iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 05/06/2026

One of the best ways to evaluate your own understanding of a subject is to attempt to explain it to someone else. Through explaining things, we discover how much of the "totally obvious" world is actually full of ambiguity, mystery and contradiction. 1/

A 1960s classroom. A teacher in a blue dress stands at a blackboard in the background; in the foreground, a child works at a desk. The child's head has been replaced with the head of a killer robot. The blackboard is covered in printed circuits.

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 05/06/2026

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog: pluralistic.net/2026/06/05/d... 2/

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Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow – No trackers, no ads. Black type, white background. Privacy policy: we don't collect or retain any data at all ever period.

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quas1.bsky.social @quas1.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Stuffed animal debugging, I'm a believer in it. If you are ever stuck on something, explain it to a stuffed animal, and usually you'll find the solution.

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suspectratio.bsky.social @suspectratio.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

We called it "cheese planting" in our office! I.e. explain the problem to a cheese plant (a person) and the solution is revealed.

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Greg Gabrielse @newtons-third.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

It is the "see one, do one, teach one" idea. When I taught, I always told kids that until they try to teach a concept, you don't really know it. And that in teaching it, you gain significant understanding about the subject.

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Marta O'Brien @archhistory.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Every good teacher knows this.

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