Essential Media
This is a collection of what I’d like to call my essential reading or viewing. These are blog posts and videos that have stuck with me, sometimes for years, that I constantly send to other people.
If you’re discovering any of these for the first time, have something you think I’ll like, or just think I’m cool for my list, contact me! I’d love to hear from you.
Software
The Art of Code by Dylan Beattie
Probably the pinnacle of all code-related talks ever. The Art of Code is an hour-long ode to programming as an art form that will leave you a changed engineer. What a wild ride.
C++ vs Rust: which is faster?
A deceptively simple premise that expands into a rabbit hole about compilers and optimization, all presented in a lovely, digestible way. This was my first taste of many of the things mentioned in the video.
On the Turing Completeness of PowerPoint
Can Turing, but PowerPoint? That’s all. Go watch the video. It’s 5 minutes long.
Can you fit a whole game into a QR code?
A deep dive into the gory details of making tiny executables and MattKC’s journey through it.
Things You Should Never Do, Part I
A clean slate probably isn’t worth the effort when you have Real People to contend with.
What Color is Your Function?
Makes you think long and hard about the viral nature of async.
Wat
”There are only two kinds of languages: the ones people complain about and the ones nobody uses” - Bjarne Stroustrup
The Anatomy Of A Running Program
A crash course in what a process on your computer even means.
Joe Duffy’s Midori series
The canonical source of information about Midori, the research language/compiler/OS by Microsoft, which explored some fascinating and extremely ahead of its time ideas about the future of all three.
How async/await really works
A detailed chronicle on the world of concurrency in .NET until today and how async/await is implemented by the compiler.
Security
Breaking “DRM” in Polish trains
The title says it all. What a premise and what amazing delivery.
Zenbleed writeup
A surprisingly accessible explanation of a critical microcode vulnerability that made me realize how far removed the internal workings of modern CPUs are from their programming interface.
When you browse Instagram and find former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s passport number
An incredibly written OSINT journey. The writing style is second to none.
Modding the Gulf of Mexico Back into Google Maps
A deep dive into the internals of a uniquely complex web app and a primer for how to approach hooking into it.
Science and Engineering
Designing a simple analog kick drum from scratch
Using analog electronics to make sounds is awesome.
The Banach-Tarski Paradox
One of Vsauce’s most popular videos, for good reason.
Essence of linear algebra by 3Blue1Brown
Watching 3Blue1Brown is like putting on a pair of glasses but those glasses turn everything into a vector. This is the most intuitive way to learn linear algebra on the internet, an essential skill for a programmer or general-purpose nerd. Related is horsehistory.
SSC collider series by BobbyBroccoli
A series of videos that dive deep into the interplay of science and politics that led to the failure of America’s Superconducting Super Collider.
Media
Your colors suck (it’s not your fault)
Welcome to the insane world of digital color and how to make it perceptual.
Olympic Pictograms by Linus Boman
A lovely video on the intersection of art and functionality in a feature of the Olympics I took for granted for so long.
Segmented Displays by Posy
A video about esoteric hardware but it’s an ART EXPERIENCE.
Philosophical
Everything in this section has granted me new dimensions of thinking in ways I use every single day. I won’t put explanations on these, but everything in this section is unequivocally worth reading.
How Jordan Peterson’s Suits Taught Me Fashion by CJ The X (this kinda sets up the rest. the actually incredible takeaway is hidden in the middle of this fantastic video)
Science is a strong-link problem
Horsehistory study and the automated discovery of new areas of thought
Please Commit More Blatant Academic Fraud
Miscellaneous
Fieggen’s Shoelace Site
This is one of the first ‘indie web’ sites I discovered as a kid. One single guy who’s been around since the dawn of the internet with a website dedicated to shoelaces (among so many other things), what could be be better? I have been an Ian Knot user for a decade now.
Mario meets Pareto
A cute motivation for an essential concept with neat interactive parts.
Dry Pasta series by Alex
Trying to make dry pasta at home turns into a journey of engineering the entire pasta production process.
Ciechanowski
Some of the best content on the web. Astonishingly high-quality interactive explanations for physics.
Cicada 3301: An Internet Mystery
A classic video on a classic internet phenomenon.
Gas powered electric guitar by Mattias Krantz
Insane journey to build the only guitar that deserves to play Highway to Hell.