Ten Thousand

We've just finished the fiction series, so it's time for another meta episode! Dr. Brooke Macnamara is an associate professor of psychology at Purdue. She works on expertise, skill acquisition, and achievement, and we have a great conversation about how expertise research works (and where it falls short), talent identification, and much more. Links: Dr. Macnamara's faculty page The Skill, Learning...

Gwenda Bond has written across a range of genres and media, alone and collaboratively, and for licensed properties including Lois Lane and Stranger Things. This week, we discuss the value of constraints and the joy of finding that one reader who connects with the story you're trying to tell. Links: GwendaBond.com Gwenda on Instagram Gwenda on Bluesky Gwenda's newsletter Credits: Theme music: “Puzz...

Ken Liu is an author of award-winning short stories and novels, and has thought deeply about what it means to write fiction well. In this episode, we talk about language as a tool, and about the author as someone with the responsibility to use that tool to help people see things in a way they otherwise couldn't. Links: Ken Liu on the web Ken's newsletter Credits: Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Le...

This week, we're talking to Chris Huisjen, who writes serial fiction online under the pseudonym Aest Belequa. We discuss the difference between serialized fiction and traditional work, how he's built his writer's toolkit, the importance of receiving and, especially, providing feedback, and exploring themes and tropes. Links: Aest Belequa on Royal Road Aest Belequa on Patreon Magical Girl Undergrad...

This week's conversation is with Andrea Phillips, novelist and storyteller across prose, games, and immersive experiences. We talk about the importance of the audience in good writing, the value of commercial speech, writing across different media, and collaboration, among other topics. Links: Deus ex machinatio , Andrea's blog A Creator's Guide to Transmedia Storytelling The Daring Adventures of...

The fiction series begins! First up, we hear from Dr. Eric Schwitzgebel -- professor of philosophy at UC Riverside, but also the author of short stories that explore philosophical themes. We discuss the necessity of considering the audience when thinking about good fiction, formula in genres, and the challenges and power of speculative fiction, among other topics. Links: Dr. Schwitzgebel at UC Riv...

Ten Thousand's first meta episode! Dr. Barbara Gail Montero is a philosopher (and former professional ballet dancer) who works on expertise. We dig into the prospects for a general theory of expertise and her work on conscious control and attention. Links: - ⁠ On the Philosophy of Mind - Philosophy of Mind: A Very Short Introduction - Thought in Action: Expertise and the Conscious Mind - Conti...

This episode is a conversation with Dr. Johnathan Flowers, assistant professor of philosophy at California State University Northridge. We talk about philosophy for the public and for the academy, and how what it means to do good philosophy is tightly bound to the audience. Links: - on ⁠Bluesky⁠ - Faculty page at CSUN Credits: - Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Louise Antony, professor emerita at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has made foundational contributions to philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, and feminist philosophy, among other fields, and we have a wide-ranging conversation -- about intellectual honesty, metaphors, and collaboration in a field that's often seen as solitary. Links: - ⁠ A...

Philosophy season continues! In this episode, we talk to Nicholas Drake, a graduate student and researcher at the Australian National University. We discuss the different aims that philosophical work might have, and how what "good" means differs based on those aims -- whether it's to satisfy curiosity, find some deeper truth, or advance a larger, possibly non-philosophical goal. Refe...

Let's talk about expertise in academic philosophy! We kick off this season with Mary Kate McGowan, professor of philosophy at Wellesley College. We talk about how what counts as good philosophy has changed over the years, philosophy as a team sport, and whether there's a notion of practice in the field, among other topics. References: -  Mary Kate McGowan's faculty page - Mary Kate McG...

It's taken longer than expected, but season 2 of Ten Thousand is just around the corner! This short episode reflects on the software season and includes a bit of the behind-the-scenes for the upcoming episodes. Credits: - Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the ⁠⁠⁠CC BY 4.0 license⁠⁠⁠ , at  ⁠⁠⁠Free Music Archive⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode, I talk to Dave Thomas -- co-founder of the Pragmatic Bookshelf, signer of the Agile Manifesto, promoter of Ruby and Elixir, and more! Dave has thought a lot about expertise in software development, and I really enjoyed our conversation -- ranging from his history to our feelings about some of the core concepts in expertise research. Note: Dave's audio picked up some environmen...

In this episode, I chat with Nadia Odunayo, the founder of The StoryGraph. We discuss how her mindset changed from a coding bootcamp, to working at Pivotal Labs, to being the sole developer of a fast-growing, beloved site. Along the way, we talk a bit about the difference between practice and performance (and music and dance), and more. References: -  The StoryGraph  -  on Instagram  -  on Twitter...

Aaron Patterson (sometimes better known as @tenderlove) has been a fixture of the Ruby and Rails communities for years. We discuss his path in software, the importance of solving problems delightfully, and more. References: - Pairin' with Aaron - the Gang of Four book Credits: - Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the ⁠CC BY 4.0 license⁠ , at  ⁠Free Music Arch...

Zach Rottman is a recent career switcher, only a few months into the world of professional software development. We dive into his journey, and especially how his attitudes about expertise have changed as he's moved from academia into software. References: - ⁠Zach's website⁠ - Recurse Center Credits: - Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the CC BY 4.0 licen...

Welcome to Ten Thousand! This is a podcast about expertise, but it's not a podcast about experts. Interested? This short intro episode gives you a better idea of what's to come. Credits: - Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the ⁠CC BY 4.0 license⁠ , at  ⁠Free Music Archive⁠⁠