Field notes · software · business · psychology
Knowledge is unevenly distributed.
Hi — I'm Zain Rizvi. I build the infrastructure used by millions of developers around the world. Interested in software engineering, business, or psychology? You're in the right place.
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About me
Hi, I'm Zain Rizvi 👨💻
I build the infrastructure used by millions of developers around the world.
You can usually find me on Twitter or co-hosting The Nonintuitive Bits podcast.
In the past I've helped build
- Microsoft way back
I even worked on Windows when I was a wee lad
- Microsoft Azure then
Microsoft's Azure App Platform
- Google Cloud then
Google Cloud Platform's AI Platform Notebooks
- Stripe then
Infrastructure to run Stripe
- Meta now
Making the infrastructure used to build PyTorch, bringing Machine Learning to the masses
Why I Write ✍
I read a lot. And I mean a LOT. Like, the-librarian-knows-me-by-name a lot. But the cool insights I'd learnt often trickled out of my brain by the next morning.
Then I discovered one trick which kept those ideas fresh: Writing them down
When I wrote them down, not only were the ideas easier to remember but I was also forced to think about them more deeply: "I believe A because B is true....wait, am I sure B is actually true?"
As I wrote them down, it seemed a shame to keep 'em locked away to myself. So I decided to start a newsletter summarizing the best of what I learn.
But isn't everything already on the internet, you ask? There's a funny thing about information:
Most secrets about how the world works aren't secrets, they're just knowledge unevenly distributed.— Patrick McKenzie
Here's to playing a tiny part in distributing knowledge a little more evenly.
Topics
What do I write about? 🤔
I love to read about software engineering, business, and psychology, and how they relate to each other. More specifically, I'm passionate about:
Software Engineering
- Techniques for Engineering Effectively
- Practicing Rapid Experimentation
Personal Psychology
- Introspective Analysis
- Productivity Hacking
Business & Startups
- Business Strategy
- Seeing things from the customer's point of view and solving their actual problems