# About this lab notebook Hi. I'm [Jess Martin](https://jessmart.in). I'm an [[Applied research|applied researcher]] investigating the future of computing. My primary work involves [[Discover and disseminate generalizable insights|discovering and dissemenating generalizable insights]] into the nature of the computational medium. This lab notebook is an effort to deepen and clarify my own thinking while publishing it a form that can be consumed by others. Broadly, my research is towards enabling [[Computers should help us think better, together|computers to help us think better, together]]. More specifically, I focus on three broad areas: - **Real-time collaboration**, or [[Computers should enable robust collaborative experiences]] - **Knowledge representation**, or [[Computers should represent knowledge using models and simulations]] - **Computers as mediums for thinking**, or [[Computers are a platform for tools for thinking]] ## The Research Pipeline [[Open Questions I'm Pondering|Open Questions]] ➡️ [[Intuitive Insights]] ➡️ [[Experimental Systems]] ➡️ [[Observations of Experimental Systems|Observations]] ➡️ Generalizable Insights ([[Discover and disseminate generalizable insights|source]]) I've organized my Lab Notebook around the above pipeline: - **Evergreen Notes**: I follow a form of [[Evergreen Note-taking]]: [[Notes represent durable knowledge objects]], deeply interlinked, with minimal narrative, focused on asserting and supporting specific claims. Evergreen Notes contain the seeds of Intuitive Insights that need nurturing. - **Projects**: a list of projects that I am working on or have worked on. A source of insights and a breeding ground for Experimental Systems. - **[[Open Questions I'm Pondering]]** is sort of a switchboard for [[How to Research|Good Questions]], which are an essential ingredient in research. - **[[Intuitive Insights]]** is a list of insights I've had about systems that await embodiment in an Experimental System. - **[[Experimental Systems]]** is a list of Experimental Systems that I've worked on in the past or am building now. - **Resources, People, and Systems** are notes on influential researchers and software systems that have shaped computing over the decades. ## Why publish these notes? I'm writing these notes mostly for myself, so why publish them? - These notes primarily serve to __guide my own process of discovery__, as detailed above in the Research Pipeline. - I publish in order to __share what I'm learning__, in the hope that some of these "results" may inspire others. - Increasing my luck surface area: serendipity, chance encounters, [[Signal flare is a public artifact that attracts like-minded thinkers]]. - Something to link to: enable better conversations with "fellow travelers" as I can link to specific notes in our conversations and allows them to explore my thinking asynchronously.