Francis Irving
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flourish.org
Francis Irving
@flourish.org
Coercing LLMs into understanding software product teams.
Cohost on "Imagine an apple" podcast about our inner experience.
Trustee of London College of Political Technology (soon).
I've had fun running Land Talks this last year, and we're ending it with a pub quiz.

If you're in London two week's on Tuesday, and fancy a more relaxing and social evening, with people who want to improve Britain's land system, see you there!

luma.com/c5944qgc
Land Talks 2025 Christmas Quiz · Luma
Jingle all the way through the most wonderful Land Talks Christmas quiz where we celebrate the inaugrial year of Land Talks and look ahead to 2026. Alys and…
luma.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Really happy to interview @michaelashcroft.com on my podcast "Imagine an apple" about the inner experience of Alexander Technique.

What is it like to experience “open awareness”? What’s the difference between doing and non-doing?

Really enjoyed this one!

zencastr.com/z/ST9vDWiJ
Alexander technique with Michael Ashcroft by @Francis Irving
What is it like to experience “open awareness”? What’s the difference between doing and non-doing? What is “thinking”? Welcome to another episode of “Imagine an apple”. In this episode, Vynn and Fra...
zencastr.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:55 PM
New season of my podcast "Imagine an apple" starting. Today is my co-host Vynn interviewing me about my new favourite book...

zencastr.com/z/MlzU79lP

(more in thread)
"Pristine Inner Experience" by Hulburt (a review) by @Francis Irving
How does Hurlburt’s method of sampling what is happening in our minds work? What have we learnt from it about the variety of our everyday inner worlds - from thinking without symbols, to schizophrenia...
zencastr.com
October 5, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Times of day when I wake up from a dream and react well enough to record a description of it.
October 2, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Screenshot is a quote from Hurlburt's writeup of someone who most of the time has no particularized inner experience.

hurlburt.faculty.unlv.edu/ieo/mel/mel%...
October 2, 2025 at 6:33 AM
My review of Silksong and the difficulty discourse around it... It doesn't need an easy mode, it needs a *hard* mode.

People with naturally good reactions and observation skills are finding it too easy.

They need a hard mode to make it as hard as it is for me!
September 20, 2025 at 11:37 AM
If you're in London - my third evening of lightning talks about Radical Land Policy is next Tuesday - have a look at the Luma page to see the speakers!

luma.com/v8knl21z
Land Talks #3: New Prisons, Open Source Construction, Land in Japan & More! · Luma
🗺️ Where Fresh Thinking Meets Britain’s Oldest Bottleneck Land is key to economic growth and equality of opportunity, yet in Britain we’ve done almost nothing…
luma.com
September 9, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by Francis Irving
If you're in London, and think land policy needs to be more radical, come to Land Talks #2, a second evening of lightning talks I'm co-organising.

First three speakers - on the Postcode Address File, Freehold and Yellowstone (TV show) - are up:

lu.ma/cthbcn45
Land Talks #2: Fixing Freeholds, Postcode Pains, Cowboy Clashes & More! · Luma
🗺️ Where Fresh Thinking Meets Britain’s Oldest Bottleneck Land is key to economic growth and equality of opportunity, yet in Britain we’ve done almost nothing…
lu.ma
June 8, 2025 at 3:56 PM
If you're in London, and think land policy needs to be more radical, come to Land Talks #2, a second evening of lightning talks I'm co-organising.

First three speakers - on the Postcode Address File, Freehold and Yellowstone (TV show) - are up:

lu.ma/cthbcn45
Land Talks #2: Fixing Freeholds, Postcode Pains, Cowboy Clashes & More! · Luma
🗺️ Where Fresh Thinking Meets Britain’s Oldest Bottleneck Land is key to economic growth and equality of opportunity, yet in Britain we’ve done almost nothing…
lu.ma
June 8, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Reposted by Francis Irving
TheyWorkForYou is now on Bluesky! Here's a few things coming up, and ways you can help us over the next few weeks www.mysociety.org/2025/05/14/t...
TheyWorkForYou: how you can help
An update on some upcoming TheyWorkForYou projects, and how you can help us make them better.
www.mysociety.org
May 14, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Reposted by Francis Irving
Great to be at the inaugural Land Talks

Lightning talks on land in art, Scotland's 'log cabin conundrum', building on MoD land and more

with @flourish.org
May 6, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by Francis Irving
I'm organising three lightning talk evenings in Farringdon on Tuesday evenings, about radical land policy and digital tech. They're called "Land Talks".

