Why Publish Lab Notes?

Tue, May 20, 2025, 2:30 AM

When even publish “lab notes” at all?

Also, what fucking “lab?” You are sitting on your couch with your feet up on a table.

• First of all, fuck you. It is a lab.
• Trying an experiment: can I publish without concern for audience?
• Not trying to create “value” for readers - this is for me
• But there’s something about knowing it could be discovered that creates useful tension
• Private notes have no accountability; completely public writing becomes performative
• This middle ground might create something interesting
• Lab notes shift focus from the code/app to the thinking process
• Trying to be “authentically self-centered” (which is harder than it sounds)

I can’t simulate this tension. The knowledge that someone might find and read this creates a different mindset than just private journaling. I want to explore that difference.