Jekyll2018-10-12T17:53:48+00:00http://robertbenjamin.co/Robert’s BlogNietsche hates cats.Robert BenjaminEnd of Year Review - 20172018-01-13T00:00:00+00:002018-01-13T00:00:00+00:00http://robertbenjamin.co/end-of-year-review-2017<div class="iframe-container">
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<p>It’s been about a week since I got back from DC. I spent about a week there for the holidays, and it was wonderful to catch up with my family and friends. It had been a year or more since I’d seen many of them, and 6 days was not nearly enough time, so I hope I’ll be able to visit again in the near future.</p>
<p>The past year has been filled with opportunities to work on some long-standing issues and difficulties I’ve had in my life, and while it’s been challenging it’s also been incredibly rewarding.</p>
<p>While there hasn’t been any massive changes in my life in 2017, there’s been a few things that have opened up a lot of doors for me to explore in this new year.</p>
<h2 id="what-ive-done">What I’ve Done</h2>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2018-01-13-end-of-year-review-2017/yokohama.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>Traveled.</strong> I did a short trip to Chicago with my good friend John in the beginning of January. Despite the sub-zero temperature, I found Chicago to be a wonderfully cheerful and welcoming city. The wide streets and open architecture somehow made the city feel like an old memory, and it also felt like the most distinctivly American city I’ve ever been in, moreso than DC or even New York.</p>
<p>In 2017, I also visited Asia for the first time: I spent a few days in Shanghai, and about a month in Tokyo. For some reason, I felt much further out of my comfort zone than the times I’ve traveled Europe on my own, but I appreciated the challenge. Speaking Japanese in Tokyo was also an adjustment since the casual Japanese I speak with my friends is almost like a different language compared to the more formal tone and wording used when interacting with service people and strangers in Japan.</p>
<p>I regret not traveling outside of the Tokyo area more, but hope to make up for it the next time I visit!</p>
<p><strong>Gone remote.</strong> It’s been a long time coming, but after returning from the Japan trip I approached my company to ask about the possibility of switching to a remote position. They were incredibly understanding, and after a short trial period gave me the full a-ok.</p>
<p>I’m still adjusting to some aspects of it, but really enjoy the flexibility and two-second commute times.</p>
<p>I look forward to taking fuller advantage of this in 2018.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2018-01-13-end-of-year-review-2017/volunteer-park.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>Improved my mental health.</strong> By far the most important thing I did in the last year was take an honest and introspective look at my mental health and find ways to address the areas where I’ve been struggling.</p>
<p>I’ve had some form of depression for several years now, but since it’s always fluctuated I always managed to find ways to ignore it or pretend it wasn’t bothering me until it became more bearable.</p>
<p>Depression made me feel worthless, pointless. It sapped the energy and hope out of all the things I wanted to do and strived for until I saw no point in taking action. It made close friendships seem shallow and dead and the most reasonable goals seem impossible.</p>
<p>And worst of all, it makes you feel that all of the above is <em>normal</em>.</p>
<p>I believe my depression was brought on by a lack of self-control. I didn’t have trust in myself to diligently do the things I wanted to, and that led to a feeling of despair, that I had no control over my future and the direction I was heading in life.</p>
<p>When things got really bad near the end of the last summer, I signed up for a therapy session based on a friend’s recommendation.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2018-01-13-end-of-year-review-2017/shilshole-bay-marina.jpg" /></p>
<p>It really, really helped. Talking through my thoughts and emotions clarified the internalized frustrations I had held onto for so long, and helped me devise a way to deal with those feelings in the future. They very act of truly acknowledging depression felt like a weight lifted off my back and gave me the freedom necessary to look for ways to improve.</p>
<p>Focusing on microhabits for the following months allowed me to build up some consistency, and as these forced habits became automatic I learned to rely on them to further build new habits. I’m waking up consistently at the same time, going to the gym 4 days a week, and reading everyday — all for the first time in years, and on my own volition.</p>
<p>These may be small successes to some, but to me they are massive and I’m proud of them.</p>
<p>My depression isn’t entirely eliminated, but I think it’s the weakest it’s ever been, and the absolute feeling of freedom leaves me excited and ready for the upcoming year.</p>
<h2 id="what-i-want-to-do">What I Want to Do</h2>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2018-01-13-end-of-year-review-2017/tokyo-backstreet.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>Plan each month out.</strong> A couple of weeks ago, I sat down for a few minutes and wrote out my goals for this month. It wasn’t long or particularly detailed, just a quick jot down of some things I want to work on every day and what progress I’d be happy with when February came around.</p>
<p>I’m really glad I did it! It was the bit of direction I need to remind myself of the bigger things I’m working towards amidst the day-to-day of normal life.</p>
