Case
@case.bsky.social
Cyborg anthropologist studying humans and technology! Attention, UX and physical design. Founder of the Calm Tech Institute.
Former MIT Media Lab, Harvard Berkman and Mozilla Fellow.
calmtech.institute // calmtech.com // cyborganthropology.com
Former MIT Media Lab, Harvard Berkman and Mozilla Fellow.
calmtech.institute // calmtech.com // cyborganthropology.com
Pinned
Case
@case.bsky.social
· Dec 1
The Complete Calm Tech Certified™ Product List for 2025
In 2025, our list of certified products include Alarm Clocks, Digital Signage, Picture Frames, Notebooks/Productivity, Mobile Phones and Home Audio
www.calmtech.institute
Calm Tech Institute is now a year old! We're excited to announce the products that won certification this year.
The Complete Calm Tech Certified™ Product List for 2025!
A Guide to Products That Are a Joy to Use!
www.calmtech.institute/post/the-com...
#calmtech #calmtechinstitute
The Complete Calm Tech Certified™ Product List for 2025!
A Guide to Products That Are a Joy to Use!
www.calmtech.institute/post/the-com...
#calmtech #calmtechinstitute
Interested in Calm Tech? Come to a special edition @metagov.bsky.social seminar on the Neuroscience of Calm on 11 Feb! Free and open. Just sign up below:
We are so proud & excited to share these updates from Metagov Research Director Amber Case @case.bsky.social
Join us for an upcoming Metagov seminar with Case on Feb 11th! luma.com/lzuyukt1
Join us for an upcoming Metagov seminar with Case on Feb 11th! luma.com/lzuyukt1
Seminar: The Neuroscience of Calm with Amber Case · Zoom · Luma
Metagov Research Director Amber Case is the founder of the Calm Tech Institute. Calm Technology is a process for designing technology that works with human…
luma.com
February 4, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Interested in Calm Tech? Come to a special edition @metagov.bsky.social seminar on the Neuroscience of Calm on 11 Feb! Free and open. Just sign up below:
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
A new method is presented for performing rapid and accurate numerical estimation.
A new method is presented for performing rapid and accurate numerical estimation.
High-speed visual estimation using preattentive processing | ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction
A new method is presented for performing rapid and accurate numerical estimation.
The method is derived from an area of human cognitive psychology called preattentive
processing. Preattentive processi...
dl.acm.org
January 29, 2026 at 10:01 PM
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
A new method is presented for performing rapid and accurate numerical estimation.
A new method is presented for performing rapid and accurate numerical estimation.
It's not what the future *looks* like, but what the future *feels* like.
January 28, 2026 at 4:29 PM
It's not what the future *looks* like, but what the future *feels* like.
One of my favorite little domains is expiring. Rural.io. There's nothing on it now, but for many years I had fun using it as a private blog. If someone wants to buy it off of me, send me a message. .io domains renewals are a little pricier than others and I've been using pikapods now.
Rural.io
January 25, 2026 at 5:59 PM
One of my favorite little domains is expiring. Rural.io. There's nothing on it now, but for many years I had fun using it as a private blog. If someone wants to buy it off of me, send me a message. .io domains renewals are a little pricier than others and I've been using pikapods now.
Dear Google Hangouts: Please Fix How Notetaker Bots Join Our Calls!
Have you ever been on a work call which looks like this? You’re there to see one individual, but multiple chatbot notetakers have also joined! When a notetaker bot is joined to the Meeting, it’s the same size as a whole person!
Have you ever been on a work call which looks like this? You’re there to see one individual, but multiple chatbot notetakers have also joined! When a notetaker bot is joined to the Meeting, it’s the same size as a whole person!
January 22, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Dear Google Hangouts: Please Fix How Notetaker Bots Join Our Calls!
Have you ever been on a work call which looks like this? You’re there to see one individual, but multiple chatbot notetakers have also joined! When a notetaker bot is joined to the Meeting, it’s the same size as a whole person!
Have you ever been on a work call which looks like this? You’re there to see one individual, but multiple chatbot notetakers have also joined! When a notetaker bot is joined to the Meeting, it’s the same size as a whole person!
Buildings isolate people more efficiently than villains.
Digital buildings follow suit.
Digital buildings follow suit.
January 19, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Buildings isolate people more efficiently than villains.
Digital buildings follow suit.
Digital buildings follow suit.
At first, the design feels clean and effortless. But the simplicity is doing more work than it lets on: much of the thinking has quietly been handed to the "user".
There's no such thing as automation in a store. When we use self-checkout, we're performing that labor. And poorly, too.
