The Ever Evolving Landscape of Creative Technology
And Where to Find Your Map
The only constant is change.
The pace of technology growth is nauseating.
We create technology to solve human problems. But then new technologies beget new problems. New problems beget newer technologies. And so the cycle continues.
“All luxuries eventually become obligations.” - Yuval Harari
Most people have a consumer relationship with technology, so this isn't an issue. New tech == good, in general. But for those of us who have interests in creative coding, this problem is a big deal.
How does one master a space that keeps changing?
This graph by Blair Neal (amazing post by the way, I recommend you read the full thing here) conveys what technologies you need to be familiar with as of 2019 to be able to add value in the world of immersive computing.
It’s a lot.
And it won’t slow any time soon. So how the hell do we learn it all?!
Leveraging your time as a resource
Since there are only 24 hours in a day (for those of us without cheat codes), working smart is much more equitable than working hard.
Malcolm Gladwell is famous for his 10,000 hour rule. The rule states that it takes roughly 10,000 hours to master a skill.
Deliberate practice is required each day in order to foster the neural connections that make hard tasks second nature. The hard parts need to become habitual to achieve mastery at something, and that’s well... hard.
But the path of mastery in creative technology is a trap.
Spending 10,000 hours learning just React or Blender is a bad strategy. History has proven that technology is just too replaceable.
However, it’s an equally poor strategy to constantly be saying “yes” to every new tool that comes across your desk. You’ll never have enough time to learn the ins and outs of a tool, before you move on to the next hot thing.
Discretion is a super power.
The ability to say “no” will make you more valuable in a collaborative setting, and give you a totem to build your new skills around (mine is writing, btw, I always return to it).
At the risk of sounding cliche, what we need is balance.
The Three Meta Tasks of Creative Technology
I’d argue that all my time working on creative code projects is split between three meta tasks: creating, learning, and tooling. There is generally overlap between the three, but only one is the focus at any given moment.
Creating is a nose to the grindstone process. Coding, writing, woodworking, painting, drawing, writing, many other "ings". The “ing” is the vehicle we use to bring our dreams into the physical world.
Learning is the process of applying learned knowledge from the external world and adapting it into your internal models. Books, online courses, staring at a tree in the park, there are a lot of ways to learn. But the best form of learning involves some form of active engagement.
Tooling is the process of synthesizing what you’ve learned and what you’ve created to make the process easier the second and third time you do it. What pitfalls did you encounter? What part of the process was the most difficult?
When a new technology crosses your desk, run it through these filters:
Will it allow me to create work that my current tools can’t?
Will it speed up my current workflow drastically?
Will it teach me something new?
How much will it improve one of these metrics?
If “new thing” falls under the threshold, pass on it. If it’s above the threshold, try to complete a small project or two with it using a Second Brain.
I Recommend a Second Brain - An Actionable Tip
I’d like to end this newsletter on a practical tip. This may become it’s own blog post later, but I’ll summarize the idea here because I think it’s relevant to the topic at hand.
One strategy I have been employing recently to great effect is using what can be called “a second brain”. I use a subset of the PARA method built by Tiago Forte.
The system is useful for the cardinal reason that a creative technologist never stays with a technology long enough to become fluent in it.
By capturing links and notes you create while working on a project, you can revisit that in your future and not have to start from square one.
This living, breathing document evolves with you and your career, and serves as a breadcrumb trail of all the projects you’ve done and what you learned.
When you encounter technology/tool X in the future, you already have a trail of info of your previous experience with it. It’s like inheriting the memories of a past Avatar.
How to Set Up a P(A)RA in Notion in Five Minutes or Less
Make a database page for Projects and make the following status tags (not started, in progress, completed, revisit)
Create a Resources database. I call mine ‘Notes’.
Create a subfield in your Project database that sets up a relation between Resources and Projects.
When you’re working on a project, create copies of each link that was helpful making a note page within the project, with a URL field. Make sure to tag the resource!
The next time you start a Project, check your “Completed” status for a ton of helpful tips!
Conclusion
It's ok to not understand things. There's a lot to learn out there and more will come. The path of lifelong learning means that you choose to be a student for your entire life. Try your best, have fun, follow your interests. The rest will fall into place.