[kiawe_fire]

I have to second watching the “Mother of all Demos”.

In fact, in general, make it a habit to revisit 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s technology. Look up old computer magazines, read some articles.

There are TONS of ideas that were pioneered back then that have either been forgotten, have not fully evolved to reach their potential yet, or have evolved in negative ways such that they “lost the thread” (and therefore, provide fertile ground for revisiting and iterating upon).

One of the most monumental mindset shifts I’ve had in my career was looking into the whole Xerox Parc Smalltalk stuff. The concept of a live environment that you can change anything about it, right then and there, was a magical lightbulb that got me thinking about the UIs I build and the data behind them in new ways. It shifted my mind towards user empowerment rather than tight controls and structures.

Rediscovering some of these core ideas in their pure, early forms can be really inspiring.