Bottom-weighted metrics for system quality

Systems are usually evaluated by their highest outputs: national wealth, research breakthroughs, military capability, or exceptional individuals. A more useful measure may come from the lowest outcomes instead. If those with the least power still experience stability and acceptable living conditions, the overall structure is likely durable. Stability at the bottom is a practical indicator of resilience.

Everyday life as constrained optimization

Daily routines can be viewed as a set of competing limits. Time, attention, calories, physical strength, and money all influence one another. A long commute increases fatigue, which reduces training capacity, which later affects energy levels and productivity. A change in any single factor reshapes the rest. Most people solve these problems informally, but treating them as constraints can reveal trade-offs that are usually overlooked.

Surveillance technology as ecological immune system

Environmental damage often begins in small, nearly invisible ways. Forest clearing, minor fires, poaching, and illegal mining may go undetected until the effects become widespread. A distributed sensing architecture made of autonomous aircraft, long-range communication, and anomaly detection could identify harm at the point where intervention is still possible. Detection alone is insufficient. The real challenge is tracing the logistics behind the activity so that it does not simply shift location and repeat.

Neurocognitive feedback loops and behavioral inertia

Attention problems, disrupted routines, and low mood can reinforce each other. Sensory overload encourages withdrawal. Withdrawal removes structure. The loss of structure weakens mood. Low mood reduces the ability to plan or manage tasks. The result is further withdrawal. Without regular external demands, the system tends to settle into inactivity rather than course-correct on its own.

Engineered urgency as a cognitive stimulant

Some forms of work benefit from pressure. Rapid decision making, time limits, and short task cycles can improve focus and reduce distraction. Productivity may not always increase when stress is removed. In some cases, a controlled level of urgency can sharpen attention and maintain momentum better than a fully calm environment.

Reading / Influences

Technical / Research

• Haykin, S. (2014). Adaptive filter theory (5th ed.). Pearson. ISBN 9780132671453

  Signal processing and adaptive filtering — how systems learn from incoming data.

• MacKay, D. J. C. (2003). Information theory, inference, and learning algorithms. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521642989

  Information theory and inference — compression, uncertainty, and reasoning with limited data.

• Ng, A. (2017). Machine learning yearning. Self-published online manuscript. (No ISBN)

  Practical ML — how to structure real systems for scalable learning.

• Nilsson, J. W., & Riedel, S. (2014). Electric circuits (10th ed.). Pearson. ISBN 9780133760033

  Circuit fundamentals — the foundation for understanding current, voltage, and power flow.

• LaValle, S. M. (2006). Planning algorithms. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521862059

  Motion planning — computing feasible paths under constraints and uncertainty.

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (n.d.). MIT OpenCourseWare. https://ocw.mit.edu/

  Electromagnetics, DSP, controls — high-level conceptual grounding across EE domains.

Systems / Economics / Strategy

• Boyd, J. (1996). The essence of winning and losing [Unpublished briefing slides]. Air University Library. (No ISBN)

  Decision cycles — adaptation speed as strategic advantage.

• Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in systems: A primer. Chelsea Green Publishing. ISBN 9781603580557

  Systems thinking — leverage points where small changes reshape entire structures.

• Taleb, N. N. (2012). Antifragile: Things that gain from disorder. Random House. ISBN 9781400067824

  Risk and robustness — using volatility as fuel instead of fear.

• Beer, S. (1994). Brain of the firm (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780471948390

  Organizational cybernetics — managing complexity through feedback control.

Engineering Ethics & Philosophy of Science

• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. (n.d.). IEEE ethics case studies. IEEE.

  Constraints and failure modes — responsibility at the engineering boundary.

• Popper, K. (2002). The logic of scientific discovery. Routledge. ISBN 9780415278447

  Falsifiability — truth as what survives attempts to destroy it.

• Clausewitz, C. von. (2007). On war (M. Howard & P. Paret, Eds.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199232024

  Friction and uncertainty — action under incomplete information.

Novels & Philosophy

• Nietzsche, F. (2003). Thus spoke Zarathustra (R. J. Hollingdale, Trans.). Penguin Classics. ISBN 9780140441185

  Values and self-overcoming — strength through continual transformation.

• Kierkegaard, S. (1989). The sickness unto death (A. Hannay, Trans.). Penguin Classics. ISBN 9780140445336

  Responsibility and anxiety — meaning as commitment rather than comfort.

• Kafka, F. (2009). The trial (M. Mitchell, Trans.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199238293

  Alienation and absurdity — systems that grind people into silence.

• Dostoevsky, F. (1993). Crime and punishment (R. Pevear & L. Volokhonsky, Trans.). Vintage Classics. ISBN 9780679734505

  Guilt and conscience — internal judgment sharper than external punishment.

• Dante Alighieri. (1995). The divine comedy (A. Mandelbaum, Trans.). Everyman’s Library. ISBN 9780679433132

  Moral architecture — descending for clarity before rising in understanding.

Aesthetic / Conceptual

• Brand, S. (1968). Whole Earth Catalog. Portola Institute.

  Access to tools — self-directed building, ecology, and systems awareness.

• Brand, S. (1999). The clock of the long now. Basic Books. ISBN 9780465007806

  Long-term responsibility — thinking beyond individual time horizons.

• Victor, B. (2011). Inventing on principle [Conference talk].

  Interfaces as moral commitments — tools built around what you refuse to compromise on.

• Victor, B. (2006). Magic ink: Information software and the graphical interface. Online essay.

  Interfaces as thinking tools — software that directly manipulates representations of the world.

• Hyperspace Pirate (n.d.). YouTube channel.

  Homemade Autocascade Refrigeration System (plus Anhydrous Ammonia) — improvised high-performance cooling hardware.

• Ben Eater (n.d.). YouTube channel.

  RS232 interface with the 6551 UART — low-level serial communication explained and implemented from first principles in hardware.

• styropyro (n.d.). YouTube channel.

  High-voltage curiosity — extreme optics and power experiments.
  Representative videos:
  • Homemade 1000W LED Flashlight

• codyslab (n.d.). YouTube channel.

  Backyard materials science — element collecting and physical processes.
  Representative videos:
  • Gold Recovery from CPUs