I meant to share this on April first, but I had too much stuff lined up, but I still think it’d be nice to have this here. Consider this my love letter to paper, the gold standard for malleable systems!
Software must be as easy to change as it is to use it.
So many features of the paper can be played with, the size, color and the folding, that it’s near impossible to recognize some of the shapes paper systems can take. Very little more than a pencil is needed to operate paper, and if origami tells us anything, is that maybe even the pencil can be done away with. It’s quite safe to operate, other than the occasional papercut.
All layers, from the user interface through functionality to the data within, must support arbitrary recombination and reuse in new environments
Paper can be expanded with an endless collection of mechanical tools. And new tools can be created out of paper itself, like how a blacksmith might craft new metal tools to make possible the craft of blacksmithing.
Tools should strive to be easy to begin working with but still have lots of open-ended potential
Paper can easily emulate computers, but computers cannot emulate paper. They can hold the knowledge required to expand on the content it holds, the accessibility of the operation required from the user varies, but even to a blind person, textured paper might remain usable.
People of all experience levels must be able to retain ownership and control
Nomographic methods can give deep insight into how systems we take for granted works. There are no DRMs or dependencies(unless some information is spread across multiple instances of the medium)
Recombined workflows and experiences must be freely sharable with others
Paper is cheap, and can be transcribed or even photocopied, making the knowledge it records easily transmissible. Uses no power, and if protected from weather, will hold on to what it holds for a LONG TIME.
Modifying a system should happen in the context of use, rather than through some separate development toolchain and skill set
Sometimes evaluating a program(or just checking off items from a todo list) infer physical changes to the medium with the same tool the medium was created with.
Computing should be a thoughtfully crafted, fun, and empowering experience
Ending note, I think we haven’t even begun scratching the surface of what can be done with paper