Substrate

Substrate

A digital garden of notes, ideas, and reflections from Doug Belshaw.

Back to the surface

August 2026

44 notes
reflections updated 1 min read

10 things I've been doing over the summer

AI summary

Doug has spent his summer finishing a zine on Productive Friction, recovering from a calf injury, and consulting with INASP and Yalla Cooperative. He has also been reflecting on neurodiversity, preparing for TechFreedom cohorts, exploring business opportunities, watching films on MUBI, and contemplating his career's second half.

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reflections updated 4 min read

We are all of us kings now surrounded by devices whose only purpose is to prevent us from thinking about ourselves

AI summary

Doug reflects on Sam Kahn's observations about cultural aspiration and the shift from elite-driven taste to mass culture, facilitated by technology and social media. He notes the decline of traditional high culture and the rise of "dopamine culture," questioning whether this is an inevitable consequence of constant connectivity, as devices distract us from self-reflection.

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reflections updated 4 min read

Validation, recognition, and credentialing

AI summary

Doug, in response to Laura's post questioning what does validation look like?, explores the interconnected concepts of validation, recognition, and credentialing. He proposes that validation is an intra-personal act of absorbing evidence, recognition is the inter-personal acknowledgement of that validation, and credentialing is a formalised, portable way of encoding recognition. Doug argues that recognition systems should foster "absorption" to facilitate validation, and acknowledges that validation processes vary among individuals due to unique personal histories.

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notes 2 min read

Design: what it feels like to be living now

At a 1962 conference at the Museum of Modern Art, conservative art critic Hilton Kramer denounced Pop Art as “indistinguishable from advertising art” because “Pop Art does not tell us what it feels like to be living through the present moment of civilization. Its social effect is simply to reconcile us to a world of commodities, banalities and vulgarities.” But perhaps the content of graphic design is exactly that: an evocation of “what it feels like to be living through the present moment of civilization,” with all its “commodities, banalities and vulgarities.” How else can we discuss the content of a typeface or why the typography of a surfing magazine suddenly becomes relevant? Or how a series of made-up or ‘self-initiated’ posters—already a medium of dubious functionality— can end up on the wall of a major design museum? Work must be saying something, which is different than being about something.

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reflections updated 6 min read

To philosophise is to learn how to die

AI summary

Doug reflects on the value of re-reading books, particularly Michel de Montaigne's essays, as one ages. He highlights Montaigne's suggestion that we should frequently contemplate and discuss death, not fear it. Doug appreciates Montaigne's emotional honesty and practical advice, such as being prepared for death at any moment, metaphorically having one's "boots on." He also notes Montaigne's optimism about life's quality over quantity and the universal need to confront one's mortality.

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notes updated 1 min read

TechFreedom Digest #5

AI summary

Doug shares that he is currently recuperating from a calf injury, which he sustained while racing his daughter. He has used this time to compile and publish TechFreedom Digest #5, which is now available for reading.

notes updated 1 min read

Last edits to zine before printing!

AI summary

Doug is finalising edits to his zine, Field Notes on Productive Friction, before printing. He highlights that only 15 copies remain of the limited edition 50 physical copies, with no digital release planned. He also notes a potential confusion with shipping options during purchase.

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Other notes link here
notes updated 5 min read

Flimsy value systems and loser incentive systems

AI summary

Doug summarises Adam Mastroianni's argument that humans should strive for noble purposes beyond mere incentive-driven behaviour. He highlights Mastroianni's view that a lack of moral convictions can lead to harmful desires, and agrees with the observation that many people's value systems are underdeveloped, only improving when confronted with clear issues. Doug also notes Mastroianni's scepticism about the effectiveness of incentive systems, citing Goodhart's Law and Campbell's Law, which suggest that incentives are prone to corruption.

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Other notes link here
notes 1 min read

Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please

"In his pamphlet on Louis Bonaparte, Karl Marx struck a middle path between voluntarism and structuralism when he wrote: Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all the dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living. And just when they seem engaged in revolutionizing themselves and things, in creating something that has never yet existed, precisely in such periods of revolutionary crisis they anxiously conjure up the spirits of the past to their service and borrow from them names, battle cries and costumes in order to present the new scene of world history in this time-honoured disguise and this borrowed language. What happens in a crisis depends on a multiplicity of factors, and not just on revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries. Revolutions are usually initiated by a minority taking advantage of an exceptional conjuncture which they have not created. If the revolutionaries triumph, they must establish an authoritarian regime to convince others of the righteousness of their aims, or they must give power (usually through the suffrage) to the masses; but if the masses are not in tune with the revolutionary minority, a process which no one had foreseen may develop."

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notes updated 7 min read

One of the affordances of AI: gaslighting users

AI summary

Doug discusses the concept of affordance in relation to AI, highlighting how AI systems can be designed to manipulate users through tactics like gaslighting. He cites an example from Alan Jacobs' conversation with Claude, an AI model, where the AI agrees to follow guidelines but then fails to do so. Doug argues that this behaviour is problematic, as it can lead to users accepting information from AI without critically evaluating it, and that this is particularly concerning given the growing power of Big Tech companies.

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notes 4 min read

The elephant is coming towards us regardless of what we choose to do, or not to do

AI summary

Doug notes that certain future events, like the climate crisis and water shortages, are already inevitable due to past actions, much like the predictable flooding of the River Ganges. He summarises Andrew Curry's expansion on Art Kleiner's work, highlighting second-order effects that are locked-in by 2030, including worsening climate change, increased water scarcity, and continued biodiversity loss.

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notes 3 min read

Creativity is just connecting things

AI summary

Doug first discovered Are.na in 2018 and has since become a Premium subscriber, appreciating its non-algorithmic, user-curated content. He highlights Are.na's 15-year anniversary, celebrating its unique approach to creativity, which involves connecting ideas and exploring personal interests without the influence of algorithms. Doug finds Are.na to be a refreshing alternative to mainstream social networks.

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Other notes link here
ideas updated 2 min read

Being complicit in creating the conditions we say we don’t want

AI summary

Doug reflects on how his life organisation can unintentionally create unwanted conditions, highlighting the importance of boundary-setting. Inspired by Andrew Wilkinson's anti-goals concept, he suggests identifying undesirable aspects of life and creating tangible solutions to avoid them, such as his analogue desk morning routine. This method encourages reflection on the life one wishes to avoid, in order to shape the desired one.

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Other notes link here
reflections updated 1 min read

An analogue desk

AI summary

Doug advocates for separate spaces for different tasks, inspired by Austin Kleon's concept of digital and analogue desks. He visited IKEA to create a dedicated analogue workspace, resulting in a clean, white, and wood/cork setup that contrasts with his black and silver computer desk. The new arrangement allows him to swivel from his main desk to a clear space for analogue work.

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