There's no such thing as automation in a store. When we use self-checkout, we're performing that labor. And poorly, too.
January 19, 2026 at 1:24 AM
At first, the design feels clean and effortless. But the simplicity is doing more work than it lets on: much of the thinking has quietly been handed to the "user".
There's no such thing as automation in a store. When we use self-checkout, we're performing that labor. And poorly, too.
There's no such thing as automation in a store. When we use self-checkout, we're performing that labor. And poorly, too.
In the beginning was the CD:
material, bounded, complete.
From completeness came ownership.
From ownership came care.
Now we have removed the boundary.
The infinite patch, and the endless service.
material, bounded, complete.
From completeness came ownership.
From ownership came care.
Now we have removed the boundary.
The infinite patch, and the endless service.
January 18, 2026 at 11:22 PM
In the beginning was the CD:
material, bounded, complete.
From completeness came ownership.
From ownership came care.
Now we have removed the boundary.
The infinite patch, and the endless service.
material, bounded, complete.
From completeness came ownership.
From ownership came care.
Now we have removed the boundary.
The infinite patch, and the endless service.
The Thirty-Day Baptism
Every so often you see it: this practice of "thirty days of code", or "30 days of design", in which a single person determines to build something - anything really - every day for 30 days.
Every so often you see it: this practice of "thirty days of code", or "30 days of design", in which a single person determines to build something - anything really - every day for 30 days.
January 18, 2026 at 11:15 PM
The Thirty-Day Baptism
Every so often you see it: this practice of "thirty days of code", or "30 days of design", in which a single person determines to build something - anything really - every day for 30 days.
Every so often you see it: this practice of "thirty days of code", or "30 days of design", in which a single person determines to build something - anything really - every day for 30 days.
In woodworking, there is a separate skill called finishing. Sanding, staining, sealing. Multiple coats.
Waiting for each to cure. Buffing. These are techniques you must learn and practice. The finishing reveals flaws in the underlying work.
You cannot hide poor joinery under polyurethane.
Waiting for each to cure. Buffing. These are techniques you must learn and practice. The finishing reveals flaws in the underlying work.
You cannot hide poor joinery under polyurethane.
January 18, 2026 at 11:09 PM
In woodworking, there is a separate skill called finishing. Sanding, staining, sealing. Multiple coats.
Waiting for each to cure. Buffing. These are techniques you must learn and practice. The finishing reveals flaws in the underlying work.
You cannot hide poor joinery under polyurethane.
Waiting for each to cure. Buffing. These are techniques you must learn and practice. The finishing reveals flaws in the underlying work.
You cannot hide poor joinery under polyurethane.
A chair maker finishes a chair. The chair holds you. It will hold your children. If it breaks, the break is visible. You can see a cracked spindle or a loose joint, and the chair can be repaired because all the information needed to repair it is present in the object itself.
January 18, 2026 at 11:00 PM
A chair maker finishes a chair. The chair holds you. It will hold your children. If it breaks, the break is visible. You can see a cracked spindle or a loose joint, and the chair can be repaired because all the information needed to repair it is present in the object itself.
When new technologies emerge, they conflict with the tech that already exists.
January 17, 2026 at 3:09 AM
When new technologies emerge, they conflict with the tech that already exists.
Excellent news, and what every company should do! Less E-Waste and more joy. Honestly, Bose makes excellent speakers, and allowing all of that engineering to go to waste is a real sad sack. Good on them! #calmtech
www.theverge.com/news/858501/...
www.theverge.com/news/858501/...
Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them
Bose speakers un-bricked
www.theverge.com
January 8, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Excellent news, and what every company should do! Less E-Waste and more joy. Honestly, Bose makes excellent speakers, and allowing all of that engineering to go to waste is a real sad sack. Good on them! #calmtech
www.theverge.com/news/858501/...
www.theverge.com/news/858501/...
The future doesn't come from the front.
It comes from the side.
People who are stuck looking ahead have trouble seeing it because they're not using peripheral vision.
It comes from the side.
People who are stuck looking ahead have trouble seeing it because they're not using peripheral vision.
January 7, 2026 at 1:29 AM
The future doesn't come from the front.
It comes from the side.
People who are stuck looking ahead have trouble seeing it because they're not using peripheral vision.
It comes from the side.
People who are stuck looking ahead have trouble seeing it because they're not using peripheral vision.
The pen might be mightier than the sword
But is the pen mightier than the server?
But is the pen mightier than the server?
January 7, 2026 at 1:28 AM
The pen might be mightier than the sword
But is the pen mightier than the server?
But is the pen mightier than the server?