<p>I plan to do this at the beginning of every month this year.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2018-01-13-end-of-year-review-2017/cafe-vita.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>Learn Spanish.</strong> At the end of last year, I felt pretty burned out with learning Japanese. My speaking and listening abilities had improved very quickly initially then petered out for a few months, and if I wanted to be serious about improving to the next level I’d really need to focus on Kanji and vocabulary for a few months to become literate.</p>
<p>I’d rather avoid doing that until I feel more motivated to do so. If I live in Japan or even visit for a prolonged period, that might be a more appropriate time to take on that challenge.</p>
<p>As a break from Japanese, I want to learn Spanish! It’s a beautiful language I’ve wanted to learn for awhile, and it’d open a lot of doors for travel in South America and Spain.</p>
<p>To start, I’m working through the Spanish with Ease Assimil course and using an SRS to memorize the 1k most frequent Spanish words. It should take me about 2 months to do both of these at my current pace, and around a month in I’ll look into doing weekly tutor sessions on a platform like iTalki.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2018-01-13-end-of-year-review-2017/rooftop.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>Travel more!</strong> I want to take advantage of being able to work remote and explore areas I’ve wanted to go but never had the ability to.</p>
<p>I plan to start with shorter trips within the US as a sort of adjustment period. Gradually I can try trips for longer durations or more difficult locations where I don’t speak the native language.</p>
<p>The list for this year so far is:</p>
<ul>
<li>Nashville (tickets bought!)</li>
<li>LA (eying tickets)</li>
<li>Mexico City (early planning stages with a friend)</li>
<li>Some national park in the US (Zion, Yellowstone, Yosemite?)</li>
<li>Japan (likely near the end of the year)</li>
<li>Medellin?</li>
<li>Toronto?</li>
<li>Buenos Aires?</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2018-01-13-end-of-year-review-2017/cafe-presse.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>Gain 15 lb of muscle.</strong> This is a fairly lofty goal, but a feasible one. I’ve always thought I could “eat anything” and not gain weight: the motto of your typical hardgainer. Last year I proved myself wrong by tracking calories and staying over 3k calories a day — I gained 20lb over the period of about 3 months.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I failed to maintain a good weight training routine during that time and the primary result of the experiment was a number of my old childhood friends calling me chubby in our group chat. They were right. 3 months later I lost the 20 lb and started barbell training.</p>
<p>Although my routine was interupted by my trip to Japan last year, I’ve been lifting at least 3 days a week for the last few months (with great results) and am ready to increase my calorie intake again.</p>
<p>15lbs of muscle gain is my stretch goal for this year, but I do think it’s possible!</p>Robert BenjaminPumping Our Arms for Points2017-01-17T00:00:00+00:002017-01-17T00:00:00+00:00http://robertbenjamin.co/pumping-our-arms-for-points<p><em>From my journal, December 17 2015.</em></p>
<p>The swift adoption rate of software can result in some pretty crazy things. Say someone releases an iOS and Android app that involves pumping your arm (and the phone) in the air for some game.</p>
<p>Say the app hits the homepage of the Verge and Engadget and gets 500,000 downloads in the span of two days (which is entirely feasible).</p>
<p>The person who programmed the app would’ve started a worldwide, immediate physical phenomena in which hundreds of thousands of people perform a weird arm pump according to the app’s instruction. Say the bulk of the downloads occurred in the first hour after the media blast — then arm pumping would’ve occurred mere hours (or minutes) after the the developer clicked submit.</p>
<p>What a bizarre reality we live in.</p>Robert BenjaminFrom my journal, December 17 2015.End of Year Review - 20162016-12-31T00:00:00+00:002016-12-31T00:00:00+00:00http://robertbenjamin.co/end-of-year-review-2016<div class="iframe-container">
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<p>I’ve just returned from a short ride up north, near some beach in Shoreline. The skies were pale blue and slightly overcast, and it was chilly enough that the air pinched my ears but wasn’t enough to be miserable. I think the crisp wind brightened my mind because when I got back I had the immediate sense that it would be a good time to write about the past year.</p>
<p>If last year was about change and transitions, this year was about settling and growth. In the past year, I’ve made Seattle my home — not just a place I live in, but a place I feel truly in love with, a place where I run into friends on the street.</p>
<h3 id="what-ive-done">What I’ve Done</h3>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2016-12-31-end-of-year-review-2016/colors.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>Bought my first motorcycle.</strong> Riding is at once thrilling and calming, a perfect release from daily stresses and a wonderful way to explore the areas surrounding the city.</p>
<p><strong>Improved my Japanese speaking, reading, and writing skills considerably, certainly better than I’ve ever been in the past.</strong> Although I spoke some around the home with my mother since I was young, I didn’t have many Japanese friends and never spoke much outside of that context. In Seattle, I have a bunch of Japanese speaking friends, and I’ve also self-studied with vocabulary tools like <a href="https://www.wanikani.com">WaniKani</a> and grammar resources like <a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/complete">Tae Kim’s guide</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Consistently exercised.</strong> I’ve had bouts of gym going and running in the past, but outside of highschool sports I never had a steady (1 month+) exercise routine. I’ve tried to exercise regularly many times in the past but had always flaked out a few weeks in, and I attribute my current success to 1) having a partially forced schedule due to work and 2) having a gym in my apartment.</p>
