About Me
Hi, I'm Ayon - I enjoy bad weather, stoic philosophy, and creating things.
Design is applied psychology. Before I was a designer, I was doing psychological research on the use of software interventions to reduce the impact of PTSD on returning veterans. I thrive on figuring out what people need and building it for them.
In my spare time, I'm an avid reader, a meditator, and a grizzled jiujitsu white belt. I spend a lot of time learning new technical and design skills out of curiosity and in pursuit of self-mastery.
TYPES OF WEATHER I ENJOY
Stormy, rainy, foggy, snowy, overcast, nuclear winter, volcanic ash cloud, slightly colder than preferable, monsoon.
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
Knowledge is power
These books will change your life if you let them. Pick one up, they don’t bite... much.
Discourses
By Epictetus
I’ve read this book four times. Each time has made me a better person. Who is Epictetus? He was a slave in Nero’s Rome who discovered he was more free than the wealthy and powerful courtiers around him.
He cared only about what he could control. As a result nobody could ever truly control him.
His character was inalienably his own and provided him an inner citadel of freedom.
See also - ‘Courage Under Fire’ by J. Stockdale.
Knowledge, Reality, and Value
By Michael Huemer
Sick of arguing about simulation theory? This book is your ticket: a wide ranging, rigorous, and relatively readable tome on the foundations of philosophy.
As tech people, we’re always talking about thinking from first principles. Well, here they are.
What is knowledge? What is right? What is wrong? Are we living in a damn simulation?
See also -‘Understanding Knowledge’ by M. Huemer.
Your Journal
By you
Detachment is a superpower. Writing about what’s going on with you gives you distance. Distance gives you room for reframing, reflection, and wisdom.
Keeping a journal and reading Epictetus is basically a form of cheap cognitive behavioral therapy.
Externalize your thoughts and feelings, interrogate them, reframe them, repeat. It’ll make you less grumpy.
See also - ‘Talking to people’ by Your Friends
Nudge
By Richard Thaler
Design can change lives. But how exactly? The field of behavioral economics holds a compelling answer.
Small design decisions about the presentation, sequencing, and framing of actions and information can dramatically alter behavior.
We’re trying to help our users achieve something. Read this book if you want to learn how.
See also -‘Inside the Nudge Unit’ by that one guy.
Dopamine Nation
By Anna Lembke
Escape the hedonic treadmill. Why do we do the things we do? In lieu of examination and intentionality, it’s often to feel good.
But what if the things we’re doing to make ourselves feel good are gradually driving us towards pain and anhedonia?
If you want to understand why no amount of cookies ever seems to be enough, read this book.
See also - ‘The Power of Habit’ by C. Duhigg
The Age of Wonder
By Richard Holmes
Mysteries are everywhere. The world around us is teeming with them. This book is a great reminder of that. Why read about the history of the second scientific revolution?
You’ll feel empowered to think for yourself. You’ll remember that you don’t need permission to explore and discover.
Who knows? You might just learn something that will change the world.
See also - ‘Chaos’ by J. Gleick