Learn, Make, Learn

Ernest Kim, Joachim Groeger

Learn, Make, Learn is two product geeks sharing qualitative & quantitative perspectives to help you make, better. Hosted by Ernest Kim and Joachim Groeger.

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Episodes

Why is Design So Boring? with Nate Grubbs
Oct 18 2024
Why is Design So Boring? with Nate Grubbs
We dive into our titular question with Nate Grubbs, who, unlike us, is a professional designer with strong views borne of decades of experience across UX, visual & product design.MEET NATE – 01:18THE AGE OF AVERAGE – 04:19Alex Murrell: The age of averageThe tyranny of the algorithm: why every coffee shop looks the sameHow Khruangbin’s Sound Became the New Mood Music (paywall)SOUL, FLASH & OLD MAN VIBES – 06:36A Farewell to Adobe Flash—and the Messy, Glorious WebDonnie Darko websiteFélix Lapointe: Remembering Kai Power ToolsArtist at Play: An e-mail exchange with Kai KrauseA PERVASIVE FEAR OF FAILURE – 17:49Please, Please Don’t A/B Test ThatStudy finds 268% higher failure rates for Agile software projectsSIGNS OF HOPE & BREAKING THROUGH – 23:27Massimo Giunco: Nike, An Epic Saga of Value DestructionThe Father of Grunge Typography Calls Out Lazy DesignPaula Scher: Great design is serious (not solemn)KintsugiCONSTRAINTS AS A CATALYST – 34:08Why Constraints Are Good for InnovationDaft SocialStart-Ups Surge in the Great ResetGnuhrPhysical music sales on course for first increase in 20 yearsRECOMMENDATIONS – 45:45Nate: YotoErnest: A Different Man; related: The rise and rise of A24, a champion of storytelling on screen (paywall)Joachim: I Saw the TV Glow; What You Are Looking for is in the LibraryCLOSING – 56:57NateGrubbs.com****Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.CREDITSTheme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.comDrum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Apple’s iPhone 16 Event: Lessons & Critiques
Sep 20 2024
Apple’s iPhone 16 Event: Lessons & Critiques
In another short(er) format episode, we examine Apple’s recent “Glowtime” event. Please do let us know what you think of this new format at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or @LearnMakeLearnShow on Threads.OPENING – 00:00Suttle LakeSuttle LodgeHELP US NAME THIS NEW FORMAT! – 03:12APPLE’S ‘GLOWTIME’ EVENT – 05:08Apple EventThe Verge: iPhone 16 event in 16 minutesJohn Gruber describes his feelings after the event on ThreadsJOACHIM’S TAKE – 05:48Smartphone innovation is dead, and that’s fineRevisiting the iPodLight PhoneERNEST’S TAKE – 11:07Made by Google ’24Steve Jobs introduces “Think Different” (intro to the campaign at 3:05)Steve Jobs introduces iPhone in 2007 (b-school 101 chart at 3:55)The Very First ‘Stevenote’The Glorious Return of a Humble Car FeatureBoomer AppleRISKS OF SHIFTING TO SERVICES – 27:31HildaBrainchildWhy the Baby-Sitters Club was Cancelled at NetflixAlexa Is in Millions of Households—and Amazon Is Losing BillionsSteve Jobs: Get Rid Of The Crappy StuffExistential thoughts about Apple’s reliance on Services revenueJeff Bezos Explains Why Amazon Makes No Profit (2014)The Birth of an Icon: Susan KareHalt and Catch Fire (TV Series)Drops of God on Apple TV+Slow Horses on Apple TV+CLOSING – 49:00****Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.CREDITSTheme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.comDrum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
A New Episode Format!
Sep 11 2024
A New Episode Format!
