#18: Getting Lost on the Tools

Nono Martínez Alonso on forgetting who you were trying to help, the main point behind creating tools, and the case of Machina, with Jose Luis García del Castillo y López. Computer programs help us do things we couldn't do before. Often, programs provide new ways of doing what we were already able to do — faster, easier, more precisely — fostering experimentation and unleashing our creative potential. At times, though, we get lost along the way. We focus on small details and forget about the whole picture. Trying to make the tool a bit better, we forget about what problem we were trying to solve, who we were trying to help, and why. My friend Jose Luis (whom you might know from a previous episode) created Machina, an open-source program that intends to make a pretty hard task — controlling robots — a little easier. In this episode, we learn about how Jose Luis managed to focus on why (and for whom) he was writing software; using Machina to help other designers quickly get going with robots. Favorite quotes "Teaching is fundamental to what I want to do and what I like doing because I feel I have a very tangible impact on the lives of people." —Jose Luis "We often forget who we're trying to help and what problem we're trying to solve, and get obfuscated on solving problems just for the sake of solving them." —Nono Links Machina The robo-selfie project Jose Luis' episode Matt Jezyk's episode Jose Luis on Twitter I'd love to hear from you. Submit a question about this or any previous episodes. Join the Discord community. Meet other curious minds. If you enjoy the show, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps. Show notes, transcripts, and past episodes at gettingsimple.com/podcast. Theme song Sleep by Steve Combs under CC BY 4.0. A wink to Seth Godin's podcast, Akimbo, by mimicking his greeting (and goodbye) phrase. Follow Nono Twitter.com/nonoesp Instagram.com/nonoesp Facebook.com/nonomartinezalonso YouTube.com/nonomartinezalonso