<p>It was certainly difficult at first, but the best benefit I’ve seen from this habit is increased energy and self-discipline. Even though working out or running drains energy immediately, in the long term it seems to increase the amount of stamina and self-control I have. I’m sure there’s combined biological and psycholgical reasons behind this, but it’s something I’ve never really experienced before and it’s wonderful.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2016-12-31-end-of-year-review-2016/drops.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>Grown as a developer.</strong> My work at Inkstone is both challenging and fun and I’m grateful to be working with the people there. I’ve had the opportunity to launch some ridiculously cool stuff and take on increasing levels of responsibility with my projects. My actual coding and problem solving skills have improved by massive amounts since last year and I’ve also been able to learn more about good architecture and proper high-level structuring of larger projects.</p>
<p><strong>Budgeted.</strong> I know, I know, what a boring thing to note in a yearly review, but this is my first full year as an “adult” and properly handling my finances is important for my future. Thanks to my parent’s thifty spending habits, a lot of good budgeting practices came fairly naturally. While I haven’t had issues paying rent or credit card bills, I didn’t like how wishy-washy I dealt with spending and in the past month I’ve started using a system called <a href="https://www.youneedabudget.com">You Need a Budget</a> to more concretely track my money. I’ll see how it works in the next few months, but so far it seems great!</p>
<h3 id="what-i-want-to-do">What I Want to Do</h3>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2016-12-31-end-of-year-review-2016/mixed.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>Film!</strong> I watched a lot of amazing movies this year (The Revenant, Sicario, Victoria, Arrival), and I’ve become enamored with film as an art form. While my love for literature, music, and other media hasn’t diminished at all, I really want to try my hand at film in this upcoming year.</p>
<p>I’ve had a lot of moments recently where I’ll see or hear something beautiful and immediately think <em>this needs to be preserved, I can’t be the only one to experience this.</em> In a sense, that’s what film is to me: conveying a bit of life exactly how you felt it or imagined it.</p>
<p><strong>Meditate.</strong> While I’ve done this a bit alongside my exercising, it hasn’t been nearly as consistent. There’s a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_on_meditation">crazy amount of research</a> describing the positive effects of mindfulness on just about every aspect of life and it makes no sense to not build a habit of something that only takes a few minutes each day. I’ve been using the <a href="https://www.headspace.com">Headspace</a> app on and off for a bit but hope to make it a steady habit in 2017.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2016-12-31-end-of-year-review-2016/seattle.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>Diversify my income.</strong> Ever since I earned my first $100 from Google Adsense in highschool, it’s blown my mind that you can seemingly generate money out of thin air on the internet. Building some form of online business in my spare time is a primary goal of mine in 2017. The freedom and opportunity that comes from managing your own income stream (especially if it’s partially or completely passive) is amazing and opens many doors for alternate careers down the road.</p>
<p>Imagine having your basic living costs covered from a few hours of work a week, you could choose any career or work based solely on interest! What a luxury. I’m under no delusion that this is an easy (or even achievable) goal, but I’ve toyed with this enough in the past to know it’s possible. I think a good goal would be to be earning a few hundred a month by the end of the year. Resources like Glenn Allsopp’s <a href="http://www.viperchill.com">Viperchill</a> and his newly launched <a href="https://gaps.com">Gaps</a> site will be my guide.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2016-12-31-end-of-year-review-2016/glow.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>Read more.</strong> I read a large amount online but there’s something to be said for spending more time and thought on long-form articles or standard novels and books. I devoured <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/books/review/dark-matter-blake-crouch.html">Blake Crouch’s <em>Dark Matter</em></a> in two days while back in DC for the holidays, and while I don’t consider it a particularly well written book it was certainly very entertaining. It’s been too long since I’ve gotten completely lost in a really good book and I believe my mind and imagination are lacking for it.</p>Robert BenjaminOn Pseudo-Profound Bullshit2015-12-03T00:00:00+00:002015-12-03T00:00:00+00:00http://robertbenjamin.co/on-pseudo-profound-bullshit<p>A <a href="http://journal.sjdm.org/15/15923a/jdm15923a.pdf">recently published study</a> from the Journal of Judgment and Decision Making brought up a number of interesting points about the prevalence and level of acceptance of bullshit in society.