We introduce a new, shorter, more off-the-cuff format focused on recommendations that we hope you’ll enjoy. Also, our apologies for the audio getting a bit crunchy in spots—we’re working hard to improve our audio quality. Please do let us know what you think of this new format at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.ONE MILLION CHECKBOXES – 03:20Are You a Checker or an Unchecker? (paywall)The Secret Inside One Million CheckboxesNolan Royalty on X‘Infinity Blade II: ClashMob’ Uses the Cloud, Crowd-Sourcing for Group-Based GamingON KITCHEN FAUCETS & BRAND VALUES – 12:09Generative AI x Product with Anmol AnubhaiThat Much-Despised Apple Ad (paywall)Design Thinking: Failure or Fall Guy?Toolbox: How “Jobs To Be Done” Can Help You Make, BetterTouch vs Touchless FaucetsAre touchless faucets for the kitchen worth it?Hansgrohe Select TechnologyAxor Citterio Kitchen Faucet with Select TechnologyWhy is my LG Washing Machine using 3.6GB of data/day?STEVE JOBS, CORNING & BEING UNREASONABLE – 29:07The Science and History of the iPhone ScreenFounder ModeNEUTRON JACK – 33:45The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America―and How to Undo His LegacyHow Jack Welch’s Reign at G.E. Gave Us Elon Musk’s Twitter FeedCLOSING – 39:14****Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.CREDITSTheme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.comDrum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Generative AI x Product with Anmol Anubhai
Jul 18 2024
Generative AI x Product with Anmol Anubhai
Generative AI: step change or snake oil du jour? We enter this mire with Anmol Anubhai as our guide & insight into the future of GenAI x product creation as our destination. Join us for a refreshingly grounded conversation on a topic that’s typically full of hype.FOLLOW-UPS – 01:42The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Manual Mode Changes Performance EVs ForeverWTF is a Product Manager?Dare Obasanjo on Product Management at Figma Config 2024Dare Obasanjo on ThreadsShreyas Doshi on ThreadsShreyas on why product management is hardGenAI x PRODUCT WITH ANMOL ANUBHAI – 07:45 Anmol on LinkedInMeet Figma AIShane Allen on Figma AIMira Murati: Conversation with Dartmouth EngineeringWhy Apple’s iPad Ad Fell FlatFigma’s AI app creator accused of ripping off Apple weather appAdobe’s new terms of service say it won’t use your work to train AIInstagram is training AI on your dataCHI 2024: Evaluating Human-AI Partnership for LLM-based Code MigrationWhy companies are turning to ‘citizen developers’ANMOL’S ADVICE TO COMPANIES – 32:08AI INTERFACES BEYOND THE BOT – 34:45Google: People + AI GuidebookCULTIVATING MENTAL MODELS – 42:37WHO’S DOING THIS WELL & WHERE’S IT HEADED? – 48:12AI brings soaring emissions for Google and MicrosoftWEEKLY RECS – 56:44Anmol: Andrew Ng’s Machine Learning Collection & Amazon PartyRockJoachim: BOOX PalmaErnest: Earthworks Audio ETHOS microphoneCLOSING & PREVIEW – 01:08:48****Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.CREDITSTheme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.comDrum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
The Perils of Fan Service
May 23 2024
The Perils of Fan Service
The concept of fan service, which originated in anime and is now common across media, has pervaded the world of product creation as well. We discuss what it is & why it’s vital to serve your customers without pandering to them.FOLLOW-UPS – 01:11Progressive Complexity (aka Progressive Disclosure)THE PERILS OF FAN SERVICE – 03:50Star Wars: Fired Solo Directors Didn't Want Movie To Just Be Fan ServiceBlackBerry’s Future in DoubtClicks is a BlackBerry-style iPhone keyboard caseJanet Jackson Goes Sneaker Shopping With ComplexTHE “YES, AND” APPROACH – 12:57  Why Porsche announced an SUV in 1998Engineering guru Albert Biermann on making the Hyundai Ioniq 5 NIT’S ABOUT THE VIBE OF THE THING – 19:01The Homer Simpson