1917. US railroads by the 1930s.

[Jason Farman @farman]

Sabbatical Update: My New Book on Our Age of Endless Upgrades! https://t.co/WMNgmqhGUn