JA Westenberg
@joanwestenberg.com
In every dystopian novel: the government bans books.
In reality: we gave up reading voluntarily.
In reality: we gave up reading voluntarily.
November 24, 2025 at 11:14 AM
In every dystopian novel: the government bans books.
In reality: we gave up reading voluntarily.
In reality: we gave up reading voluntarily.
Most people don’t make bad decisions.
They make good bets that lose, then rewrite history to protect their ego...
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/life-isn-...
They make good bets that lose, then rewrite history to protect their ego...
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/life-isn-...
November 18, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Most people don’t make bad decisions.
They make good bets that lose, then rewrite history to protect their ego...
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/life-isn-...
They make good bets that lose, then rewrite history to protect their ego...
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/life-isn-...
Look, I love this app, but I'd love it a whole lot more if the icon didn't look like xenomorph bussy
November 17, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Look, I love this app, but I'd love it a whole lot more if the icon didn't look like xenomorph bussy
I'm not usually given to envy or jealousy but I've never wanted to be a human-made object so much in my life
November 13, 2025 at 2:53 AM
I'm not usually given to envy or jealousy but I've never wanted to be a human-made object so much in my life
New post for paid members - why every family has these intractable disagreements about what really happened during Thanksgiving dinner in 1998...
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/we-re-all...
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/we-re-all...
November 12, 2025 at 11:06 PM
New post for paid members - why every family has these intractable disagreements about what really happened during Thanksgiving dinner in 1998...
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/we-re-all...
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/we-re-all...
Sanity is expensive, and extremism pays dividends.
We talk a lot about polarization as if it were a disease that infected society, but we’re missing a key data point:
Polarization is a growth hack, and it works.
It delivers results.
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/how-to-st...
We talk a lot about polarization as if it were a disease that infected society, but we’re missing a key data point:
Polarization is a growth hack, and it works.
It delivers results.
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/how-to-st...
November 11, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Sanity is expensive, and extremism pays dividends.
We talk a lot about polarization as if it were a disease that infected society, but we’re missing a key data point:
Polarization is a growth hack, and it works.
It delivers results.
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/how-to-st...
We talk a lot about polarization as if it were a disease that infected society, but we’re missing a key data point:
Polarization is a growth hack, and it works.
It delivers results.
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/how-to-st...
Somewhere around 2016 I noticed the smartest people I knew started saying increasingly stupid things.
The common thread: their extreme positions got them more of what they wanted.
Sanity was expensive.
Extremism paid dividends.
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/how-to-st...
The common thread: their extreme positions got them more of what they wanted.
Sanity was expensive.
Extremism paid dividends.
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/how-to-st...
November 9, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Somewhere around 2016 I noticed the smartest people I knew started saying increasingly stupid things.
The common thread: their extreme positions got them more of what they wanted.
Sanity was expensive.
Extremism paid dividends.
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/how-to-st...
The common thread: their extreme positions got them more of what they wanted.
Sanity was expensive.
Extremism paid dividends.
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/how-to-st...
New Members Only Q&A is up!
This month: Is civilization unsustainable, whether productivity culture is making us less human, what happens when machines get smarter than engineers, and why I bought a Remarkable tablet.
Pro members can read it here:
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/members-o...
This month: Is civilization unsustainable, whether productivity culture is making us less human, what happens when machines get smarter than engineers, and why I bought a Remarkable tablet.
Pro members can read it here:
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/members-o...
November 5, 2025 at 9:19 PM
New Members Only Q&A is up!
This month: Is civilization unsustainable, whether productivity culture is making us less human, what happens when machines get smarter than engineers, and why I bought a Remarkable tablet.
Pro members can read it here:
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/members-o...
This month: Is civilization unsustainable, whether productivity culture is making us less human, what happens when machines get smarter than engineers, and why I bought a Remarkable tablet.
Pro members can read it here:
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/members-o...
When people ask how my career is going
November 5, 2025 at 7:54 AM
When people ask how my career is going
The magpie doesn't follow a system. It doesn't read books about optimal nest-building techniques or watch YouTube videos about the Marie Kondo method for corvids.
It sees something that works, takes it, and uses it...
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/be-a-magp...
It sees something that works, takes it, and uses it...
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/be-a-magp...
November 4, 2025 at 3:11 AM
The magpie doesn't follow a system. It doesn't read books about optimal nest-building techniques or watch YouTube videos about the Marie Kondo method for corvids.
It sees something that works, takes it, and uses it...
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/be-a-magp...
It sees something that works, takes it, and uses it...
www.joanwestenberg.com/p/be-a-magp...