car is a great lesson in building productsWhat everyone gets wrong about this famous Steve Jobs quoteTHE VALUE OF PROTOTYPES – 23:38IDEO: The Secret Power of PrototypingOn IDEO’s early days and the importance of prototypesWE’RE NOT SAYING IGNORE YOUR FANS– 25:31Reddit’s IPO is its own declineVollebak: The Dyneema Ultralight JacketThe End of Social Media: An Interview With Jack DorseyOverheard: Steven SoderberghKEEP YOUR PROTOTYPES FUZZY – 39:36UX Prototypes: Lo-Fi vs. Hi-FiIT CAN BE GOOD TO BE NICHE – 44:28WEEKLY RECOMMENDATIONS – 47:15Secret GalaxyThe efficacy of duct tape vs cryotherapy in the treatment of the common wartDoes One Line Fix Google?Vivaldi BrowserCLOSING & PREVIEW – 01:00:59****Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.CREDITSTheme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.comDrum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Daniel Kahneman: Lessons & Critiques
Apr 25 2024
Daniel Kahneman: Lessons & Critiques
Daniel Kahneman, credited as a grandfather of behavioral economics, passed away in March, and we devote this episode to an unfiltered discussion of his legacy through a product lens.KAHNEMAN’S LEGACY: THE BULL CASE – 01:55NY Times obituary of Daniel KahnemanKAHNEMAN’S LEGACY: THE BEAR CASE – 03:40The “Nudge” of the Obama Era Was Always Neoliberal NonsenseNudge economics: has push come to shove for a fashionable theory?JOACHIM’S PERSPECTIVE – 05:27A Quick Excursion into Behavioral EconomicsERNEST’S PERSPECTIVE – 10:56Netflix to stop reporting subscriber numbersPronation in runners. Implications for injuriesThere’s a New Way to Choose the Right Running ShoeNobel Prize winner admits mistakesRELEVANCE FOR PRODUCT CREATION – 19:43Decision Support SystemGAMING AS A MODEL – 21:57INDIE CONTENT CREATORS AS A MODEL – 23:15Beyond the TrailerOn the Success of XiaomiDON’T PATRONIZE YOUR CUSTOMER – 27:11Edward TuftePop Culture Pulsar1010music BlackboxElektron Octatrack8-bit processor built in MinecraftKAHNEMAN ON CHANGING HIS MIND – 39:16Remembering Daniel KahnemanWEEKLY RECS – 42:27If Books Could KillMasuda Kiribako Rice BinKiyosi Seike: The Art of Japanese JoineryThe Joinery on XCLOSING & PREVIEW – 50:43****Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.CREDITSTheme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.comDrum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Scenius or Genius?
Mar 21 2024
Scenius or Genius?
Musician Brian Eno defined a scenius as “the intelligence of a whole operation or group of people,” in contrast to the classic archetype of the lone genius. We debate scenius vs. genius in the context of product—is one more conducive to innovation than the other?FOLLOW-UPS – 01:42The Mentats in DuneMcDonald's ordering system suffers McFlurry of tech troublesHow Apple Sank About $1 Billion a Year Into a Car It Never Built• Bloomberg (paywall)• Apple News (iOS-only)How “Jobs To Be Done” Can Help You Make, BetterIDEO‘s Three LensesJeff Bezos’ 70% rule (start of page 3)SCENIUS OR GENIUS? – 15:22Yanis Varoufakis & Brian EnoBrian Eno is More Dark Than SharkThe Technium: SceniusHistory of Braun Design: Electric ShaversHistory of Braun Design: Kitchen Appliances“Anfangs war ich für Aicher Luft”The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American InnovationThe Greatest Night in PopDouble Diamond FrameworkThe Myth of the Myth of the Lone GeniusNo more amateur scientistsThe Story Of Miles Davis ‘In A Silent Way’WL Gore: the company others try and fail to imitateWEEKLY RECS – 45:40The Ringer on ‘Halt and Catch Fire’All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Gracepandora’s vox: on community in cyberspace, by humbugCLOSING & PREVIEW – 56:55****Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.CREDITSTheme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.comDrum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
CarPlay or the Highway?
Mar 6 2024
CarPlay or the Highway?