The paper’s worth checking out if you have the time, but if not, here’s some of my favorite bits, followed by a great summary by EvanRWT on Reddit:</p>
<div class="reddit-embed" data-embed-media="www.redditmedia.com" data-embed-parent="false" data-embed-live="false" data-embed-uuid="815d2daf-4a4a-4c44-b867-0f332a5af189" data-embed-created="2016-11-14T07:38:55.936Z"><a href="https://np.reddit.com/r/news/comments/3v64hi/scientists_find_a_link_between_low_intelligence/cxkugrp/">Comment</a> from discussion <a href="https://np.reddit.com/r/news/comments/3v64hi/scientists_find_a_link_between_low_intelligence/">Scientists find a link between low intelligence and acceptance of 'pseudo-profound bulls***'</a>.</div>
<script async="" src="https://www.redditstatic.com/comment-embed.js"></script>
<p>“Bullshit is a consequential aspect of the human condition. Indeed, with the rise of communication technology, people are likely encountering more bullshit in their everyday lives than ever before.”</p>
<p>“Bullshit is not only common; it is popular…Using vagueness or ambiguity to mask a lack of meaningfulness is surely common in political rhetoric, marketing, and even academia. Indeed, as intimated by Frankfurt (2005), <em>bullshitting is something that we likely all engage in to some degree</em>: ‘One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share.’ One benefit of gaining a better understanding of how we reject other’s bullshit is that it may teach us to be more cognizant of our own bullshit.”</p>
<p>“That people vary in their receptivity toward bullshit is perhaps less surprising than the fact that psychological scientists have heretofore neglected this issue.”</p>Robert BenjaminA recently published study from the Journal of Judgment and Decision Making brought up a number of interesting points about the prevalence and level of acceptance of bullshit in society. The paper’s worth checking out if you have the time, but if not, here’s some of my favorite bits, followed by a great summary by EvanRWT on Reddit:Boxes2015-10-16T00:00:00+00:002015-10-16T00:00:00+00:00http://robertbenjamin.co/boxes<p>When you’re born, you’re placed into a number of boxes. You’re placed into a particular one if you’re male, a different one if you’re female: another dependent on whether your family is middle-class, poor, or rich. Another is decided by your parent’s beliefs, whether Christian, Atheist, Muslim, Buddhist, or other. You were born in the country side, or the city? Another box. In North America, or Europe, or Asia? Another box. In a loving family? With no family at all? Yet again, another box.</p>
<p>Your view of the world is restricted because you are in a box inside a box inside countless other boxes.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What is each box? An assumption. A list of conditions that hold true in your mind because you were told that they are.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The boxes restrict the vantage point by which you view situations. Each box narrows the slit through which you see the world until the only light to reach your eyes is a pinpoint, a dot of reality backed by a wall of darkness.
