My Slice of The Internet
Essays & Active Works

My Slice of The Internet

Below are blog articles I've posted in the last ~12 months. Anything past that is email-walled in the "Essays" section.

Below are blog articles I've posted in the last ~24 months. Anything past that is email-walled in the "Essays" section. I'd love to make them all free, but my goal is to make this my main outlet.

I dislike writing emails so rest assured I'll rarely reach out (quarterly, at most).

Create Curiously & Consistenly

January 29, 2022

How Writing 100 Articles Made A Nobody $16k In 2 Months

A quick tale of flashing destitution & how a four year habit saved me at the most unexpected time. An ode to the force of compounding as seen through the lens of soft skills, hard skills, & social proof.

Everything Else
January 29, 2022

Clarity, Carefully - Tx-Sender

January 7, 2022

Minimizing Exploit(s) That Hijack The Persistence Of Tx-Sender

First in a series of deep dives into Clarity, the dev language for Stacks. This opening piece covers tx-sender, one of the most commonly keywords; additionally, we explore how it's key property (persistence) can be hijacked for exploits.

Code & Design
January 7, 2022

A Light Intro To Tensors

March 5, 2021

A Framework For Defining Geometric Objects In Space

How do we define geometric objects regardless of their perspective? In this lengthy guide, we'll cover the very basics of tensors - a mathematical object with invariant properties & meaning. Popularized by Einstein in his General Relativity equations, tensors are, in a way, the truths of the universe.

Beyond Calculus
March 5, 2021

Young Marie Curie

November 11, 2020

The One That Radiated Her Way To x2 Nobel Prizes

Perhaps no one else in this series broke glass ceiling after glass ceiling, shattering the misconceptions of their times, like Madame Marie Curie. The eminent polymath scientist, she faced obstacle after obstacle, only to radiate through & rightly earn her legacy. Maintaining the same theme as previous entries in this series, we ask — what was she like in his twenties?

Young Polymaths
November 11, 2020

User Personas

October 16, 2020

Outlining User Types & Preparing User Stories

Product-community fit is paramount as it’s the organic predecessor to product-market fit. Now that we have our findings from the Market Research Survey (the previous deliverable), it’s time to increase the likelihood of product-community fit by piecing together actionable portraits & stories of User Personas.

Code & Design
October 16, 2020

Mandelbulb: Three Dimensional Fractals

September 29, 2020

Searching For The Mandelbrot In Higher Dimensions

Previously, we covered the history & the basics of iterating complex numbers in hopes of generating fractals. Starting from scratch with Julia Sets, we worked our way through defining & plotting the eminent Mandelbrot Set. This time, we search for the equivalent but in the 3rd-dimension.

Beyond Calculus
September 29, 2020

Market Research Survey

September 20, 2020

Shaping The Early Community & Understanding Their Needs

Undoubtedly, one of the hardest lessons any product veteran learns from launching countless projects is that the fastest way to guarantee failure is by building something that no one cares about. This is why the very second deliverable holds a special place in in this design process: it’s the first user-facing item; aka, the first time we’re actively shaping the early community & leveraging it for actionable feedback.

Code & Design
September 20, 2020

Young Galileo Galilei

September 17, 2020

The One Chained To The Ground Yet Gazing At The Stars

It’s hard to highlight just how much courage entry #16 in this series exhibited; a less-spoken part of the legend, Galileo Galilei demonstrated extraordinary resilience from both financial & legal pressures throughout his life. Despite this, his accomplishments are on par & very deserving of his place among fellow polymaths; to better understand the nature & nurture that gave us Galileo, we once again ask — what was he like in his twenties?

Young Polymaths
September 17, 2020

From Dev Agency To Design Solution

September 14, 2020

How Nontechnical Founders Can De-Risk A Startup

The game has changed. App startups have slowly been commoditized which means that speed isn’t the differentiator anymore; early adopters no longer provide authentic feedback on poorly-designed MVPs because they no longer have the same patience for early products. The key differentiator in 2020 for a launching product is now community. And community loosely translates to: who cares about what you’re building?

Code & Design
September 14, 2020

Competitor & Inspiration Analysis

August 21, 2020

Or How To Start The Product Design Journey Aligned As A Team

The starting point for the entire SetDesign product design process, the very first deliverable, is none other than the Competitor & Inspiration Analysis. While it’s a design deliverable pieced together by a single designer, it’s paramount that all stakeholders/teammates participate as the exercise is absolutely communal & collaborative.

Code & Design
August 21, 2020

Fractal Geometry

August 12, 2020

From Gaston Julia To Benoit Mandelbrot

Fractals, the crux of fractal geometry, are infinitely complex & detailed patterns that are self-similar across different scales; they’re mathematical objects created by recursions of functions in the complex space. As we’ll see shortly, fractal geometry brings us much closer to replicating the irregularities & intricacies that surround us.

Beyond Calculus
August 12, 2020

Young Mikhail Lomonosov

July 18, 2020

The Polymath of Russian Enlightenment

Our fifteenth protagonist this Masters of Many series, Lomonosov, led both a cultural & scientific revolution — helping position Russia as a center of 18-century Enlightenment. A man of legendary mystique, he’s well-deserving of his place among this group of polymaths. Persevering our niche focus, we explore his earlier years. In order to uncover their defining habits, choices & experiences we ask again: what was he like in his twenties?

Young Polymaths
July 18, 2020

What Is Sleep Hygiene?

June 24, 2020

Discovering & Maintaining Your Circadian Rhythm

We have the practice of diet as the core tool of our nutritional needs, exercise as the crux of our fitness needs, & therapy as the model for our mental health needs. And yet, counter-intuitively, we have no equivalent structural process for how we sleep. Given the volumes of literature detailing evidence that sleep is incontrovertibly critical to our well-being, it’s bewildering to observe the lack of guidelines.

Everything Else
June 24, 2020

Young Emanuel Swedenborg

June 20, 2020

The One That Straddled Science & Religion

From diverse scientist to mechanical inventor to religious philosopher, Emanuel Swedenborg is tragically overlooked as one of the greatest thinkers of the previous century. Maintaining the same focus as previous submissions, we ask again — what was he like in his twenties?

