Hi, my name is Matt. I’m a reader, writer and product manager who’s especially interested in the intersection of complex systems, computing and communication. My 2022 annual review contextualises the entity that is Me; the “Now” and “Previously” sections below enumerate notable present and past activities, whilst the “Seminal Reads” and “Seminal Writes” sections draw attention to impactful books I’ve read and some favourite textual artefacts I’ve produced.
The simplest way to reach me is email: matt@thisdomain. I use email for correspondence, instead of capture. I’m responsive by default and I operate by Crocker’s Rules. I’m also reachable on Warpcast, Twitter and a dynamic set of Discord servers and Slack groups.
Now
Previously
- Served as temporary benevolent dictator for YakCon
- Contributed to a sustainability-focused pop-up consulting project
- Learned a little about applied data science
- Self-published Riven, a novella about a man who goes into the woods
- Learned a little about CLIs, IDEs and Git
- Completed an intensive, Python-focused computing specialisation
- Completed entry-level Scrum.org certs (PSM I, PSPO I)
- Explored the elements and components of product management
- Contributed to the Yak Collective’s newsletter
- Self-published Ss, a multi-genre short story collection
- Self-published Barker, a novel about alt-education and the culture wars
- Done some freelance editorial work
- Wrote Near-Deathness (and one other piece) for Ribbonfarm
- Self-published Disconnected, a collection of blog posts
- Produced six long-form, Paris Review style interviews
- Published 1,300+ blog posts
- Worked as a factory operative, movement coach, security response team member and waiter/bartender
Seminal Reads
2022 reads
My top non-fiction reads of 2022 (more info here):
- Critical Systems Thinking and the Management of Complexity, Michael C. Jackson
- Theory of the Earth, Thomas Nail
- The Matter with Things Vol. 1, Iain McGilchrist
- Seeing That Frees, Rob Burbea
- Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud
- Working, Robert Caro
- The Figure of the Migrant, Thomas Nail
- Theory of the Image, Thomas Nail
- Ideas That Created the Future, Harry R. Lewis
- Product Management in Practice (2nd Ed.), Matt LeMay
- Theory of the Border, Thomas Nail
- The Living Mountain (Grampian Quartet 4), Nan Shepherd
- Theory of the Object, Thomas Nail
Other impactful reads
A loosely categorised selection of other impactful non-fiction books from recent years.
On complex systems:
On product management and design:
On technology and computing:
On creativity and learning:
On human nature:
Seminal Writes
Some recent favourites from my own corpus of non-fiction blogging.
Colophon
Inspired by Hyperlinked Text and Start with words; last updated March 2023.