Oversimplified: Volume 102
Personal data infrastructure, defeating Turbotax, and learnings from D3
Hey there đ
Hope everyone is off to a good start this week and ready for some March Madness. Iâm working on a new post so stay tuned for more from me next issue. In the meantime, letâs get to the best links I found on the internet this week.
đ 10 Years of Open-Source Visualization
Mike Bostock | Data Science | 2021-02-23
âIn honor of D3âs anniversary, I thought Iâd reflect on lessons learned. This isnât intended to be too comprehensive or serious â just a handful of observations as I look ahead to the next ten years. But I hope a nugget or two will interest you, too.â
đ Special
Max Nussenbaum | Career | 2021-02-28
These reflections on career expectations hit home in a lot of ways: âAll of a sudden I wasnât the youngest person in every room I walked into and people stopped grading my accomplishments on the curve of youth.â
đ What It Will Take to Defeat Turbotax
Kunle | Startups | 2021-02
âThe best time to optimize your taxes are long before you have to pay them, and neobanks are well placed to provide this benefit.â Tax preparation as an API is an interesting idea. I like how this post lays out Turbotaxâs positioning and advantages.
đ Awesome CTO
Dima Kuchin | Engineering | 2021-01
âA curated and opinionated list of resources for Chief Technology Officers and VP R&D, with the emphasis on startups and hyper-growth companies.â
đ My Personal Data Infrastructure
Karlicoss | Quantified Self | 2021-02
This map of one personâs âpersonal data mirrorâ is crazy and interesting, in all the best ways. Itâs also worth noting the lack of interoperability between most platforms, which is something Iâve run into in my own quantified self-efforts.
Food for Thought
"In science, if you know what you are doing, you should not be doing it. In engineering, if you do not know what you are doing, you should not be doing it. Of course, you seldom, if ever, see either pure state." â Richard Hamming
Until next time
As always, if you're enjoying Oversimplified, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend or two. If anything stood out, whether good or bad, I would love to hear about it. Reply to this email or tweet at me and letâs chat.
Until next time,
Conor