Nate Gerber

Strategic Design for software/city/culture. He/Him.
@thinkfreshgroup / @tetradian

[nibras ꩜ @heynibras]

the problem is that almost any theory becomes used as a way to avoid emotions. stories all the way down, stories as a way to not feel that which is difficult

[Disruptive Futures Institute @disrupt_futures]

“Uncertainty is a prerequisite to our agency and freedom.” - Roger Spitz, Chair Disruptive Futures Institute

Roger Spitz explores this with Jo Lepore on her inimitable Looking Outside podcast:
https://t.co/tgybXi37bw

[Maish Nichani @maish]

"The observant person finds many teachers."

– @JamesClear

[Nate Gerber @nategerber]

Rabbit R1 is Theranos

[tz (tiffany zhong) @tzhongg]

been thinking about the difference between stubbornness vs perseverance lately

if you succeed, people will say you're persistent

if you fail, people will say you're stubborn

[Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis @DrLoupis]

Aaron Bushnell had set up a will, specifying that his savings go to a Palestinian children’s relief fund 💔🇵🇸

Rest in Peace

[Nate Gerber @nategerber]

End of Q4 and we’re slipping in the human resource department.

[claire vo 🖤 @clairevo]

babe r u ok? you’ve barely touched your q3 okrs

[Hazel Lim @byhazellim]

Some days I forget how lucky I am to be based in the UK.

I take for granted that

• I can run my startup with PayPal and Stripe
• I am not banned by Big Tech based on my location
• I get equal rights based on my gender

Yes, the last statement is what triggered this post.

It’s nearly 2024.

Malaysian women do not have the same rights as men when it comes to passing on citizenships to their children.

After waiting nearly 5 years, my son’s citizenship application was denied because I am not a man.

Before you ask, yes, Malaysian women and ethnic minorities are still fighting for their rights today.

(P/s: thankfully my son is British and not left stateless unlike many others)

[Xoxo @chicfryrice]

based on my past dating experience this is EXACTLY how it went…

Him: “i want a traditional feminine wife who takes care of the kids and is a homemaker.”

Me: “oh i love cooking and taking care of kids…what do you think about stay at home moms?”

Him: “i could never be with someone who doesn’t work…too many women are looking for guys to take care of them.”

Me: ❓❓❓

[Paul Graham @paulg]

Well, well, well. That felt coordinated. Turns out it was.

[Nate Gerber @nategerber]

@nickf Yes, the job market is extremely rough and unforgiving. It also may be quite limited in its capacity to respect your appropriate participation as a citizen in public life.

[Sherry @SchrodingrsBrat]

Perfectionism is a death by a thousand cuts. It’s about wanting control and not willing to admit that you’re erroneous. The irony is that the more you exert control, the less freedom you have: you become your own limitation. No room for mistakes means no opportunity for learning.

[Sterling Crispin 🕊️ @sterlingcrispin]

I spent 10% of my life contributing to the development of the #VisionPro while I worked at Apple as a Neurotechnology Prototyping Researcher in the Technology Development Group. It’s the longest I’ve ever worked on a single effort. I’m proud and relieved that it’s finally announced. I’ve been working on AR and VR for ten years, and in many ways, this is a culmination of the whole industry into a single product. I’m thankful I helped make it real, and I’m open to consulting and taking calls if you’re looking to enter the space or refine your strategy.

The work I did supported the foundational development of Vision Pro, the mindfulness experiences, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ products, and also more ambitious moonshot research with neurotechnology. Like, predicting you’ll click on something before you do, basically mind reading. I was there for 3.5 years and left at the end of 2021, so I’m excited to experience how the last two years brought everything together. I’m really curious what made the cut and what will be released later on.

Specifically, I’m proud of contributing to the initial vision, strategy and direction of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇ program for Vision Pro. The work I did on a small team helped green light that product category, and I think it could have significant global impact one day.

The large majority of work I did at Apple is under NDA, and was spread across a wide range of topics and approaches. But a few things have become public through patents which I can cite and paraphrase below.

Generally as a whole, a lot of the work I did involved detecting the mental state of users based on data from their body and brain when they were in immersive experiences.

So, a user is in a mixed reality or virtual reality experience, and AI models are trying to predict if you are feeling curious, mind wandering, scared, paying attention, remembering a past experience, or some other cognitive state. And these may be inferred through measurements like eye tracking, electrical activity in the brain, heart beats and rhythms, muscle activity, blood density in the brain, blood pressure, skin conductance etc.

There were a lot of tricks involved to make specific predictions possible, which the handful of patents I’m named on go into detail about. One of the coolest results involved predicting a user was going to click on something before they actually did. That was a ton of work and something I’m proud of. Your pupil reacts before you click in part because you expect something will happen after you click. So you can create biofeedback with a user's brain by monitoring their eye behavior, and redesigning the UI in real time to create more of this anticipatory pupil response. It’s a crude brain computer interface via the eyes, but very cool. And I’d take that over invasive brain surgery any day.

Other tricks to infer cognitive state involved quickly flashing visuals or sounds to a user in ways they may not perceive, and then measuring their reaction to it.

Another patent goes into details about using machine learning and signals from the body and brain to predict how focused, or relaxed you are, or how well you are learning. And then updating virtual environments to enhance those states. So, imagine an adaptive immersive environment that helps you learn, or work, or relax by changing what you’re seeing and hearing in the background.

All of these details are publicly available in patents, and were carefully written to not leak anything. There was a ton of other stuff I was involved with, and hopefully more of it will see the light of day eventually.

A lot of people have waited a long time for this product. But it’s still one step forward on the road to VR. And it’s going to take until the end of this decade for the industry to fully catch up to the grand vision for this tech.

Again, I’m open to consulting work and taking calls if your business is looking to enter the space or refine your strategy. Mostly, I’m proud and relieved this has finally been announced. It’s been over five years since I started working on this, and I spent a significant portion of my life on it, as did an army of other designers and engineers. I hope the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and Vision Pro blows your mind.

[Scott Galloway @profgalloway]

Ordered an @apple headset. Also, cancelled my vasectomy—no longer need.

#prophylactic

[Nate Gerber @nategerber]

@helgajiang wow... these are beautiful!

[isha @ishadesign]

@jenistyping hot take: because a lot of managers at tech companies are not suited to be managers, and the ones who are know that it's way more lucrative for them to do management as coaching on the side + then they will actually get valued for their skills without worrying about politics

[Nate Gerber @nategerber]

no no no... It hurts...

[Nate Gerber @nategerber]

@zachwriteswords @creatine_cycle Slowclap 👏🏽

[Nate Gerber @nategerber]

Congratulations Cheryl!!

[Cheryl Thompson @DrCherylT]

I GOT TENURE TODAY.

And I did so by sticking to my vision, never comprising, being as political as I felt I needed to be, and overcoming unimaginable challenges. #allispossible #tenured #beattheodds

Help me amplify this moment!!