Peer Reviewed Articles
Anti-Authoritarian Metrics: Recursivity as a strategy for post-capitalism- Here I argue that those seeking to build counter-power institutions and communities learn to think in terms of what I call “recursivity.” Recursivity is an anti-authoritarian metric that helps bring about a sensitivity to feedback loops at multiple levels of organization.
Lines of power: Availability to networks as a social phenomenon- I propose that rather than an individual binary status; online/offline distinctions are more accurately described as a communal social relationship.
I Have Seen the Future! Ethics, Progress, and the Grand Challenges of Engineering (with Joe Herkert)- A study in the cycle of constructed futures, perceived risks, and the funding of STEM.
Recursive Depth in Generative Spaces: Democratization in Three Dimensions of Technosocial Self-Organization (with Ron Eglash)- We expand on Chris Kelty's concept of the recursive public (PDF) by developing a three dimensional continuum of what we call recursive depth.
Selected Essays
True-ish Grit // Real Life Magazine – Rust Belt cities are turning years of neglect and decay into a soundstage for social media.
Podcast Out // The New Inquiry – A sense of ennui and overdetermination binds the audience of NPR podcasts together in a bloc of obnoxious explainerism.
Engineered for Dystopia // The Baffler – Engineering is full of authoritarians who, predictably, take all the wrong lessons from pop culture.
Meat Market // The New Inquiry (With Britney Summit-Gil) – Anthony Bourdain’s planned market in Chelsea will sell food as authenticity. That leaves little room for the democratization of cuisine he promises.
The Authoritarian Surround // Real Life Magazine – The suburbs have incubated authoritarian sympathies as well as revolutionary restlessness
The Edifice Complex // Real Life Magazine – If a house is a machine to live in, then a machine to rule in is Empire State Plaza
Community Slander // The New Inquiry – How voting and ranking in apps allows groups to harass groups.
Very Serious Populists // The New Inquiry – Voting systems like Reddit enforce hegemony more than highlight good ideas.
Make Conversation Great Again // Cyborgology – Sherry Turkle's selective deployment of her own theories reveals a dedication to traditional authority figures.
Towards a Politics of Delight and Desire // The Baffler – A call for technologies and services that are as fun as they are socially just.
You Won't Believe What This Site Does to the Liberal Left! // Cyborgology – Upworthy organizes ignorance while it promotes feel-good stories.
The Power of a Decentralized Left // Tikkun Magazine – The role of technology in knitting together a coalition leftist movement.
Creative Writing
Dungeon Guide for Administrative Assistant Quest- McSweeney's Internet Tendency
House Plant- Cyborgology
Claim the Life You Want- Cyborgology