Diffusion processes proceed at the system's clock speed.
...n constraint might be the social process of diffusion. Diffusion in a system of bits is faster than diffusion in a system of atoms.
Topic: bits
144 mentions · 42 chunks · 34 episodes
1.3× distinctiveness vs baseline
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How much more common this term is here than in ordinary English. Higher values mean the topic is more characteristic of this corpus.
2.6x burst in 2025 Q1
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Peak quarter intensity across the topic's active span. Higher values mean attention was concentrated into a shorter stretch rather than spread evenly over time.
Topic summary
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A short read on the topic's time range, peak episode, and strongest associations. Use it as the quick orientation before drilling into examples.
- bits appears in 42 chunks across 34 episodes, from 2023-11-13 to 2026-06-08.
- Its densest episode is Bits and Bobs 1/13/25 (2025-01-13), with 3 observations on this topic.
- Semantically it travels with bobs, background context, and preferential attachment, while by chunk count it sits between Saruman and gilded turd; its yearly rank moved from #15 in 2023 to #30 in 2026.
Over time
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Raw mentions over time. Use this to see absolute attention, not relative rank among all topics.
Observations
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The primary evidence view for this topic. Sort it chronologically when you want concrete examples behind the larger pattern.
Hyper concentrated insight is now more valuable than before because it can be diluted by LLMs.
...rfect for this particular consumer: liquid media. This is one of the reasons my Bits and Bobs export is such an effective background context[vv] for me to feed to LLMs when I'm brainstorming.[vw] My Bits and Bobs is like my own person...
I've had a ton of fun playing with my Bits and Bobs to make liquid media.
I've had a ton of fun playing with my Bits and Bobs to make liquid media.[yj] I recently went through and extracted all of the Bits and Bobs related directly or indirectly to what I'm building...
Software should not feel built, it should feel grown.
...[zg] Software has been a fossilized, lifeless experience. You get precisely the bits the software creator decided to give you, and they update rarely. But software should be something that grows, that adapts to you. The "grown, not bu...
Next week's Bits and Bobs will come out on Tuesday due to the US holiday.
Next week's Bits and Bobs will come out on Tuesday due to the US holiday.
Jamie Katz described Bits and Bobs as "doodling with thoughts," which I think is spot on.
Jamie Katz described Bits and Bobs as "doodling with thoughts," which I think is spot on.
The next Bits and Bobs will be on Tuesday 1/21 due to the US holiday.
The next Bits and Bobs will be on Tuesday 1/21 due to the US holiday.
Digital commons get stronger with more use, vs physical commons, which get worse.
...rom the tragedy of the commons. Only atoms have the tragedy of the commons, not bits.[akw][akx][aky][akz][ala] Bits are non-rivalrous in their consumption; you can make infinite perfect copies for free. So internet bandwidth can have ...
One thing I take for granted working in software: very short prototyping times.
... for granted working in software: very short prototyping times. In the world of bits, you can go from a rough idea to a rough prototype often in just a few hours. This makes it much easier to explore, find compelling ideas, and experi...
I'll skip Bits and Bobs next week due to the holiday.
I'll skip Bits and Bobs next week due to the holiday. They'll return on Monday, January 6th.
Bits being easier to transport than atoms means that the first to establish network effects wins.
Bits being easier to transport than atoms means that the first to establish network effects wins. Once they win, they are basically unstoppable as long as...
Bits are many, many, many orders of magnitude easier to transport than atoms.
Bits are many, many, many orders of magnitude easier to transport than atoms. This one fundamental fact explains the majority of why the tech industry beh...
Someone told me about the tradition in Victorian England of "commonplace" books.
...otes, recipes, etc, in little books for themselves. Someone pointed out that my bits and bobs practice seems to be a kind of convergent evolution to the same kind of tradition.
A phrase I love: "chaotic curiosity"
A phrase I love: "chaotic curiosity" Last week someone told me that Bits and Bobs satisfied their chaotic curiosity drive. I realize I have a similar drive: I'm addicted to chasing novel insights. The more unexpected and c...
James Cham reacting to last week's Bits and Bobs: "Merely good software that is exactly what I need is going to be great."
James Cham reacting to last week's Bits and Bobs: "Merely good software that is exactly what I need is going to be great."
Claude can do impressive synthesis and summarization tasks.
...de can do impressive synthesis and summarization tasks. I fed it as much of the Bits and Bobs as I could, and then asked it a specific strategic question that I had previously written up in a document it couldn't see. It got the docum...
A friend, musing on my bits and bobs process: "You eat all of the parts of the intellectual animal!"
A friend, musing on my bits and bobs process: "You eat all of the parts of the intellectual animal!"
Someone asked me about my process of making Bits and Bobs.
Someone asked me about my process of making Bits and Bobs. I take live notes during conversations, of little snippets of assertions, observations, principles. (If you've ever been in a small group m...
I'll be OOO next week, so will skip Bits and Bobs for the week
I'll be OOO next week, so will skip Bits and Bobs for the week
What even are Bits and Bobs?
What even are Bits and Bobs? Think of the Bits and Bobs as my own weekly personal ritual of reflection and synthesis of my notes from the week before. I do this primari...