Young Polymaths
June 20, 2020

Deep Appreciation At Second Sight

April 29, 2020

Reflections On Linear Algebra Seven Years Later

LA was the first time I was overwhelmed with a new language; the weeks flew by as I memorized vocabulary, formulas & notation, yet I didn’t get the why — I had no big moment of revelation, only the simple satisfaction that I was one step closer to attaining a degree. Seven years later, I now believe that LA, not Calculus, is the true gatekeeper to the higher branches of advanced math.

Beyond Calculus
April 29, 2020

Young Charles Babbage

April 10, 2020

The Insatiable Inventor & Father Of The Computer

A mathematician, mechanical inventor, & renowned author, Charles Babbage perfectly fits our protagonist M.O as a Master of Many. The 13th entrant to this series, we’re interested in discovering his earlier life choices, specifically, what was he like in his twenties?

Young Polymaths
April 10, 2020

Starting With Google Script

April 10, 2020

An Intro To Customizing & Automating On Googlesheets

The goal throughout this tutorial is to write a GScript attached to a single Sheet spreadsheet that takes a messy, copy/pasted list of historical dividends as an input & outputs a beautiful, useful, dashboard.

Code & Design
April 10, 2020

Office365 Automation Basics

April 1, 2020

Automate Away Everyday Tasks With Three Methods

Despite it’s popularity, Office365 is criminally underused. I submit that these oversights are decidedly myopic. ERP software has quietly marched along, compounding with small, but significant advancements.

Code & Design
April 1, 2020

The Invention Of Zero

April 1, 2020

Assigning Value To The Concept Of Nothing

Within the world of mathematics, nothing has a profound impact on, well, everything. In “nothing”, we know that we’re effectively referring to the number zero’s (0) identity as the absence of anything.

Beyond Calculus
April 1, 2020

Elementary Cellular Automaton

March 28, 2020

A Theory On How Simple Structures Generate Complex Systems

An omnipresent problem observed by all scientific intellectuals from Aristotle to Galileo is that modeling the real world is, well, nearly impossible. While dot-diagrams, differential equations & vector calculus bring us closer & closer from theory to reality, it’s clear that an additional degree of complexity lurks.

Beyond Calculus
March 28, 2020

Intro To Information Theory

March 18, 2020

From Bits To The Modern Entropy Function

The Indonesian Caves of Borneo Island offer an insight to the most primitive form of recorded communication. Around some 40,000 years ago, before the evolution of written language, physical illustrations on cave walls were the most precise method of recorded communication.

Beyond Calculus
March 18, 2020

The Polymaths Were Rich Yet Poor

March 7, 2020

Mapping Wealth & Intelligence From Da Vinci To Tesla

Studying the history of the world’s most remarkable & accomplished humans never ceases to uncover a healthy lesson or two. And while we usually chronologically cover one protagonist at a time, today, we’re instead comparing & contrasting the twelve polymaths we’ve reviewed across a single vector: that of financial wealth.

Young Polymaths
March 7, 2020

Young Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose

March 2, 2020

The Empathic Inventor & Scientist

Breakthrough progress under a simmering sense of social pressure is quite difficult — a life of breakthrough achievement while facing down overt racism, is something else entirely. And yet to remain an empathic, humanity-first soul among it all is what truly makes Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, our twelfth-entry in our Young Polymath series, a master of many worth studying.

Young Polymaths
March 2, 2020

60 Seconds & 360 Degrees

February 24, 2020

A Primer on the Sexagemisal System (Base-60)

Have you wondered why there are 60 seconds/minutes in a minute/hour? Or why we decided that a circle is exactly 360 degrees? For the curious cats, it’s likely a common musing that’s piqued your interest at one point or another — our numbering system consistently wraps around ten digits(0–9), except for a few, one-off concepts, why is this?

Beyond Calculus
February 24, 2020

Measuring Network Centrality

February 12, 2020

An Intro To Quantifying “Importance” Through Graph Theory

Network analysis sounds like a clandestine, cyberpunk job tasked to only top NSA & Mossad modelers. However, this concept of mathematically dissecting “networks” is far from new; in fact, its logical origins extend back to the times of the eminent Euler (18th century).

Everything Else
February 12, 2020

Young Thomas Jefferson

February 3, 2020

The Curious Creator & Legislative Leader

As revered John F. Kennedy so eloquently puts it in the quote above, Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd POTUS, compiled an astounding vast range of knowledge & accomplishments throughout his life. His biographies often narrowed to his historical role as a Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson is unfortunately overlooked as a candidate for “polymath.”

Young Polymaths
February 3, 2020

The Fourier Series

January 26, 2020

A Basic Overview & Visual Introduction To The Magic Of Waves

The Fourier Series is a long, intimidating function that breaks down any periodic function into a simple series of sine & cosine waves. It’s a baffling concept to wrap your mind around, but almost any function can be expressed as a series of sine & cosine waves created from rotating circles.

Beyond Calculus
January 26, 2020

The History of Euler’s Number (e)

January 4, 2020

From Napier Table’s To Bernoulli’s Compounding Interest

In math there are a few, select, magical constants that transverse all branches. These constants, steadily discovered throughout our collective history, provide the numerical infrastructure to our everyday lives; like chemical elements in the periodic table, special constants in math are foundational.

Beyond Calculus
January 4, 2020

Young Isaac Newton

December 29, 2019

The Polymath Prince of Physics & Math

It’s nothing short of poetic irony that the now-well-known quote above was first spoken by none other than Sir Isaac Newton; it’s ironic, because, well, if there’s an identifiable giant that influenced the greatest discoveries & inventions of the 20th century, it’s incontrovertibly Sir Isaac Newton.

Young Polymaths
December 29, 2019

Understanding Exponents

December 23, 2019

Countering Our Limited Intuition Towards Exponential Functions

Perusing Hacker News last month, a particularly-captivating Ask YC popped up on the first page: what’s the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour? There was, as expected, an array of deep, well-thought-out answers.

