So, About Your Awesome Projects List

Last Week’s Tweet Storm Serialized to Medium

Know all those things you want to accomplish?
The good things you want to do?
The cool things you want to build?

You won’t get them done.

I don’t mean your bad at what you do.
But, seriously, look at your list of IMPORTANT ideas.
You can’t do them all.
There’s just not enough time.

More than that: you probably can’t even do ONE of them. “Worthwhile” is a moving hurdle. The Red Queen owns modernity — there are desperately few low-hanging fruits, and they’re not worth looking for.

My friend Holly Wood, PhD 🌹has repeatedly tweeted, “fuck your brand build your tribe,” over the past few years. I don’t think it’s exactly what she meant, but my increasing realization is that I can’t do ANY of the big things I want to do on my own — I need a tribe. My labor alone can’t get it done, at least not in the way I want.

It’s a hard thing for me to accept. The fiction (and non-fiction) I’ve enjoyed since childhood, all tends portrays the lone hacker / scientist as the heroic rebel. I willfully exposed myself to that stuff — obviously I found it gratifying. But, acting alone doesn’t help me do what I want to do. Again, I need a tribe. There are plenty of people who think like me and want to build the same things. So, if you’re reading this and you’re interested in making science radically open and inclusive, we’re part of the same tribe. That’s something I want to do; and, I have the skills to make contributions towards that end.

We can rebel, together.