Atul Varma

I enjoy design, coding, and tinkering at @NotionHQ. Formerly @justfixnyc, @18F & @mozilla. @processingOrg 2016 fellow and @eyebeamnyc alum.

[Atul Varma @toolness]

I recently made a small game about learning the history of Manhattan, as told by its streets. You can play it here: https://t.co/gFPj8WKSiz

1/5

[Ivan Zhao @ivanhzhao]

The loudest story about AI is a lonely one. One person with an army of chatbots. Other humans are friction.
That gets the future wrong. The best things aren’t built alone.
In a moment of change, we want to remind the world (and ourselves) what Notion stands for:
— Think Together

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@jakeonaut yay congratulations!! just bought it, will play soon

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@benln many years ago i did this https://t.co/zrEGP6vPPi

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@JordanMagnuson really excited about this, thanks for starting it @JordanMagnuson !

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@maryrosecook @sridatta Anyways, I liked your post because I think that your "explore, expand, exploit" strategy might be able to help me with it. What I need is a re-framing of my approach towards AI: one that's rooted in curiosity and exploration, rather than fear, or an obsession with productivity.

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@maryrosecook @sridatta i have some personal issues with AI, but i think any purely logical explanations i come up with (e.g. "it writes buggy code") are really post-hoc rationalizations based on what's fundamentally an emotional discomfort with AI.

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@alexhaobao @BAGGU nice, congratulations! does this mean you are now friends with this "muffy" i've heard about

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@jakeonaut take your time! i will buy on the day it's released, looking forward to it

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@thesephist oh weird, i was just there an hour ago

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@Waymo wow you really suck, your app told me me to invade private property to get into one of your cars. just got chided by a security guard in a parking lot 5 feet from the car you told me to enter--thanks for ruining my morning, assholes, hope you go out of business soon

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@andy_matuschak I'm currently reading Chaim Gingold's "Building SimCity" and it mentions how Will Wright couldn't stand punch cards when learning to code in school, so he assumed coding wasn't for him. But then the Apple II came out and he was addicted--so it seems opinions are mixed?

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@christinewa_ omg! how was pacific trail?

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@pippinbarr Your work never fails to bring me joy. Thanks for making this, and for writing The Stuff Games Are Made Of!

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@pcwalton I only skimmed the article, but the author also doesn't seem to explain _why_ or _how_ it's social in nature? In fact they declare it's social and then immediately start describing the technical merits, which I found confusing.

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@rikarends THANK YOU for making useful crates that don't have billions of dependencies!

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@maryrosecook i have very nostalgic feelings for Final Fantasy IV (FF2 in the US)... I *want* to say it's so good it transcends them, but I honestly have some pretty rose-colored glasses for that game. What I really remember are the characters and friendships they had with each other.

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@alexhaobao hell yeah, CHICAGO

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@maryrosecook it's arguably not exactly SoHo, and there's not really any coffee shop vibes (it's in the lobby of an office building), but i'm partial to the @dripcoffeenyc at the bottom of 75 Varick.

[Atul Varma @toolness]

@jitl yeah i wasn't able to really get into it myself, tho a friend really really liked it.