Beyond Calculus
December 23, 2019

Young Nikola Tesla

November 21, 2019

The Enigmatic Electrician-Magician

Every so often, an individual graces our species with a life so accomplished that it simply escapes comprehension. In modern times, individuals like Elon Musk are admittedly approaching this cultural status — however, only time will tell as he/they likely have decades of progress left.

Young Polymaths
November 21, 2019

How To Count Cards

November 18, 2019

An Homage & Walk-Through Of The Infamous Hi-Lo System

A common cultural trope, as portrayed in Hollywood, for a financially-desperate mathematician, is to turn to some grey-shade, barely legal activity that leverages their deep understanding of numbers. Most of the time this entails some type of seemingly-impossible programming job aided by a noire tale of hackers & cyberpunk settings.

Everything Else
November 18, 2019

Terrible Tips From Da Vinci

November 12, 2019

How *Not* To Operate Your Freelancing Business

As a creative-tech freelancer, I’m reasonably fascinated by fascinating product people. One of which is my lifelong hero, the prolific Leonardo Da Vinci.

Young Polymaths
November 12, 2019

Exploring Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Projects Through GitHub

November 7, 2019

Blockchain/cryptocurrency projects & the ever-mysterious open-source. If you come from a nontechnical background, you’ve probably wondered just exactly what open-source means; if you’ve hung around developers, in particular, you might’ve even heard about the powerful GitHub & the world of repositories.

Everything Else
November 7, 2019

Cones To Pixels

November 3, 2019

The Mathematics of Digital Color

Light, color & eyes — invisible energy waves, the core of beauty, & the portal to souls. Few topics have captivated the greatest minds like our collaborative search to more deeply understand how & what we see.

Beyond Calculus
November 3, 2019

Young Jacques Cousteau

October 25, 2019

Art & Engineering, All Under One Purpose

Covering 70% of Earth’s surface, the ocean, despite our preference for land, remains the largest habitable ecosystem on our planet. Yet among the many polymaths we’ve now covered in this series, not one of them dedicated him or herself to water & its omnipresent properties.

Young Polymaths
October 25, 2019

SteamVR 2.0 Tutorial: Scene Switch

October 14, 2019

The Basics Of Implementing SteamVR_LoadLevel.CS

A “must-have” for any VR experience, the ability to seamlessly transition between scenes can be implemented relatively easily through the SteamVR 2.0 plugin. Like the previous laser-pointer tutorial, the SteamVR plugin comes with a functional script for accomplishing a smooth load screen: SteamVR_LoadLevel.CS.

Code & Design
October 14, 2019

Unexpected Beauty in Primes

October 13, 2019

The Visualization of Primes & Its Potential Significance

The significance of prime numbers, in both everyday applications & as a subtopic pertinent to all branches of math, cannot be overstated. We quietly rely on their special properties to carry the backbone of countless parts of our society — all because they are an irreducible part of the very fabric of nature.

Beyond Calculus
October 13, 2019

The Basics of Game Theory

September 28, 2019

Intro To Common Terms & Visual Layouts

Modern game theory, the applied math branch established by Neumann & Nash, is the study of mathematical models in conflict & cooperation between intelligent, rational, decision-makers. A tool used in a wide array of industries & fields ranging from economics, to political science, to computer science — the basics of game theory are surprisingly tenable to the average high-schooler.

Beyond Calculus
September 28, 2019

The Four-Color Theorem

September 23, 2019

Its Surreal Simplicity & Critical Challenge To Re-Define The Modern Theorem

Few mathematical theorems are ever covered & publicized to the greater mainstream (aka non-academic) crowd. Sometimes, because, well, math is boring to sane people, but mainly because many of these theorems are brutally convoluted & unnecessarily hard to grasp.

Code & Design
September 23, 2019

Nothing To Hide, Nothing To Fear

September 22, 2019

3 Counters To The All-Too Common Justified Erosion Of Privacy

It’s a common saying from a cherished poem/song that the next revolution will not be televised. Most people, myself included, misinterpret that saying.

Everything Else
September 22, 2019

The Endgame of AR/VR

September 22, 2019

A Clock Is To Time, What A Headset Is To Space

A suite of time-management tools is to time, what eventual mixed reality will be to space. The theory here is that perfected mixed reality will unlock the door for spatial-management as a stand-alone field unlike that of time-management.

Code & Design
September 22, 2019

Young Sir Francis Bacon

September 19, 2019

The 16th-Century Wordsmith Wunderkind

A rare few people ever write with such elegance, purpose, & brilliance as to gain a conspiracy that suggests him/her as the true identity of William Shakespeare. It’s but guaranteed hearsay, yet this long-standing rumor speaks volumes for the man, one Sir Francis Bacon.

Young Polymaths
September 19, 2019

Game Theory — History & Overview

September 12, 2019

What Is Game Theory & Why Is It Relevant Today?

Life is survival & survival is competition. Whenever two or more entities are faced with constraints, such as a fixed amount of resources, in a win/lose scenario, competition emerges. It’s inevitable & natural.

Beyond Calculus
September 12, 2019

On Universal Basic Income

September 8, 2019

The Need To Work — Reflections On A Utopian Experiment

For the first time in our history, the idea of UBI, universal basic income for the uninitiated, is at the forefront of American culture. Whether it’s a sovereign government running experiments, the world’s most powerful VC/accelerator pumping out research, or a literal presidential candidate championing a “Freedom Fund” as his main platform, there’s no denying that the conversation is front & center.

Everything Else
September 8, 2019

3 Lessons For Indie VR Developers

August 26, 2019

Tools, Patterns, & Stores Involved For Tethered Headsets

Whew! After an exhausting eleven months putting in two hours a weekday & eight hours a weekend, I finally shipped my solo VR experience, CryptoSpace. Since November of 2018, I’ve moonlighted on this project, marrying my two current interests: VR & cryptocurrency.

Code & Design
August 26, 2019

Young Richard Feynman

August 23, 2019

The Greatest Professor & Physicist Since Aristotle

t’s a well-known paradox that the most brilliant minds are often mediocre teachers. With decades sculpting advanced mental models, experts typically find it difficult to simplify their knowledge.

Young Polymaths
August 23, 2019

CryptoSpace v1.0 Announcement

August 20, 2019

An Educational VR Blockexplorer Experience

Tired of nodding along silently when someone starts throwing crypto-babble around? Do you flush, stutter & struggle to make eye-contact when someone asks you to explain Bitcoin?