Too many sit quietly, either sedated or unaware of the confined nature of their actuality.</p>
<hr />
<p>But what should you do?</p>
<p>Don’t be content. Don’t believe what you are told. If something doesn’t sit right with you, ask why, ask how, ask until your curiosity is fulfilled. Grab the indoctrinated version of success you were told would lead you to happiness and dissect it until you see what it truly is: a warped, one-size-fits-all, cookie cutter template that calls you a stick figure when you’re really a living, breathing, human being.</p>Robert BenjaminWhen you’re born, you’re placed into a number of boxes. You’re placed into a particular one if you’re male, a different one if you’re female: another dependent on whether your family is middle-class, poor, or rich. Another is decided by your parent’s beliefs, whether Christian, Atheist, Muslim, Buddhist, or other. You were born in the country side, or the city? Another box. In North America, or Europe, or Asia? Another box. In a loving family? With no family at all? Yet again, another box.Tony Hawk of Yesteryear2015-08-25T00:00:00+00:002015-08-25T00:00:00+00:00http://robertbenjamin.co/tony-hawk-of-yesteryear<p>So I’d imagine that right now, there’s someone out there that’s really, really good at say, skateboarding, and not good at much else. There’s some ridiculously skilled kid that thank god, got a crappy skateboard as a 8 year old and now is known globally for his or her skill.</p>
<p><strong>But hold up</strong> — skateboarding as we know it has only been around since the 40’s or 50’s, and the good skateboards used today have been available now only the last few decades!</p>
<p>What would’ve happened if our prodigy skateboarding kid had been born a <em>hundred years ago</em>?</p>
<p>How many skills and talents are going to waste because the technology they rely on hasn’t been invented yet, or isn’t yet popular? How many god-like hover bike riders are there right now that think they aren’t good at anything? Or holo-pianists or multi-dimensional photographers or internal speech artists or AI therapists?</p>
<p>And for that matter, how many skill-sets are antiquated and gone, skill-sets that certain people would have been extraordinary at? Why are people judged on how remarkable they are at whatever arbitrary talents exist and are viewed as desirable or valuable during their lifetime?</p>Robert BenjaminSo I’d imagine that right now, there’s someone out there that’s really, really good at say, skateboarding, and not good at much else. There’s some ridiculously skilled kid that thank god, got a crappy skateboard as a 8 year old and now is known globally for his or her skill.Wander in Porto2015-08-16T00:00:00+00:002015-08-16T00:00:00+00:00http://robertbenjamin.co/wander-in-porto<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/134719869" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<p>I don’t usually share videos here (in fact, I never have), but I was so impressed by this video I just had to. Enjoy.</p>Robert Benjamin5 Months in San Sebastián2015-08-16T00:00:00+00:002015-08-16T00:00:00+00:00http://robertbenjamin.co/5-months-in-san-sebastian<p><img src="/assets/img/2015-08-16-5-months-in-san-sebastian/ocean.jpg" /></p>
<p>It’s weird how distinctly I remember leaving. Saying goodbye to my family, boarding the plane, talking to the two college students sitting in front of me on the Trans-Atlantic flight. Forgetting to get a few Pounds for a coffee in Heathrow. I can recall it all perfectly, as if it was only a week ago. The experience we call “now” is so transient that sometimes the best moments refuse to become part of the past. And that’s what my time in San Sebastián was — possibly the most impactful five months of my life to date.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/img/2015-08-16-5-months-in-san-sebastian/cityscape.jpg" />
<em>The cityscape in all it’s quiet glory.</em></p>
<p>Towards the end of the April, one of my housemates made the observation that, even after all of us had returned from traveling Europe for two weeks, visiting Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Jerusalem, Budapest, and a host of other wonderful cities, San Sebastián was still our favorite: it was home.</p>
<p>And indeed, Donostia isn’t a visiting city: it’s a living city. It’s a place where everything, from the style of grocery shopping to the beautiful parks to the quaint, impeccably decorated stores are all designed for you to slowly, deeply, and truly enjoy.</p>
<p>Whereas the best moments in the big European cities all revolved around doing such and such or seeing this or that, my most treasured memories of San Sebastián were when we spent an hour at the beach, looking out over the waves and sipping Keler, or laughing with the owner of our favorite bar, Giroki, over the ‘plato del dia’ and a steaming hot cafe.</p>Robert BenjaminOn the Internet and the Printing Press2015-06-21T00:00:00+00:002015-06-21T00:00:00+00:00http://robertbenjamin.co/on-the-internet-and-the-printing-press<p>What were the big jumps in methods of communication, or the transfer of knowledge? After a bit of thought, here’s what I’ve gotten:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Speech.</strong> Being able to speak (and creating languages that have become complex and intricate as they are now) was the first step. You could convey an almost unlimited number of desires, needs, and abstract ideas through speech.</li>
<li><strong>Writing.</strong> The development of written methods of communication provided a physical, more permanent method to convey ideas. They were more tangible and could last longer than they did in a person’s mind. They could remind a person of a thought they had previously forgotten about! And even crazier, you could read the text of someone you’ve never talked to, or someone dead! It was as if they could speak to you from the grave.</li>