Honestly a real estate agent doing business with a blood sucking monster without thinking about any of the long term implications of his actions felt very real and believable to me 10/10
November 1, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Honestly a real estate agent doing business with a blood sucking monster without thinking about any of the long term implications of his actions felt very real and believable to me 10/10
I don’t like asking for money and I never expect financial help from anyone but due to circumstances outside of my control I’m about €230,000,000 short this month to pay for this yacht any assistance would be amazing and I will absolutely pay it forward (I won’t)
October 29, 2025 at 8:40 AM
I don’t like asking for money and I never expect financial help from anyone but due to circumstances outside of my control I’m about €230,000,000 short this month to pay for this yacht any assistance would be amazing and I will absolutely pay it forward (I won’t)
"i mean that from the bottom of my heart" the bottom of your heart is just a dark pit where your sense of self used to be before it got replaced by a weird parasocial relationship with assholes who view you as livestock
October 28, 2025 at 12:06 PM
"i mean that from the bottom of my heart" the bottom of your heart is just a dark pit where your sense of self used to be before it got replaced by a weird parasocial relationship with assholes who view you as livestock
I feel like it's not a great sign that Pixelmator Pro still doesn't have an up to date app icon
October 27, 2025 at 11:47 AM
I feel like it's not a great sign that Pixelmator Pro still doesn't have an up to date app icon
they are trying to cancel me for saying poor people should simply stop being poor. THIS IS WHAT JESUS WOULD WANT. he was always going on about how charity is bad actually. read the bible idiots
October 27, 2025 at 10:51 AM
they are trying to cancel me for saying poor people should simply stop being poor. THIS IS WHAT JESUS WOULD WANT. he was always going on about how charity is bad actually. read the bible idiots
This guy just nailed it
October 26, 2025 at 2:29 AM
This guy just nailed it
Absolutely obsessed with framing your employees sleeping on the floor as a humble brag
“Look how hard my team works” no dude you’re just bad at project management.
Competent companies ship products without cosplaying being homeless
“Look how hard my team works” no dude you’re just bad at project management.
Competent companies ship products without cosplaying being homeless
October 23, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Absolutely obsessed with framing your employees sleeping on the floor as a humble brag
“Look how hard my team works” no dude you’re just bad at project management.
Competent companies ship products without cosplaying being homeless
“Look how hard my team works” no dude you’re just bad at project management.
Competent companies ship products without cosplaying being homeless
Take this for exactly what it is: proof that the republicans know MAGA is a bubble that pops with Trump and they have nobody to replace him
October 14, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Take this for exactly what it is: proof that the republicans know MAGA is a bubble that pops with Trump and they have nobody to replace him
‘good design’ is a psyop by people who are terrified of seeming uncool. maybe the nothing phone is tacky as hell, maybe it tries too hard and that’s why it works. bring back weird gadgets. bring back fun.
October 12, 2025 at 4:30 AM
‘good design’ is a psyop by people who are terrified of seeming uncool. maybe the nothing phone is tacky as hell, maybe it tries too hard and that’s why it works. bring back weird gadgets. bring back fun.
Ah yes that’s what was missing from open plan offices: more people talking all the time
October 10, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Ah yes that’s what was missing from open plan offices: more people talking all the time
Sauron wasn't expecting the one ring's will to dominate drama
October 8, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Sauron wasn't expecting the one ring's will to dominate drama
my uncle gary has been burping since 1987 and we dont call scientists about it SNOWFLAKES
October 8, 2025 at 12:12 PM
my uncle gary has been burping since 1987 and we dont call scientists about it SNOWFLAKES
This seems responsible
What harm could it possibly do
What harm could it possibly do
October 8, 2025 at 1:57 AM
This seems responsible
What harm could it possibly do
What harm could it possibly do
The biggest problem here isn't that they used ChatGPT or anything else.
The problem is that they clearly don't have a culture of quality, or a culture of checking their work, or a culture of giving a s**t about their customers.
If they cared, this crap wouldn't happen.
The problem is that they clearly don't have a culture of quality, or a culture of checking their work, or a culture of giving a s**t about their customers.
If they cared, this crap wouldn't happen.
October 8, 2025 at 12:37 AM
The biggest problem here isn't that they used ChatGPT or anything else.
The problem is that they clearly don't have a culture of quality, or a culture of checking their work, or a culture of giving a s**t about their customers.
If they cared, this crap wouldn't happen.
The problem is that they clearly don't have a culture of quality, or a culture of checking their work, or a culture of giving a s**t about their customers.
If they cared, this crap wouldn't happen.