Top all-time · #2789
Christopher Butler
Personal blog · chrbutler.com · on HN as chrbutlerdesigncultureai
Christopher Butler's personal blog at chrbutler.com covers design, culture and ai. Since 2014, 27 different Hacker News readers have linked it 160 times, most often “Personal Machines and Portable Worlds”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-11-01, and you can follow it by feed.
Too few sampled comments (3) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
Christopher Butler's personal blog on personal computing, objects and craft. Commenters link it for an essay on where personal computing went wrong and a post on a 20-year-old sketchbook.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 3 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Christopher Butler is an interdisciplinary designer writing about design, technology, and the future.
Most-linked posts?
- Personal Machines and Portable Worlds3 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2023-07-15
- Good Design Comes from Looking, Great Design Comes from Looking Away3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2025-05-16
- The Problem with Design Is Designers2 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2021-05-07
- AI is a front for consolidation of resources and power2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2025-11-19
- Not Good Design2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2021-02-12
- AI Is a Boring Technology2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2026-09-23
- Developing Digital Disgust2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2025-04-16
- What I Want from the Internet2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2023-05-07
- Evidence That People Won’t Scroll Doesn’t Exist2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2023-05-20
- The Internet Is a Bad Name2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2021-07-11
What Hacker News says?
Cool people: • https://tracydurnell.com • https://www.benkuhn.net • https://schmud.de • https://brandur.org • https://bytes.zone • https://cassidoo.co • https://www.chrbutler.com • https://sive.rs • https://fasterthanli.me • https://akkartik.name • https://www.todepond.com • https://blog.gingerbeardman.com • https://gwern.net • https://interconnected.org • https://jacobfilipp.com • https://johnnywebber.com • https:/…
Comment linking /
on “Ask HN: Favorite blog in 2024?”Submitted AI is a front for consolidation of resources and power as a story · 545 points
HN discussionThis is a great article & accurate in so many ways. We are lucky to have such great writing & distillation of the times as this; a fine treasure. This pairs very well & adds a lot of context to "What I want from the Internet" [1], which was submitted yesterday & which I am also very aglow over. Both the rise of platforms & the smartphone are tightly interwoven around a new connected axis of computing emerging & bein…
Comment linking /what-i-want-from-the-internet
on “Where Did Personal Computing Go Wrong (2020)”Submitted You Can Be a Great Designer and Be Completely Unknown as a story · 257 points
HN discussionHmm, there is an RSS feed. https://www.chrbutler.com/feed.rss
Comment linking /feed.rss
on “What I Want from the Internet”Submitted In Defense of Text Labels as a story · 243 points
HN discussionedit [snipped re guidelines] i also love wood, and appreciate the craft, craftsmanship, and aesthitics. heres to hoping you get good traction. i just enjoyed this too: object — A 20 Year-Old Sketchbook https://www.chrbutler.com/2023-04-22
Comment linking /2023-04-22
on “This is Why We Keep Objects”Submitted The National Design Studio is a scam as a story · 196 points
HN discussionSubmitted Digital Echoes and Unquiet Minds as a story · 171 points
HN discussionSubmitted What enabled us to create AI is the thing it has the power to erase as a story · 84 points
HN discussionSubmitted Most People Don't Understand How Bad Climate Change Already Is as a story · 76 points
HN discussionSubmitted Facebook isn't necessary as a story · 59 points
HN discussionSubmitted Digital Reality, Digital Shock: Growing Up at the Dawn of Cyberspace as a story · 42 points
HN discussionSubmitted Facebook Is Not Necessary as a story · 39 points
HN discussionSubmitted Personal Machines and Portable Worlds as a story · 35 points
HN discussionSubmitted Want to Resist? Delete Your Facebook Account as a story · 34 points
HN discussionSubmitted The Luddites Were Right as a story · 30 points
HN discussionSubmitted Most Innovation Never Happens as a story · 26 points
HN discussionSubmitted The Internet Isn't for Humans Anymore as a story · 22 points
HN discussionSubmitted Personal Ambient Computing as a story · 21 points
HN discussionSubmitted Is it disruption, or is it theft? as a story · 18 points
HN discussionSubmitted AI Is a Boring Technology as a story · 14 points
HN discussionSubmitted Modern wealth is a parlour game played by the well fed as a story · 12 points
HN discussionSubmitted The Internet Is a Bad Name as a story · 12 points
HN discussionSubmitted Information Won't Change Anyone's Mind as a story · 10 points
HN discussionSubmitted The Last Thing We Need Are Smartphones as a story · 9 points
HN discussionSubmitted In Defense of Screens as a story · 8 points
HN discussionSubmitted The post-screen future does not exist as a story · 7 points
HN discussionSubmitted Your Phone – Yes, Yours – Is Destroying the World as a story · 7 points
HN discussionSubmitted The Best Interfaces We Never Built as a story · 6 points
HN discussion
Linked by the same people?
- R
Random Notesscottnesbitt.online - C
Chuck Carrollchuck.is - P
Paolo Amorosojournal.paoloamoroso.com - G
Gerry McGoverngerrymcgovern.com - L
LibrarianShipwrecklibrarianshipwreck.wordpress.com - M
Matthias Ottmatthiasott.com - I
I’d Rather Be Writing Blog and API doc courseidratherbewriting.com - T
Tom Critchlowtomcritchlow.com