Everything Else
August 20, 2019

SteamVR 2.0 Tutorial: Laser Pointer

July 17, 2019

Using The Plugin Script To Raycast On Both 3D & Canvas Items

The use of laser pointers as a form of input is a common requirement for VR developers; yet, since the launch of SteamVR 2.0, close to zero resources exist on how exactly to set this up. Worse, pointers pose a particular problem in VR because, per the Unity documentation, it’s suggested that one use different raycast types when targeting different entities such as 2D, 3D or UI items.

Code & Design
July 17, 2019

Lessons Learned Scaling An Agency

June 26, 2019

Three Design Observations To Improve Client Communication

This upcoming July marks my sixth anniversary since setting out to attempt the Silicon Valley dream. Beginning the journey as half of a two-man team, the responsibility of product design fell straight into my lap; a then-business student in grad school, I had embarrassingly minimal exposure to anything in the creative world — principles, tools, practices, etc.

Code & Design
June 26, 2019

Differential Equations — Basics

June 21, 2019

Orders Overview & Standard Notation

In the beautiful branch of differential equations (DFQs) there exist many, multiple known types of differential equations. In fact, one of the best ways to ramp-up one’s understanding of DFQ is to first tackle the basic classification system. Why? Because you’ll likely never run into a completely foreign DFQ.

Beyond Calculus
June 21, 2019

Lessons From Polymaths In Their 20s

June 10, 2019

Two Large Observations From Five Famous Figures

Polymaths, as masters of multiple fields, are simply fascinating individuals with astonishing levels of accomplishment. It’s commonly said that success leaves clues behind; if that’s the case, then the history of these special academics is surely marked with ocean-wide strokes.

Young Polymaths
June 10, 2019

Young Mary Somerville

June 4, 2019

The 19th-Century Queen of Science

It’s often said that true mastery of a complicated subject is best marked by the ability to succinctly & clearly explain said subject. If that’s the standard, then there’s little doubt that Mary Somerville, the 19th-century Queen of Science, earned her spot in this series as polymath among the likes of Young, Russell, Da Vinci, & Franklin.

Young Polymaths
June 4, 2019

Building An WebVR Blockexplorer

May 28, 2019

Phase I — Why & WebVR

With under a rough total of 10 million consumer headsets sold combined, it’s clear that spatial computing (aka virtual reality & augmented reality) has yet to cross over to the mainstream. But cryptocurrency? Whew.

Code & Design
May 28, 2019

Differential Equations — History & Overview

May 19, 2019

Part I — What Is It & Why Is It Relevant Today?

Mathematicians & physicists tend to not agree on a whole lot. One incontrovertible truth that seems to permeate every STEM topic & unify both parties, however, is the principle belief that analyzing the dynamic relationships between individual components leads to a greater understanding of a system as a whole.

Beyond Calculus
May 19, 2019

Young Thomas Young

May 8, 2019

The Visionary 20th-Century Universal Genius

The fourth entry in this series of Masters of Many in their formative years lacks the mainstream popularity of our previous protagonists, especially relative to Da Vinci & Franklin; Thomas Young, however, nonetheless embodies the perfect portrait of a 20th-century polymath. Praised by the likes of Eisenstein, Asimov, & Maxwell, Young’s accomplishments are countless & impactful; as renowned author Isaac Asimov once claimed [of Young]:

Young Polymaths
May 8, 2019

Perspective On Monthly Subscriptions

May 5, 2019

Remaining Cash Neutral In A Subscription-Hungry World

Subscription-based business models absolutely eclipse alternatives, such as one-time downloads or in-app purchases; thoroughly-researched psychological concepts drive this cross-industry curiosity. People are very prone to forgetting monthly payments.

Everything Else
May 5, 2019

Finding A Technical Founder

April 24, 2019

Or, How To Come Prepared As A Nontechnical Founder

Spend minimal months in tech or startup social media orbits & you’re bound to bounce into a nontechnical-founder horror story. Or worse, a public mocking of a poor business soul trying to build the next Uber for X or AirBNB for Y that’s yet to discover the inspector console.

Everything Else
April 24, 2019

Da Vinci — As An LGBTQ Icon

April 15, 2019

Dedicating His 500th Birthday To An Overlooked Triumph

I’m fascinated by fascinating people — particularly those that I consider masters of many. So it’s likely no surprise that Leonardo Da Vinci, the original Renaissance Man & polymath, is a lifelong hero.

Young Polymaths
April 15, 2019

Young Leonardo Da Vinci

April 9, 2019

The Original Renaissance Man & Master of Many

It’s only appropriate that the third submission to this Masters of Many series lands on the 500th anniversary-month since his passing. Known for his feverishly inventive imagination & unquenchable curiosity, the original Renaissance man, Leonardo Da Vinci, is consistently revered as one of the most important & creative minds of all time.

Young Polymaths
April 9, 2019

Young Bertrand Russell

March 25, 2019

The English Gentleman That Never Stopped Learning

The second entry in this Masters of Many series, perhaps one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century, is none other than Bertrand Russell. A Nobel Prize-winning writer, extraordinary philosopher, revolutionary mathematician & social activist, he undoubtedly exemplifies the DNA of a true polymath.

Young Polymaths
March 25, 2019

Classic Cryptography Systems

March 8, 2019

A Visual Introduction To Three Basic Ciphers

Written communication is found in every instance of our history — dating back to our earliest days as a species. Prior to our discovery of agriculture & permanent settlements, nomadic tribes famously left behind stories of triumphs & hardships in primitive language structures known as proto-writing(s).

Everything Else
March 8, 2019

Number Theory — History & Overview

March 4, 2019

Part I — What Is Number Theory & Why Is It Relevant Today?

Math is the Universe’s natural tongue. Since the very beginning of our existence as a species, numbers have deeply fascinated us.

Beyond Calculus
March 4, 2019

Young Benjamin Franklin

February 28, 2019

The Only President Who Was Never President

If you live on the American side of the great pond, then this is surely a man that requires little introduction. One of the legendary Founding Fathers of our beloved United States, Benjamin Franklin undoubtedly qualifies as an accomplished polymath.