This week, we discuss the tension between integrated in-car UX platforms vs Apple’s CarPlay & Android Auto. When, if ever, does it make sense to give up control of your product experience?FOLLOW-UPS – 02:21Tesler’s Law, aka Conservation of ComplexityTheodore Leavitt on Marketing Myopia@geoffbaron: The difference between PMs & developers@tr3v: No one was ever inspired by a KPICARPLAY OR THE HIGHWAY – 12:20@kirankripakaran on ThreadsEverybody hates GM’s decision to kill Apple CarPlayWe need to talk about digital ownershipBMW re-thinks on-demand servicesCar-seat install bricks new FerrariBang & Olufsen designed its new speaker for a long lifeFramework modular laptopKia Reveals Modular EV Van LineupApple’s next-gen CarPlayMini’s new giant circular OLED on the dashMKBHD: The Kia EV9 is Surprisingly Good!About those kill-switched Ukrainian tractorsIMPLICATIONS FOR PEOPLE MAKING PRODUCTS – 54:07Nassim Nicholas Taleb: AntifragileBezos Wisdom: “Focus on the things that don’t change”WEEKLY RECS – 01:02:00Morgan AeromaxTroubleshooter: Morgan (1990)Troubleshooter: Morgan (2000)Perfect DaysHow Toilets Got a Starring Role in a Wim Wenders MovieKomorebiCLOSING & PREVIEW – 01:11:13(Image: Apple)****Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.CREDITSTheme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.comDrum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
WTF is a Product Manager?
Feb 28 2024
WTF is a Product Manager?
This week, we dive into Ernest's career as a product manager/product marketer and discuss what a product manager does, how to sift meaningful insights from the noise, how to enter the field & much more.FOLLOW-UPS – 02:25Surprised by the Hot Hand Fallacy?Imagined Consumption Reduces Actual ConsumptionI placed too much faith in underpowered studiesWTF IS A PRODUCT MANAGER? – 07:24Ernest’s blog post on this topicWhy The Hidden Risks Of Specialization Help Explain CrisesHow “Jobs to Be Done” Can Help You Make, BetterUNDERSTANDING YOUR CUSTOMER – 12:04THE PRODUCT BRIEF – 21:34Give me the freedom of a tight briefGETTING TO THE WHY – 26:09Coca-Cola “Polar Bowl”CHEERLEADING, MOMENTUM, HONESTY & RISK – 33:32The Greatest Night in PopTHE DREADED ‘CEO PROJECT’ – 39:43WHAT PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT PRODUCT MANAGEMENT – 41:47Sports Product Management at University of OregonHOW TO BECOME A PM – 45:06Kicksology.net—Don’t Call it a ComebackApple Hires Anand Lal ShimpiGoogle hires The Verge’s Deiter BohnArchitecture and design with DamiADVICE TO YOUR 16-YEAR-OLD SELF – 53:22Steve Jobs Secrets of LifeWEEKLY RECS – 55:53BBC ConnectionsThe Greatest Shot in TelevisionSteve Jobs, internal “Chalk Talk” for NeXT, 1991Naim Mu-So 2Andrew Robinson’s review of the Mu-So 2NeXT CubeSteve Jobs intro’s the original iMacCLOSING & PREVIEW – 01:07:53(Image credit: Ernest Kim)****Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.CREDITSTheme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.comDrum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
WTF is an Applied Microeconomist?
Feb 21 2024
WTF is an Applied Microeconomist?
This week, we dive into Joachim's career as an applied microeconomist. What does an applied microeconomist do, how is it relevant to product innovation, how do you enter the field, and much more!FOLLOW-UPS – 01:43Margaret Heffernan: A Bigger PrizeEd Catmull on The Hungry Beast and the Ugly BabyWTF IS AN APPLIED MICROECONOMIST? – 08:44David Hume: “Reason Is and Ought Only to Be the Slave of the Passions”Ariel Rubinstein: Dilemmas of an Economic TheoristKarl Marx: Theses on FeuerbachMechanism DesignTHE ASSUMPTION OF RATIONAL BEHAVIOR – 16:56Game Theory: A Very Short IntroductionHow “Jobs to Be Done” Can Help You Make, BetterMICRO- VS. MACRO-ECONOMICS – 23:58APPLIED MICROECONOMICS & PRODUCT INNOVATION – 28:59Tinker Hatfield, The Georges Pompidou Center & The Air Max 1TEACHING VS. WORKING IN INDUSTRY – 37:16The Perils of Crossing Over From Niche to MainstreamJOACHIM'S PATH TO APPLIED MICROECONOMICS – 42:58Rage Against the Machine, Che Guevara T-ShirtEstimation of a Dynamic Auction GameUrsula