Danny Chen

masterdannychen.medium.com/cognitive-sp... Recently, we decided to officially publish a write-up regarding the central thesis behind "Forge", a personalized, private platform that we're currently crafting & building. We called it "Cognitive Spatial Context". #AI #cognitivespatialcontext

Did we make the right decision/move when we quit LinkedIn for good a month ago? Sometimes we still wondered that. There are definitely some doubts on our mind. But these aren't self-doubts. These are just part and parcel of navigating a new path.

We are still within the first four weeks of quitting LI. And honestly, some days, we still find ourselves wondering, "Did we make the right decision to leave LinkedIn?" It was a scary. Yes, we were concerned that leaving would put us at a disadvantage. But we also know it was the right choice.

We received some funds today. Honestly, we wouldn't call it much, but it is enough. Good enough to cover what we need right now. We'll take the blessing as they come.

We're 44. Our parents are aging. We genuinely want to step up at home. Take on more responsibilities (if we could). For that to happen, we need work. Not out of desperation, but because we're driven by our convictions, and a deep desire to succeed at what we do. #work #opentowork #designengineering

Right now, we can't control what's going to happen tomorrow. So, the best thing that we can do right now is to stay present in this moment. And in each moment that we have.

This is probably the very first time that we will admit honestly that the #AI wave is kinda scary, even for someone as in-tune with the tech industry as we are. I think it would be strange if we're not at least a bit scared about what is coming at us. The only way to overcome is to go through it.

Unlike most people who love to claim how much they know about working with AI agents, or AI tools in general, we're not afraid to admit that we're only just starting to explore how to work with #ClaudeCode. For us, knowing more doesn't mean shit. Instead, it's about mastery, depth, and substance.

We have officially created a page on our website for covering updates/progress on our "Active/Pending Works". masterdannychen.pro/our-works/ #ourworks #works #activeworks #website

Throughout our career, for the longest time, all we could remember is that DEPTH and SUBSTANCE mattered greatly to who we are at our core. It also applies to so much of the work that we do, how we learn something, how we conduct our research into certain topics. #depth #substance #mastery

youtu.be/oGkb8gUmdCI?... @forbes.com #hiring #recruiting #ai #ats #resumes #jobseekers #jobhunting #brokensystem

youtu.be/DA_IhG1ZFl4?... A genuine problem of our time. #AI #hiring #broken

The areas that AI can never replace: 1. Critical thinking 2. Problem solving 3. Systems thinking 4. Empathy 5. Communication Skills 6. Human taste (judgement) These are the most in-demand non-AI skills for the next decade and beyond.

For us, when we think about our craft, AI is never here to replace what we can do best. It's here to replace the parts that were often more time-consuming in the past. Thus freeing up our time and energy to focus more on the areas we always wished we had more time for (our strengths).

Still, I don't think that we will ever come to fully trust what an AI agent can do. We will only begin by delegating some, smaller portions of the work to AI. Esp the areas that feel most repetitive, or are outside our strengths, like UI/assets design, while we focus on the UX & engineering work.

We are definitely late-adopters of working with AI coding agents. Unlike many people within our industry that claim to be super pro-AI, we've chosen to take a more deliberate, intentional and purposeful approach to exploring this new working relationship between us and an AI coding agent.

Why can't I unfollow certain accounts here? Even after I hit unfollow, it still shows that we are following. 🤷‍♂️ @bsky.app, you should really look into this issue and get it fixed asap.

There are moments when it still felt strange that we are no longer on LinkedIn, and it feels like there were moments when our time and energy would've just gone straight to scrolling our feed without really thinking much about it. It's subconscious. Well, not anymore.

masterdannychen.pro/general/bein... Most people prefer to pretend like they have all the steps figured out rather than to face/accept the uncomfortable truth that they aren't entirely sure about their next steps. #uncertainty #careerpath #blogging #newposts

Margaret Hamilton, the groundbreaking researcher who helped create the field of software engineering and whose code helped land NASA’s Apollo astronauts on the moon, has died. She was 90. https://cnn.it/4jI4LxB

Truly reliable, dependable AI in front-end dev and deep-thinking related work is still rather expensive by today's standards. Sure, there are other cheaper alternatives like GLM, DeepSeek, but they are nowhere close in terms of token efficiency yet. Guess we'll just have to be patient.