Young Polymaths
February 28, 2019

Design Process — Designing

February 24, 2019

Part IV — Greyscale, High-Fidelity, Early UI Kit, & Prototype

We’ve finally arrived at the module the majority of the world is familiar with: the mockup module. While the previous modules contained deliverables that aren’t as well-known outside of design circles, the deliverables included here align with the core of everyone’s expectation.

Code & Design
February 24, 2019

Set Theory — Functions

February 9, 2019

Describing Behavior With Bijectives, Surjectives, & Injectives

Today we’re going to expand on functions within the world of set theory. Similar to previous concepts introduced, the nomenclature for standard functions within sets is slightly different than other branches of math, & therefore requires reviewing.

Code & Design
February 9, 2019

Design Process — Mapping

February 5, 2019

Module III — User Journey Map & UX Wireframes

At this point in the game, through Module I & Module II in this series, we’ve now coalesced a common goal among stakeholders & painted a portrait of our perfect customer. With previous deliverables as reference points, the overarching goal of Module III is to map our product out by carefully accounting for every single possible user action & accompanying view.

Code & Design
February 5, 2019

Design Process — Researching

January 31, 2019

Part II — Market Research Survey & User Persona

Part II of this design series shifts the focus from creating an internal guide for all stakeholders, to now combing through potential user markets to clearly identify prospective users & their needs.

Code & Design
January 31, 2019

Set Theory — Cardinality & Power Sets

January 29, 2019

Part III — The Intuition Responsible For Allocation Decisions

With basic notation & operations cleared in articles one & two in this series, we’ve now built a fundamental understanding of Set Theory. This third article further compounds this knowledge by zoning in on the most important property of any given set: the total number of unique elements it contains.

Code & Design
January 29, 2019

Design Process — Brainstorming

January 21, 2019

Part I — The Project Vision & Competitor/Inspiration Analysis

Ahhh a fresh, new project — very few things are equally exhilarating, right? Especially if it’s the freedom of a passion project. In this jolt of excitement, as a designer, it’s almost second-nature to immediately begin sketching/wireframing/greyscaling the idea in mind; and yet this is almost always the wrong first step.

Code & Design
January 21, 2019

Set Theory — Basic Notation

January 12, 2019

Part II — A Brief Look At Operations, Notation & Venn Diagrams

As stated in the previous article, one of the core benefits in learning set theory stems not from any particular theory, but rather the language established. Which is why the bulk of this follow-up piece covers the very basics of set theory notation, operations & visual representations extensively.

Beyond Calculus
January 12, 2019

Set Theory — History & Overview

January 12, 2019

Part I — What Is Set Theory & Why Is It Relevant Today?

The concept of infinity is ideologically far from the average math terminology — no other topic transverses outside the circle of math in a way that’s translated from a practical, analytical tool to a phenomena of mythical renown. Rubbing shoulders with cultural topics such as religion & philosophy, the notion of infinity holds a peculiar aura of divinity.

Beyond Calculus
January 12, 2019

Logic Theory — Truth Tables

January 4, 2019

Part III — Intro to the Interdisciplinary Logic Tool

Now equipped with the principles of logic theory as well as basic notation, it’s time to explore the concept of equivalency in logic. Specifically, what makes two compound premises equal?

Beyond Calculus
January 4, 2019

Logic Theory — Equivalency

January 4, 2019

Part IV — Using Truth Tables To Prove Equal Statements

This article extends our knowledge of truth tables by focusing on one, rather involved, final example. Instead of mapping out a single compound premise, we’ll directly compare two compound premises in order prove that they’re logically equivalent.

Beyond Calculus
January 4, 2019

Logic Theory — History & Overview

December 17, 2018

Part I — What Is Logic Theory & Why Is It Relevant Today?

Logic, in it’s multiple definitions, has been around since homo-sapiens evolved through the first cognitive revolution (~70,000 years ago). Without much awareness of the underlying process, our ancestors incontrovertibly displayed signs of reasoning as they rapidly adapted to ever-changing environments — eventually settling in all corners of an early Earth.

Beyond Calculus
December 17, 2018

Logic Theory —Basic Notation

December 17, 2018

Part II — A Brief Look At Connectives, Implications & Quantifiers

The origin of logic theory starts at the concept of an argument. The majority of logic textbooks contain an opening, central definition for an argument.

Beyond Calculus
December 17, 2018

Graph Theory — On To Network Theory

November 27, 2018

Part IV — The Basics of Network Theory

Finally, our path in this series of graph theory articles takes us to the heart of a burgeoning sub-branch of graph theory: network theory. Network theory is the application of graph-theoretic principles to the study of complex, dynamic interacting systems.

Beyond Calculus
November 27, 2018

Graph Theory — Basic Properties

November 27, 2018

Part III — Moving On From Simple Graphs

Let’s take a step back in order to take a few more forward in our walk through the basics of graph theory. The previous article in this series mainly revolved around explaining & notating something labeled a simple graph.

Beyond Calculus
November 27, 2018

Graph Theory — Set & Matrix Notation

November 27, 2018

Part II — The Basics of Graph Theory Notation

In this article, in contrast to the opening piece of this series, we’ll work though graph examples. The first example graph we’ll review contains specific properties that classify it as a simple graph.

Beyond Calculus
November 27, 2018

Graph Theory — History & Overview

November 27, 2018

Part I — What Is Graph Theory & Why Is It Relevant Today?

Maybe it’s the intuitive hunch that analyzing systems as graphs will grow my understanding of decentralized vs centralized networks. The mathematician in me sees how nailing down network analysis can greatly benefit research in incentive-driven systems.

Beyond Calculus
November 27, 2018

Blockchain Programming for New Developers — II

November 16, 2018

The Language Landscape

What’s the best language to kick-start a career in blockchain programming? That’s the question we set out to answer in Part I of this series.

Code & Design
November 16, 2018

Blockchain Programming for New Developers — I

November 16, 2018

Programming Language Basics For Entering the Blockchain space

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel of four active NEO programmers at the San Francisco NEO Dev Conference. The topic of the panel was general blockchain programming, however, an additional caveat made this particular panel of participants very interesting: all four programmers wielded a different language of choice for working on the NEO project.