K. Le Guin: The DispossessedWHAT PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT ECONOMICS – 47:22Surprised by the Hot Hand Fallacy?Uncertainty in the Hot Hand FallacyBlaming Analytics for the 49ers Super Bowl LossKevin Slavin: How Algorithms Will Shape Our WorldHOW TO BECOME AN APPLIED MICROECONOMIST – 54:48ADVICE TO YOUR 16-YEAR-OLD SELF – 57:35WEEKLY RECS – 01:00:45Tanaka Tatsuya: Miniature & Mitate ArtistTom Coates: How Threads will integrate with the FediverseThe fediverse, explainedCLOSING & PREVIEW – 01:08:48(Image credit: Guillem Casasus for The Financial Times)****Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.CREDITSTheme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.comDrum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Experimentation in Product Innovation
Feb 14 2024
Experimentation in Product Innovation
In this episode, we challenge tech industry dogma around A/B testing & Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), and propose alternatives better suited to today’s post-low interest rate economy.FOLLOW-UPS – 01:41Apple Vision Pros & ConsHow to book a Vision Pro demo at an Apple StoreApple Vision Pro has finally made virtual reality worth itFirst insights about Apple Vision Pro opticsSteve Jobs on the Post-PC EraApple Vision Pro review: magic, until it’s notAnil Dash on Apple Vision ProEXPERIMENTATION IN PRODUCT INNOVATION – 19:43Building a Culture of ExperimentationThe Surprising Power of Online ExperimentsComputers suck now. They run on superstition, not science.CRITIQUE OF THE MVP APPROACH – 25:03Minimum Viable ProductCory Doctorow on the enshittification of platformsPIXAR, BRAINTRUSTS & SAFETY – 33:45The Marginalian reviews Ed Catmull’s Creativity, Inc.Toolbox: How “Jobs to Be Done” Can Help You Make, BetterLIES, DAMN LIES & STATISTICS – 48:24Science has been in a “replication crisis” for a decadeREAL ARTISTS SHIP – 54:21Andy Hertzfeld on the origin story behind this Jobs-ismWEEKLY RECS – 56:52“Onigiri” Rice Balls: Kings of the Convenience StoreHistory of Seven & I HoldingsThe Greatest Night in PopThe story behind “One Love” from Nas’ legendary Illmatic albumCLOSING & PREVIEW – 01:07:20(Image credit: Young Frankenstein / Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp)****Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.CREDITSTheme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.comDrum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
The Perils of Crossing Over from Niche to Mainstream
Feb 8 2024
The Perils of Crossing Over from Niche to Mainstream
We dig into the perils of crossing over from niche to mainstream. How can a brand built on a niche product or service successfully expand its appeal? Should this even be an aspiration?FOLLOW-UPS – 01:24“Low-Resource” Text Classification78% MNIST accuracy using GZIP in under 10 lines of codeMNIST by zipClustering by compressionKolmogorov complexityNormalized compression distanceChatGPT is a Blurry JPEG of the WebLast week’s cover artApple’s LaserWriter Changed Everything (paywall)Adobe, Stability AI & Canva are starting to pay artistsOn Threads @LearnMakeLearnShowTHE PERILS OF CROSSING OVER – 12:23American Fiction’s Big Literary ShowdownSCENE FROM AMERICAN FICTION – 14:27THE CRUX – 16:00Chris Wilcha Talks Gen X AngstHodinkee Cuts a Fifth of Jobs (paywall)Maciej Ceglowski—Barely succeed! It’s easier!PinboardCROSS-SUBSIDIES – 24:42The car that saved Porsche (paywall)Windup Watch FairWhen Movie Stars Become BrandsAdam Curtis InterviewKAIZEN – 29:25What is Kaizen?William Gibson interviewStanley Cup CrazeNintendo CEO’s refusal to layoff staff goes viralFOCUS DOESN'T HAVE TO MEAN SMALL – 36:25WEEKLY RECS – 39:05On Film Grain EmulationThe “baseline” sceneCLOSING & PREVIEW – 44:50(Image credit: Clair Folger/Orion Releasing)****Rant, rave or otherwise via email at LearnMakeLearn@gmail.com or on Threads @LearnMakeLearnShow.CREDITSTheme: Vendla / Today Is a Good Day / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.comDrum hit: PREL / Musical Element 85 / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com