Hello from the other side of London and the end of March.

I’m plotting out an analog week. Any can’t-miss books you’ve read recently?

Here are five fragments that stuck with me last week…

While there are practical reasons to learn these tools regardless of your current work setup (your staying competitive for future opportunities, etc.), I think the bigger reason is that it fundamentally changes how you see problems. Learning to use coding agents teaches you to look at any problem in your life and ask, does this feel unsolvable because it’s actually unsolvable, or is the problem just coming at me in the wrong shape? And if it’s the latter: can I reshape it?

It can take time to learn how to think this way. But once you do, it’s hard to stop.

– Hilary Gridley, “bend problems to your disposition,” writerbuilder, March 30, 2026. Is the problem just coming at me in the wrong shape? It’s mesmerizing to be able to shapeshift problems at will.

My personal litmus test is ”do I have a motivation gap to work on a task, and how can AI break it down for me to help me get started?”

Momentum begets momentum. Small wins become bigger wins. I’m an efficiency junkie — so it’s fun to check things off. It’s also surprising to me how I feel a strange sense of connection with a non-human intelligence, as we move from one successfully completed experiment to the next.

– Andy Coravos, “The Human as Conductor,” March 26, 2026. Rhymes with Hilary’s observation above: changing the shape of a problem changes your resistance to it, which changes everything.

Several great teams have already attempted IG but with AI photos of you and friends.

It doesn’t work because there are no emotional stakes when the content isn’t “real” - the feedback loop is weaker.

– Olivia Moore on X, March 28, 2026. The best stories have stakes, and when AI output feels hollow, emotional stakes are often the missing piece.

Conversations in the Experimental Food Society were never too silly, and in the midst of chatting about invisible food, the Edible Mist Orbs were born. By 2014, the Mist Orbs transformed the business from a quirky ice cream hobby to a full-fledged, ground-breaking experiential business.

– “It All Started With a Crazy Idea,” Lick Me I’m Delicious. At Gamma’s London party, edible balloons were a highlight, so I chased down the vendor’s website and was treated to some lore. There are seventeen inventions overall! We’re gonna need to host some more events…

You gotta stay up to date on new emoji or everyone else will start having new feelings that you don't have access to

– Chris Beiser on X, March 28, 2026. FOMO for feelings. (See also: emoji alethiometer, then and now.)

Until next time,
Diana
https://dianaberlin.com