Code & Design
November 16, 2018

Intro to Lightning Network Apps (LAPPs)

November 4, 2018

The idea of a second-layer scaling solution to Bitcoin, such as the Lightning Network, has far surpassed the days of ideation. Yet one of the most exciting features of the recently-implemented Lightning Network remains surprisingly undiscussed: the ability to build decentralized-like apps (known as Lightning Network Apps or LAppps) on top of the Lightning Network mainnet.

Everything Else
November 4, 2018

An Introduction To Block Explorers

October 23, 2018

Learning & Leveraging In-Depth Blockchain Data Through The Appropriate Platform

A blockchain, while certainly a marketing buzzword, is generally accepted as an immutable, distributed database; one in which each new “block” of data is confirmed to be truthful by some method (usually a Proof of Something) by a majority or measured minority. These blocks contain a batch of transactions that represent an exchange of value, usually denominated as a token or cryptocurrency.

Everything Else
October 23, 2018

Blockchain Oracles

October 14, 2018

What They Are & Why They’re Necessary

In ancient Greek mythology, oracles were known as spiritual beings & sources of infinite wisdom & knowledge due to their connection communication with the gods on Mount Olympus (the spiritual world). The most well-known is the Oracle at Delphi — popularized by the now-revered classic, Oedipus Rex.

Everything Else
October 14, 2018

Hashing Basics & History

October 8, 2018

A generic hash function is a special type of programming function that is used to map data of arbitrary size to data of a fixed size. Hash functions originated from a need to compress data in order to reduce the amount of memory required to store large files.

Code & Design
October 8, 2018

Bits & Bytes

September 25, 2018

Basic To The Basics

It’s been but half a century since the father of the Information Age, Claude Shannon, published the now industry-revered A Mathematical Theory of Communication dissertation. That’s the name of the declassified version published publicly by the then mid-30s mathematician in 1949.

Code & Design
September 25, 2018

WebVR Experiment: #6 — SummerVR.Club

July 29, 2018

6/25–6/29 –4x45 Mins Sprints

The first half of 2018 introduced an unreal amount of amazing albums, from the entire G.O.O.D Music album series, to new childhood favorites Gorillaz & Panic! At the Disco, to double-sided Drake & Wiz Khalifa albums. Coincidentally, the first few of these “WebVR Experiment” sprints have led up to a really neat immersive music scene.

Code & Design
July 29, 2018

WebVR Experiment: #5 —Dynamic Discography Preview W/ Visualizer

July 19, 2018

6/24–3 Hour Sprint

This is a very exciting sprint as we try to integrate the music discography scene we’ve built in Experiment’s 1- 3 with the simple music visualizer made in sprint Experiment 4. I usually wouldn’t recommend this, but if you haven’t read the previous articles in this series it’s likely worth your time as I’m using those practice outcomes as this article’s starting-point. Let’s get into it!

Code & Design
July 19, 2018

WebVR Experiment: #4— Simple Music Visualizer

July 11, 2018

6/23–3 Hour Sprint

In case you skipped the italicized paragraph above, I”ll re-iterate here: the core focus of this article is not WebVR technology, but rather how audio works in modern browsers. As you read from the opening statement, the goal was to extend the previous artist discography by somehow inserting a music visualizer into the current scene aka…building a webvr music visualizer.

Code & Design
July 11, 2018

WebVR Experiment: #3— Dynamic Discography Preview

July 9, 2018

6/18–6/22 –4x45 Mins Sprints

Experiment sprint number three is now underway as the first intra-week sprint. For this sprint I once again elected to extend the previous sprint since I finished just short of the target/goal delivery.

Code & Design
July 9, 2018

WebVR Experiment: #2 — Semi-Static Discography Preview

July 8, 2018

6/17–3 Hour Sprint

Experiment sprint number two is underway with a sharper focus on a much more manageable scope — an extension of the origin sprint’s attempt at creating an immersive multi-album artist discography. Well, we have one album…so let’s tackle that issue first by simply hard-coding two additional <a-box> components along the same x-axis as our first album component.

Code & Design
July 8, 2018

WebVR Experiment: #1— Album Preview

July 6, 2018

6/16–3 Hour Sprint

This is a series of mini coding sprint experiments in the breakthrough Web Virtual Reality interface. In case that went over your head , virtual reality & augmented reality headsets allow now for direct browser & web access.

Code & Design
July 6, 2018

Four Adventures In React VR — Part I

May 13, 2018

Pulling the curtains behind the upcoming WebVR revolution.

The official WebVR (Web Virtual Reality) https://webvr.info/ defines WebVR as: an open specification that makes it possible to experience VR in your browser. The goal is to make it easier for everyone to get into VR experiences, no matter what device you have.

Code & Design
May 13, 2018

Advanced Cryptocurrency Topics: ERC20 Interface

January 9, 2018

Reviewing & Summarizing The ERC20 Token Interface

The Ethereum blockchain is a distributed, open-source blockchain-based computing platform. The resulting network, the Ethereum network, hosts decentralized applications.

Code & Design
January 9, 2018

Cryptos In 3 Mins — Populous

December 22, 2017

Peer-to-Peer Invoice Factoring

Every company, whether a sole proprietorship, a limited partnership or a multinational corporation charges for their services and/or products. The actual document that serves this purpose is known in the business world as an invoice.

Everything Else
December 22, 2017

Cryptos In 3 Mins — Cardano

December 12, 2017

Blockchain By Philosophy Science

Blockchain platforms, smart contract platforms, & blockchains of blockchains — for the few that have braved exploring past Bitcoin, Litecoin & other digital currencies, you’ve probably noticed that the learning curve gets significantly harder & buzzword-ier. Bitcoin, as a single blockchain, has cemented its significance as a breakthrough technology, yet the majority of those buying Bitcoin still struggle to explain the underlying blockchain technology.