lu.ma/mm4dg8fy

Please sign up, follow the Luma calendar, and share this with others who want to help improve how property works in Britain!
Land Talks #1: Tanks, Cabins, Addresses & More! · Luma
🗺️ Where Fresh Thinking Meets Britain’s Oldest Bottleneck Land is key to economic growth and equality of opportunity, yet in Britain we’ve done almost nothing…
lu.ma
April 17, 2025 at 7:48 AM
I'm organising three lightning talk evenings in Farringdon on Tuesday evenings, about radical land policy and digital tech. They're called "Land Talks".

lu.ma/mm4dg8fy

Please sign up, follow the Luma calendar, and share this with others who want to help improve how property works in Britain!
Land Talks #1: Tanks, Cabins, Addresses & More! · Luma
🗺️ Where Fresh Thinking Meets Britain’s Oldest Bottleneck Land is key to economic growth and equality of opportunity, yet in Britain we’ve done almost nothing…
lu.ma
April 17, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Reposted by Francis Irving
Just learned from @flourish.org’s “imagine an apple” podcast that permanent musical soundtracks are part of some people’s inner experience and here is another one!
January 31, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Reposted by Francis Irving
Love the new "Imagine an apple" podcast episode with my friend Anna.

I'm excited to cover both the topics of what happens in your mind while navigating a city, and of imagination while programming.

Plus Vynn asks questions about names and faces.
Navigating a city with Anna by @Francis Irving
When you navigate a city, what is your inner experience? Do you see detailed overhead maps, or street-level views of landmarks, or neither? Vynn Suren and Francis Irving interview Anna about how she ...
zencastr.com
January 20, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Love the new "Imagine an apple" podcast episode with my friend Anna.

I'm excited to cover both the topics of what happens in your mind while navigating a city, and of imagination while programming.

Plus Vynn asks questions about names and faces.
Navigating a city with Anna by @Francis Irving
When you navigate a city, what is your inner experience? Do you see detailed overhead maps, or street-level views of landmarks, or neither? Vynn Suren and Francis Irving interview Anna about how she ...
zencastr.com
January 20, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Step one of understanding Bluesky's protocol. Resolve your handle into the unique identifier your account has - you can just make the URL to do that in your browser:

bsky.social/xrpc/com.atp...
bsky.social
December 29, 2024 at 1:12 PM
Multiple people getting engaged. It's cute!

And I went to a December wedding. Is winter the romantic season now?
December 28, 2024 at 3:28 PM
Is there something like Just watch but for audiobooks?

That will tell me what platforms I can buy one on!

(Don't want to use Audible)
December 22, 2024 at 8:41 AM
Reposted by Francis Irving
Absolutely disgrace. Years of trying to lock kids up for Napster, discontinuing movies because of music rights, YOU WOULDN'T STEAL A CAR promo bullsh*t and they're ready to give it ALL away to big tech billionaires
Today, the UK government announced a proposal to change copyright law - for the benefit of AI companies - that would cause huge, irreversible harm to creators.

More info below, but most importantly here's what you can do (wherever you live):

1. Email your MP. Template letter in 🧵 👇

1/10
December 18, 2024 at 5:43 PM
Just wrote to my MP for the first time for years about this...

AI is a useful technology, but it is both unfair and harmful for the supply of training data, to break copyright law "because AI".
Today, the UK government announced a proposal to change copyright law - for the benefit of AI companies - that would cause huge, irreversible harm to creators.

More info below, but most importantly here's what you can do (wherever you live):

1. Email your MP. Template letter in 🧵 👇

1/10
December 18, 2024 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by Francis Irving
Really cool that bsky has a feed that shows all the recent posts from people who follow me. I can see what you are all up to. How fun.
December 1, 2024 at 11:52 PM
@defnetmedia.bsky.social this feels like time travel back to like 2010-era Twitter when I first met you at like a Twitter meetup (remember those! do you have Bluesky meetups now!)
December 1, 2024 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by Francis Irving
Ye /any_austin. $3 w monthly exclusive videos and Q&As. Occasionally other things. Appreciate it!
December 1, 2024 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Francis Irving
If you haven’t seen @anyaustin.bsky.social’s videos about video games on YouTube… you should. They’re cool. He goes into cool minutiæ like employment rates of various towns. This one is about power lines. He mentions a familiar twitter user that doesn’t seem to exist anymore
youtu.be/c3iqVTDXK1Y?...
Do Los Santos’ Power Lines Connect To Anything?
YouTube video by Any Austin
youtu.be
November 28, 2024 at 12:12 AM