<li><strong>Printing Press.</strong> While the printing press isn’t the first machine for reproducing written texts, it was certainly the first wildly successful one. Now, not only could ideas last years, but they could reach masses of people! Thousands of people could read the same words and be exposed to the ideas of one writer!</li>
<li><strong>The Internet.</strong> And finally, where we are now. The internet is what I believe to be the final step before humans ascend to some kind of superorganism. With the advent of the internet, not only could text be transferred on a global level nigh instantly, but also real-time discussion, digital images, video, code, applications, sound (music!!), and a myriad of other stunning forms of content, many of which didn’t even exist ten or fifteen years ago. This is stunning. Seriously, it’s completely beyond belief. Forget predictions of flying cars or even flying cities, you can write a dumb little sentence on your smartphone, post it on Twitter, and instantly, anyone in the world can read it. That is a god-like power.</li>
</ol>
<p>The above thoughts came when I tried to deconstruct my interest in web development. I never really liked the idea of engineering/coding, probably because it seemed too technical/mathematic and didn’t at all appeal to my visual/creative/artistic side.</p>
<p>So why have I picked up a interest in web development over the last year or so? Because, in the context of the above, web development is the equivalent of working at a hot, bustling printing press with Johannes Gutenberg himself.</p>
<p>You stand side by side a crowd of other people creating not only “book covers” (standard websites, blogs), but also a number of other things that are only limited by your creativity! Physical books aren’t interactive: they can speak to you deeply and truly, but you can’t talk back to it. It’s a one-way transfer of information (which is certainly valuable!). Web development allows things like interaction to content. It allows you to converse with other people, swapping crazy theories or ideas (like this little blurb) and revel in each other’s madness.</p>
<p>I remember reading through Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything,” and griping that I hadn’t been born into a wealthy English family in the 1750s. Then, I thought, I truly would’ve fit in. A man could learn the basics of science and philosophy and math and, with a little creativity, immediately begin working on problems no one had thought of before!</p>
<p>It was an exciting time filled with discoveries and true intellectual exploration. Bones were unearthed and ruminated over, moralities were questioned, and lofty physics theorems were tossed about like a baseball. I felt that, nowadays, everything worth saying had already been said and the only truly exciting developments were in the hands of incredibly niche, PHD level researchers who had spent a decade and a half in higher education.</p>
<p>What I failed to realize, overlooking my delusions of the 1750’s being a fairyland, was that this exciting exploration and creating environment still exists, in the internet. And while you certainly can join or utilize the power of the internet with almost any skill set, whether writing, marketing, music, or photography, learning web development opens up a whole new world of possibilities that can be combined with those skills with amazing results.</p>Robert BenjaminWhat were the big jumps in methods of communication, or the transfer of knowledge? After a bit of thought, here’s what I’ve gotten:No, That’s Not the ‘Future of the Web’2015-04-06T00:00:00+00:002015-04-06T00:00:00+00:00http://robertbenjamin.co/no-thats-not-the-future-of-the-web<p>I keep seeing all these articles stating “_ is the best!”
“Start making _, it will be all there is in a year!” and so on and so forth.</p>
<p>The particular one that triggered me to write this is a particular article going on about <a href="https://blog.intercom.io/why-cards-are-the-future-of-the-web/">why cards are the “future of the web”</a>. The actual article is quite well written — what bugs me is the phrase “future of the web.” You could point out that I’m arguing semantics, and that’s certainly true.</p>
<p>But the point remains:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The only certain thing about the future is that it will be a time of more uncertainty than ever before, whether economically, culturally, politically, or especially technologically.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>No one could’ve accurately predicted the shift to flat design and minimalism, or the obsession with parallax scrolling. Web or technological trends are just that, trends. Trends come and go, rise in popularity and fall in popularity, and in the upcoming years the rapidity with which they will evolve will only continue to accelerate.</p>
<p>If you see or predict a trend, that’s fine! You might be right on! But don’t say it’s “the future” if it’s something as temporary and short-termed as cards. The future of the web might be VR websites, or direct neural connectivity. It might be some bizarre form of physical manifestation or integrated reality. But cards are no more the future of the web than the design patterns of Web 2.0 were. They’ll be here for a year and gone the next.</p>Robert BenjaminI keep seeing all these articles stating “_ is the best!” “Start making _, it will be all there is in a year!” and so on and so forth.