Everything Else
December 12, 2017

Cryptos In 3 Mins — Dash

December 3, 2017

Self-Governing Digital Cash

The industry name “cryptocurrency” is, in my humble opinion, an unfortunate misnomer — it implies that every token & blockchain-based project’s goal is strictly mass adaptability as the one true, universal digital currency. While this was & remains Bitcoin’s goal, out of the literally hundreds of cryptocurrency projects that have entered the industry, less than a handful remain faithful to the original goal.

Everything Else
December 3, 2017

Cryptos In 3 Mins — BAT

November 15, 2017

Basic[ally Pays For Your] Attention Token

$20 says you’re running an ad-blocker such as AdBlock, AdGuard, or UOrigin this very moment. The numbers are in my favor — over an astounding 600 million devices are running ad-blocking services at any give time.

Everything Else
November 15, 2017

Cryptos In 3 Mins — Golem

October 14, 2017

The Worlds Largest Decentralized Supercomputer

What do SETI, the non-profit in charge of the search for extraterrestrials intelligence, & Folding @ Stanford, a research lab studying the millions of ways proteins form & fold, have in common? They’re both academic research projects that leverage computational crowdsourcing to vastly increase the speed at which said research is conducted.

Everything Else
October 14, 2017

Create Curiously & Consistently

January 29, 2022
How Writing 100 Articles Made A Nobody $16k In 2 Months
Everything Else
January 29, 2022

A quick tale of flashing destitution & how a four year habit saved me at the most unexpected time. An ode to the force of compounding as seen through the lens of soft skills, hard skills, & social proof.

Clarity, Carefully - Tx-Sender

January 7, 2022
Minimizing Exploit(s) That Hijack The Persistence Of Tx-Sender
Product & Programming
January 7, 2022

First in a series of deep dives into Clarity, the dev language for Stacks. This opening piece covers tx-sender, one of the most commonly keywords; additionally, we explore how it's key property (persistence) can be hijacked for exploits.

A Light Intro To Tensors

March 5, 2021
A Framework For Defining Geometric Objects In Space
Beyond Calculus
March 5, 2021

How do we define geometric objects regardless of their perspective? In this lengthy guide, we'll cover the very basics of tensors - a mathematical object with invariant properties & meaning. Popularized by Einstein in his General Relativity equations, tensors are, in a way, the truths of the universe.

Young Marie Curie

November 11, 2020
The One That Radiated Her Way To x2 Nobel Prizes
Young Polymaths
November 11, 2020

Perhaps no one else in this series broke glass ceiling after glass ceiling, shattering the misconceptions of their times, like Madame Marie Curie. The eminent polymath scientist, she faced obstacle after obstacle, only to radiate through & rightly earn her legacy. Maintaining the same theme as previous entries in this series, we ask — what was she like in his twenties?

User Personas

October 16, 2020
Outlining User Types & Preparing User Stories
Product & Programming
October 16, 2020

Product-community fit is paramount as it’s the organic predecessor to product-market fit. Now that we have our findings from the Market Research Survey (the previous deliverable), it’s time to increase the likelihood of product-community fit by piecing together actionable portraits & stories of User Personas.

Mandelbulb: Three Dimensional Fractals

September 29, 2020
Searching For The Mandelbrot In Higher Dimensions
Beyond Calculus
September 29, 2020

Previously, we covered the history & the basics of iterating complex numbers in hopes of generating fractals. Starting from scratch with Julia Sets, we worked our way through defining & plotting the eminent Mandelbrot Set. This time, we search for the equivalent but in the 3rd-dimension.

Market Research Survey

September 20, 2020
Shaping The Early Community & Understanding Their Needs
Product & Programming
September 20, 2020

Undoubtedly, one of the hardest lessons any product veteran learns from launching countless projects is that the fastest way to guarantee failure is by building something that no one cares about. This is why the very second deliverable holds a special place in in this design process: it’s the first user-facing item; aka, the first time we’re actively shaping the early community & leveraging it for actionable feedback.

Young Galileo Galilei

September 17, 2020
The One Chained To The Ground Yet Gazing At The Stars
Young Polymaths
September 17, 2020

It’s hard to highlight just how much courage entry #16 in this series exhibited; a less-spoken part of the legend, Galileo Galilei demonstrated extraordinary resilience from both financial & legal pressures throughout his life. Despite this, his accomplishments are on par & very deserving of his place among fellow polymaths; to better understand the nature & nurture that gave us Galileo, we once again ask — what was he like in his twenties?

From Dev Agency To Design Solution

September 14, 2020
How Nontechnical Founders Can De-Risk A Startup
Product & Programming
September 14, 2020

The game has changed. App startups have slowly been commoditized which means that speed isn’t the differentiator anymore; early adopters no longer provide authentic feedback on poorly-designed MVPs because they no longer have the same patience for early products. The key differentiator in 2020 for a launching product is now community. And community loosely translates to: who cares about what you’re building?

Competitor & Inspiration Analysis

August 21, 2020
Or How To Start The Product Design Journey Aligned As A Team
Product & Programming
August 21, 2020

The starting point for the entire SetDesign product design process, the very first deliverable, is none other than the Competitor & Inspiration Analysis. While it’s a design deliverable pieced together by a single designer, it’s paramount that all stakeholders/teammates participate as the exercise is absolutely communal & collaborative.

Fractal Geometry

August 12, 2020
From Gaston Julia To Benoit Mandelbrot
Beyond Calculus
August 12, 2020

Fractals, the crux of fractal geometry, are infinitely complex & detailed patterns that are self-similar across different scales; they’re mathematical objects created by recursions of functions in the complex space. As we’ll see shortly, fractal geometry brings us much closer to replicating the irregularities & intricacies that surround us.

Young Mikhail Lomonosov

July 18, 2020
The Polymath of Russian Enlightenment
Young Polymaths
July 18, 2020

Our fifteenth protagonist this Masters of Many series, Lomonosov, led both a cultural & scientific revolution — helping position Russia as a center of 18-century Enlightenment. A man of legendary mystique, he’s well-deserving of his place among this group of polymaths. Persevering our niche focus, we explore his earlier years. In order to uncover their defining habits, choices & experiences we ask again: what was he like in his twenties?

What Is Sleep Hygiene?

