Inspirations
Five people to read.
One place to start for each person, then more items if you want them. Below them: books, a series and music.
People
Bret Victor
Designer and researcher. Works on Dynamicland.
- Start hereUp and Down the Ladder of Abstraction2011An interactive essay on moving between the concrete and the abstract.
- Inventing on Principle (talk)2012A talk on seeing the effect of your work as you do it.
- Magic Ink2005A thesis that most software is information design.
- Explorable Explanations2011An essay on letting readers test the author's claims.
- Seeing Spaces2014An essay on physical workspaces, which led to Dynamicland.
Michael Nielsen
Researcher. Writes on tools for thought, AI and science.
- Start hereThought as a Technology2016An essay on interfaces as the way people think.
- Augmenting Long-term Memory2018A personal essay on spaced repetition.
- Using Artificial Intelligence to Augment Human Intelligence2017With Shan Carter. Interfaces built on generative models.
- Quantum Country2019A book that helps the reader remember what it teaches.
- Neural Networks and Deep Learning2015A free online book.
Ryo Lu
Designer. Formerly at Notion and Cursor.
- Start herewhen we can do anything, do we still know what we want2026A piece on judgment and capability in the AI era.
- glass vs. black box2026A piece on visibility and control in AI tools.
- augmenting human intellect2026A piece that links to Engelbart's work.
- on subtraction2026A piece on choosing what to leave out.
- Ryo Lu (Cursor): AI Turns Designers to Developers2025A long interview on design and engineering merging.
Dominic Cummings
Writer and former UK government adviser. Chosen for ideas and method, not for politics.
- Start here‘Two hands are a lot’: we’re hiring data scientists, project managers, policy experts, assorted weirdos2020A job ad written as an essay.
- On the referendum #33: High performance government, ‘cognitive technologies’, Michael Nielsen, Bret Victor, ‘Seeing Rooms’2019Links his work to Victor and Nielsen.
- State-of-the-art in AI #1: causality, hypotheticals, and robots with free will & capacity for evil2018An early essay on AI and institutions.
- The Hollow Men II: Some reflections on Westminster and Whitehall dysfunction2014A long essay on how institutions fail.
Adam Foroughi
Co-founder and CEO of AppLovin. No personal site; these are interviews and press.
- Start hereAppLovin posts record revenue of $2.2bn in Q3, up 55% (mobilegamer.biz)2026Press coverage with his comments on new ad models.
- 20VC: AppLovin's Co-Founder & CEO2021A podcast interview with Harry Stebbings.
- David Senra, “Adam Foroughi, AppLovin”2026A podcast interview, as a transcript.
- AppLovin revenue gains 55% to $2.18bn as new ad models lift gaming (ppc.land)2026The same results in ad-tech press.
Books, screen, music
Books, screen, music
- Liu CixinNovel
The Three-Body ProblemA science fiction novel. - John SteinbeckNovels
Of Mice and Men; The Grapes of WrathTwo novels set in California in the 1930s. - The WireTV series
The WireA crime drama series set in Baltimore. - alt-JMusic
alt-JAn English rock band.
Contact
Bring one game and one decision.
Book a 30-minute callor write to thibault.quillard@gmail.com