Dan Berlin
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banderlin.bsky.social
Dan Berlin
@banderlin.bsky.social
740 followers 190 following 140 posts
Founder of Watch City Research, UX Researcher, PhD student, Editor of / author in 97 UX Things book and litter eschewer
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Dan Berlin
makkon.bsky.social
a flow-chart with 2 islands. "Do I need AI?" that flows into a final island saying "No"
October 2, 2025 at 5:52 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
Just thought y'all should know that this morning I coughed with coffee in my mouth and spewed it all over my desk and monitors. Equally horrifying and hilarious.
September 28, 2025 at 2:55 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
One of the best parts of being a consultant is seeing multiple companies' "Pets" channels in Slack/Teams/etc.
September 24, 2025 at 8:42 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
Just thought y'all needed to see Shadow sitting like a doofus.
A black and tan dog with cute little ears looking pleadingly at the camera while sitting on a maroon, diamond-patterned rug. His back legs are kicked out to his left side, looking a little silly.
September 23, 2025 at 8:26 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
New flag, who dis?

(Sons of Liberty flag)

Thanks @flagsforgood.com!
Side view of a Sons of Liberty flag hanging at an angle from the front of a home. The flag has nine red and white vertical stripes.
September 22, 2025 at 7:22 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
Every layoff announcement should be required to also list the CEO's salary and amount of taxes paid in the previous year.
September 8, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Reposted by Dan Berlin
jacobtlevy.bsky.social
The fact that the thing we're calling artificial intelligence *can't do math* and yet we're jamming it into programs that successfully *have done math* for decades, then warning people against using the AI to do math, seems like an excellent summary of where we are.
ketanjoshi.co Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · Aug 19
Good thing no one uses Microsoft Excel for anything related to legal, regulatory or compliance business functions

www.theverge.com/news/761338/...
Microsoft Excel adds Copilot Al to help ... theverge.com The Verget-4.1-mini Al model | 5 successor to the LABS.GENERATIVEAI function Microsoft started experimenting with in 2023. Microsoft notes that you can combine its new Al function with other Excel functions, including IF, SWITCH, LAMBDA, or WRAPROWS. The company adds that information sent through Excel's COPILOT function is "never" used for AI training, as "the input remains confidential and is used solely to generate your requested output." The COPILOT function comes with a couple of limitations, as it can't access information outside your spreadsheet, and you can only use it to calculate 100 functions every 10 minutes. Microsoft also warns against using the AI function for numerical calculations or in “high-stakes scenarios” with legal, regulatory, and compliance implications, as COPILOT "can give incorrect responses." Copy Share Select all Web search Dictionary ...
August 19, 2025 at 6:09 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
The new Wood Brothers album is amazing. Even better than their previous album. The lyrics are so poignant and this track is absolute fire. The Trick is not to give a damn. I can get behind that.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqCK...
The Trick
YouTube video by The Wood Brothers - Topic
www.youtube.com
August 13, 2025 at 6:49 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
Hocus Pocus by Focus - a 7-minute song fit into a 5-minute TV time slot without skippning a beat.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyxS...
Hocus Pocus - Focus | The Midnight Special
YouTube video by The Midnight Special
www.youtube.com
July 23, 2025 at 3:46 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
One comp exam down, three to go. Definitely one of the harder things I've ever done. Quite the weekend.
July 15, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Dan Berlin
natalyarar.bsky.social
usually I am a ‘need for speed’ type of researcher , but I was also a heavy proponent of manual analysis

the work is excruciating, tedious, etc… but the outcome is extraordinary.

the trend of researchers offloading qualitative research to AI is freaking me out (beyond the automation bias)
July 10, 2025 at 4:19 AM
banderlin.bsky.social
Needed some good news. Prog fans rejoice!

www.stereogum.com/2314598/king...
King Crimson Recording First New Album Since 2003
King Crimson haven’t released a studio album since 2003’s The Power To Believe. Since then, the English prog-rock legends have gone on tours, endured lineup changes, and shared a slew of live LPs. A f...
www.stereogum.com
July 9, 2025 at 1:54 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
I think we all need some beautiful and inspirational music this morning

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x3t...
"One Fine Day" | Performed with David Byrne @ National Sawdust 2019 Gala
YouTube video by Brooklyn Youth Chorus
www.youtube.com
July 3, 2025 at 2:57 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
Careful out there today folks!
A temperature gun pointed at the pavement. It reads 148.5 degrees.
June 24, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Reposted by Dan Berlin
uxhow.bsky.social
AI may make us cognitively bankrupt:
www.media.mit.edu/publications...
x.com/itsalexvacca...
Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task – MIT Media Lab
This study explores the neural and behavioral consequences of LLM-assisted essay writing. Participants were divided into three groups: LLM, Search Engine…
www.media.mit.edu
June 23, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by Dan Berlin
shinjutnt.bsky.social
I've come to the conclusion that Occam's Razor has become outdated in the modern age. I hereby propose to replace it with Occam's Spoon. The explanation that makes the least sense is probably true
June 9, 2025 at 4:33 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
Wednesday's concert reminded me how much I love The Wheel. So beautiful and inspirational.

Every time that wheel turn 'round, bound to cover just a little more ground.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZK8...
Jerry Garcia - The Wheel (Studio Version)
YouTube video by LongStrangeTrip710
www.youtube.com
June 6, 2025 at 1:08 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
If this keeps up, we're gonna have a popcorn shortage pretty soon.
June 5, 2025 at 9:32 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration with the Boston Pops was pretty darn amazing.
Boston's Symphony Hall lit up in purple. It's a far view to the stage from the second balcony. The Boston Pops are on stage with six other musicians.
June 5, 2025 at 3:05 AM
banderlin.bsky.social
Audience member plays Stu's guitar on Dragon and absolutely nails it. What other band would do this? Gizz is the best. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkBA...
Dragon Live In Lithuania '25 King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
YouTube video by Bootleg Gila
www.youtube.com
June 3, 2025 at 2:09 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
New car mod. Beware, tailgaters.
A car console with various buttons (seat heater, defrost, etc.). One of which is now labeled with a turtle shell.
June 2, 2025 at 4:54 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
Another day, another attempt at turning off Copilot in mobile Outlook
May 20, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Reposted by Dan Berlin
thomasfuchs.at
Imagine telling someone from the 1970s that in the future the tech industry, corporate CEOs and world leaders had a choice between SQL and ELIZA as tools to help grow the economy and they chose ELIZA
May 12, 2025 at 1:25 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
I'm a little obsessed with this diagram instructing users where to enter a URL.
A mockup of a web browser search engine. "Enter here" is shown in the browser address bar. "Do not put web address here" is shown in the search engine search box.
May 6, 2025 at 3:25 PM
banderlin.bsky.social
If I had a dollar for every time I heard my content is good, but my visual design sucks, I'd be a rich man.
April 30, 2025 at 6:15 PM