June 24, 2020
Discovering & Maintaining Your Circadian Rhythm
Everything Else
June 24, 2020

We have the practice of diet as the core tool of our nutritional needs, exercise as the crux of our fitness needs, & therapy as the model for our mental health needs. And yet, counter-intuitively, we have no equivalent structural process for how we sleep. Given the volumes of literature detailing evidence that sleep is incontrovertibly critical to our well-being, it’s bewildering to observe the lack of guidelines.

Young Emanuel Swedenborg

June 20, 2020
The One That Straddled Science & Religion
Young Polymaths
June 20, 2020

From diverse scientist to mechanical inventor to religious philosopher, Emanuel Swedenborg is tragically overlooked as one of the greatest thinkers of the previous century. Maintaining the same focus as previous submissions, we ask again — what was he like in his twenties?

Deep Appreciation At Second Sight

April 29, 2020
Reflections On Linear Algebra Seven Years Later
Beyond Calculus
April 29, 2020

LA was the first time I was overwhelmed with a new language; the weeks flew by as I memorized vocabulary, formulas & notation, yet I didn’t get the why — I had no big moment of revelation, only the simple satisfaction that I was one step closer to attaining a degree. Seven years later, I now believe that LA, not Calculus, is the true gatekeeper to the higher branches of advanced math.

Starting With Google Script

April 10, 2020
An Intro To Customizing & Automating On Googlesheets
Product & Programming
April 10, 2020

The goal throughout this tutorial is to write a GScript attached to a single Sheet spreadsheet that takes a messy, copy/pasted list of historical dividends as an input & outputs a beautiful, useful, dashboard.

Young Charles Babbage

April 10, 2020
The Insatiable Inventor & Father Of The Computer
Young Polymaths
April 10, 2020

A mathematician, mechanical inventor, & renowned author, Charles Babbage perfectly fits our protagonist M.O as a Master of Many. The 13th entrant to this series, we’re interested in discovering his earlier life choices, specifically, what was he like in his twenties?

The Invention Of Zero

April 1, 2020
Assigning Value To The Concept Of Nothing
Beyond Calculus
April 1, 2020

Within the world of mathematics, nothing has a profound impact on, well, everything. In “nothing”, we know that we’re effectively referring to the number zero’s (0) identity as the absence of anything.

Office365 Automation Basics

April 1, 2020
Automate Away Everyday Tasks With Three Methods
Product & Programming
April 1, 2020

Despite it’s popularity, Office365 is criminally underused. I submit that these oversights are decidedly myopic. ERP software has quietly marched along, compounding with small, but significant advancements.

Elementary Cellular Automaton

March 28, 2020
A Theory On How Simple Structures Generate Complex Systems
Beyond Calculus
March 28, 2020

An omnipresent problem observed by all scientific intellectuals from Aristotle to Galileo is that modeling the real world is, well, nearly impossible. While dot-diagrams, differential equations & vector calculus bring us closer & closer from theory to reality, it’s clear that an additional degree of complexity lurks.

Intro To Information Theory

March 18, 2020
From Bits To The Modern Entropy Function
Beyond Calculus
March 18, 2020

The Indonesian Caves of Borneo Island offer an insight to the most primitive form of recorded communication. Around some 40,000 years ago, before the evolution of written language, physical illustrations on cave walls were the most precise method of recorded communication.

The Polymaths Were Rich Yet Poor

March 7, 2020
Mapping Wealth & Intelligence From Da Vinci To Tesla
Young Polymaths
March 7, 2020

Studying the history of the world’s most remarkable & accomplished humans never ceases to uncover a healthy lesson or two. And while we usually chronologically cover one protagonist at a time, today, we’re instead comparing & contrasting the twelve polymaths we’ve reviewed across a single vector: that of financial wealth.

Young Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose

March 2, 2020
The Empathic Inventor & Scientist
Young Polymaths
March 2, 2020

Breakthrough progress under a simmering sense of social pressure is quite difficult — a life of breakthrough achievement while facing down overt racism, is something else entirely. And yet to remain an empathic, humanity-first soul among it all is what truly makes Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, our twelfth-entry in our Young Polymath series, a master of many worth studying.

60 Seconds & 360 Degrees

February 24, 2020
A Primer on the Sexagemisal System (Base-60)
Beyond Calculus
February 24, 2020

Have you wondered why there are 60 seconds/minutes in a minute/hour? Or why we decided that a circle is exactly 360 degrees? For the curious cats, it’s likely a common musing that’s piqued your interest at one point or another — our numbering system consistently wraps around ten digits(0–9), except for a few, one-off concepts, why is this?

Measuring Network Centrality

February 12, 2020
An Intro To Quantifying “Importance” Through Graph Theory
Beyond Calculus
February 12, 2020

Network analysis sounds like a clandestine, cyberpunk job tasked to only top NSA & Mossad modelers. However, this concept of mathematically dissecting “networks” is far from new; in fact, its logical origins extend back to the times of the eminent Euler (18th century).

Young Thomas Jefferson

February 3, 2020
The Curious Creator & Legislative Leader
Young Polymaths
February 3, 2020

As revered John F. Kennedy so eloquently puts it in the quote above, Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd POTUS, compiled an astounding vast range of knowledge & accomplishments throughout his life. His biographies often narrowed to his historical role as a Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson is unfortunately overlooked as a candidate for “polymath.”

The Fourier Series

January 26, 2020
A Basic Overview & Visual Introduction To The Magic Of Waves
Beyond Calculus
January 26, 2020

The Fourier Series is a long, intimidating function that breaks down any periodic function into a simple series of sine & cosine waves. It’s a baffling concept to wrap your mind around, but almost any function can be expressed as a series of sine & cosine waves created from rotating circles.

The History of Euler’s Number (e)

January 4, 2020
From Napier Table’s To Bernoulli’s Compounding Interest
Beyond Calculus
January 4, 2020

In math there are a few, select, magical constants that transverse all branches. These constants, steadily discovered throughout our collective history, provide the numerical infrastructure to our everyday lives; like chemical elements in the periodic table, special constants in math are foundational.

The Set Community
All my essays, behind-the-scenes business insights, discounts & the occasional group-video session.
Jesus Najera