Tools for Thinking: a Conference and a Camp
What’s a tool for thinking?
For many people their primary tool for thinking is a writing tool since writing itself is a tool for thought. Writing documents, note taking and memorization tools made up much of the first generation of tools for thinking.
What’s a tool for thinking?
For many people their primary tool for thinking is a writing tool since writing itself is a tool for thought. Writing documents, note taking and memorization tools made up much of the first generation of tools for thinking.
Today we see a new generation of tools emerging, driven by a combination of new technologies and people shifting needs and expectations. New technologies include new underlying tech (ie: graph databases and Web3), new interfaces (be it dedicated hardware, next-gen web browsers, voice or AR) and a massive step function in new enabling technologies — NLP and LLMs — as assistive tools for thinking. And matched with these new technologies, people’s expectations are changing… 🤔
People want better tools for thinking — ones that take the mass of notes that you have and organize them, that help extend your second brain into a knowledge or interest graph and that enable open sharing and ownership of the “knowledge blobs” you create. Entrepreneurs are cracking open the category and building these new tools. From assistive NLP agent-like tools; to mind-mapping systems that let you connect, scaffold and relate ideas and zoom in and out layers of abstractions; to voice or brain-machine interfaces that let you capture and annotate ideas quickly; to networked commonplace books, happenstance generators and technology that helps you dream.
Why do we start writing on a blank page? Why can’t our notes self organize? People want well designed tools that permit easy entry, smart scaffolding and smart recall. One’s that make it easy to know where to put a thought, and where to find it. One’s that let you move ideas around between apps and between people. And one’s that are fun — that take away the drudgery of productivity and replace it with the pleasure of figuring something out. Tools for thinking can and should be so much more than note taking or memory machines.
Start with a conference: On August 16th we will host a conference at betaworks, bringing together makers and thinkers in this space: Tools for thinking Render Conference. Join us if you are interested, and if you are building something in this space, tell us because we will give you an access code to join for free.
The Camp or accelerator program will start in mid September, details on the program are here, and the application form is here.
The web has flattened our information landscape giving us access to an unimaginable breadth of information — yet making sense of that landscape is challenging. We need tools to relate, organize, scaffold and add depth to the landscape so we can individually and collectively make sense of it. We need better tools for thinking. Join us for the Camp or the Conference 🤔