Well, judging by the haze situation outside, I am glad that we're indoors right now. Small blessings I suppose.

We are very interesting in connecting with folks online who don't belong in entire camps when it comes to AI. If you are neither an AI doomer, or someone on the hype-train, let's follow each other. Personally, we see ourselves more as a pragmatic optimist. We're somewhere in the middle.

We are curious to know what some of you think about the present state of the recruitment/hiring space? And what are your genuine thoughts about the use of ATS for scanning and filtering candidates for a role? Personally, we do miss that human connection. Maybe we're just old school. #stateofhiring

Yes, it feels slightly scary now that we have fully disconnected ourselves from LinkedIn (did it last weekend). It has been on our mind every now and then since, "Did we do something that has placed us at a disadvantage in comparison to those who choose to remain on that platform?" #lighthouseOS

Okay, *DEEP BREATHS* We are enacting our exit plans today. It's time for us to finally hit "reset" on our journey. More updates to follow in the coming days.

As tempting as it would be to immediately ask Claude for the answer to a new challenge, we've decided to keep trying on our own first. If we reach for Claude without trying, we will never really learn.

Hey, there is time. We have time. Focus on that. #daily #selfreminders #stayingpresent

For many years, we have chosen to remain on LinkedIn, despite knowing that the platform was showing signs that it's no longer working for us. Staying would be like carrying around unused baggage. It weighs us down without actually adding any real value. For years, staying only felt like FOMO.

The haze situation disrupted our early morning workout routine, so we decided to inject a shorter one in the evening instead. Our stamina is a work-in-progress. For now, a sub 9 min pacing is a good personal challenge. We still have a long way to go before we hit 6'30" for a 5-10k run.

This is where we begin our day. (29 Sep) #IRL #Koufu #PBC #singapore

Damn, the haze situation has been elevated since yesterday afternoon. Guess it's time to bring out the masks 😷. It's not ideal. But for someone with sinusitis, better to be safe than sorry. #haze #singapore #irl

Anthropic releases Sonnet 5.5, which it calls a significantly cheaper, faster work partner

AMD will acquire Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs for $8.2 billion

Today is the first day in over 13 years that we are no longer on LinkedIn, FB, IG, Tiktok or any social networking/media platforms. Except here on @bsky.app. There's no doubt, it is a strange feeling. But we also appreciate the mental quietness that comes with it.

Tonight, it's official. We've quit LinkedIn for good. After 13 years.

masterdannychen.pro/announcement... #quitting #linkedin #techaddiction #refocusing #craft

Where AI is concerned, we are a strong believer in focusing on craftsmanship and mastery because those two areas of our work are the kind that an AI can't replace. Things like critical thinking, problem solving, human taste (judgement). #designengineering #craftsmanship #mastery #AI

I truly do not know what to make of this rather strange day. 😅

We'll officially be leaving/quitting LinkedIn by the end of this coming weekend. That means, @bsky.app will become the only app/platform where we will still have a user account. Since 2022, we have already quit every major social media/networking platform, from FB, IG, X, TikTok and now LI.

It's one thing to try and be a louder voice about something, it's another thing to actually do something about it. Just because we are louder doesn't necessarily mean that we're changing anything. To affect change, we gotta be willing to do the work, and not just propose the solutions for it.

On our 44th birthday today, we have two wishes actually... 1. Have a one-year subscription sponsorship by @evernote.bsky.social. We are one of the OG Day 1 supporters since they first appeared. 2. Would be nice to have a one-year subscription to @proton.me's Unlimited plan. #birthday #wishlist

Do not be fooled by those who claim that they are now building with AI, or some like to say, "AI Builders". They aren't really building with AI. They are only just getting AI to do the work of building for them. To be a builder, you gotta first understand what it is you're building, and why.

Nvidia confirms it will buy Hugging Face for $12.9 billion