Reposted by Case
one day, you will die, and your legacy will be washed away when someone forgets to renew the DNS.
stillness.digital/posts/2021-1...
stillness.digital/posts/2021-1...
Stillness.Digital | Thursday, October 7, 2021 at 11:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Stillness is a blog. Have a look: “why concern yourself with "developer experience" when you ought to be concerned with "the human experience"? what is autocompletion in the face of the exquisite...”
stillness.digital
January 6, 2026 at 2:44 PM
one day, you will die, and your legacy will be washed away when someone forgets to renew the DNS.
stillness.digital/posts/2021-1...
stillness.digital/posts/2021-1...
The Pulse-Pounding Origin Story of USB-C www.unsungscience.com/index.php/20...
The Pulse-Pounding Origin Story of USB-C – Unsung Science
www.unsungscience.com
January 3, 2026 at 11:17 PM
The Pulse-Pounding Origin Story of USB-C www.unsungscience.com/index.php/20...
www.designboom.com/design/fungi... The "79th Organ" is a speculative biodesign concept by Odette Dierkx, a conceptual prosthetic organ made from bioengineered fungi designed to filter and digest microplastics from the human bloodstream, acting as a living detox system for plastic pollution.
fungi-made prosthetic organ extracts and breaks down microplastics inside human bodies
www.designboom.com
January 1, 2026 at 6:25 PM
www.designboom.com/design/fungi... The "79th Organ" is a speculative biodesign concept by Odette Dierkx, a conceptual prosthetic organ made from bioengineered fungi designed to filter and digest microplastics from the human bloodstream, acting as a living detox system for plastic pollution.
How We Lost Communication to Entertainment ploum.net/2025-12-15-c... "The main problem with reliable communication protocols? It is a mostly solved problem. Build simple websites, read RSS feeds, write emails. Use IRC and XMPP if you truly want real-time comms. Those are working and working great."
How We Lost Communication to Entertainment
How We Lost Communication to Entertainment par Ploum - Lionel Dricot.
ploum.net
December 28, 2025 at 3:01 AM
How We Lost Communication to Entertainment ploum.net/2025-12-15-c... "The main problem with reliable communication protocols? It is a mostly solved problem. Build simple websites, read RSS feeds, write emails. Use IRC and XMPP if you truly want real-time comms. Those are working and working great."
AI Fatigue VS the Executive Echo Chamber
The backlash against "AI-in-everything" is rising. Only execs are surprised. productpicnic.beehiiv.com/p/ai-fatigue...
The backlash against "AI-in-everything" is rising. Only execs are surprised. productpicnic.beehiiv.com/p/ai-fatigue...
AI Fatigue VS the Executive Echo Chamber
The backlash against "AI-in-everything" is rising. Only execs are surprised.
productpicnic.beehiiv.com
December 28, 2025 at 12:41 AM
AI Fatigue VS the Executive Echo Chamber
The backlash against "AI-in-everything" is rising. Only execs are surprised. productpicnic.beehiiv.com/p/ai-fatigue...
The backlash against "AI-in-everything" is rising. Only execs are surprised. productpicnic.beehiiv.com/p/ai-fatigue...
Why is no one excited for details anymore?
medium.com/user-experie...
Although it’s impressive that Google’s team adds details, they don’t really think about making them contextually useful.
medium.com/user-experie...
Although it’s impressive that Google’s team adds details, they don’t really think about making them contextually useful.
Contrails and tiny text will probably kill us
Contrails’ potential—the totally unnoticed, yet the only small text worth reading, and why everyone missed it.
medium.com
December 27, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Why is no one excited for details anymore?
medium.com/user-experie...
Although it’s impressive that Google’s team adds details, they don’t really think about making them contextually useful.
medium.com/user-experie...
Although it’s impressive that Google’s team adds details, they don’t really think about making them contextually useful.
It's the end of 2025 and I've been slowly capturing the parts of the web that I like and ingesting them into Pikapods. My favorite app so far is readeck.org/en/ - it's a self-hosted bookmarking app and reader in one. No more ads or weird pop-overs. www.pikapods.com
PikaPods - Instant Open Source App Hosting
Run the finest Open Source web apps from $1.20/month, fully managed, no tracking, no ads, full privacy. Self-hosting was never this convenient.
www.pikapods.com
December 25, 2025 at 3:50 AM
It's the end of 2025 and I've been slowly capturing the parts of the web that I like and ingesting them into Pikapods. My favorite app so far is readeck.org/en/ - it's a self-hosted bookmarking app and reader in one. No more ads or weird pop-overs. www.pikapods.com