Personal Blog

netherlands

I visited the Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and was struck by how seeing his works together—especially the small Delft landscapes—created a different…

Feb 19, 2023

2022 Readings

arabicintermediateplateau

reading

My reading year in review: 75 books that ranged from gems to middling, with highlights including Hossenfelder on physics and beauty, Ameisen on ML in practice, Delany’s…

Dec 27, 2022

On the interpretability of models

Some reflections on the “black box” problem in deep learning and why neural networks can be difficult to interpret.

May 28, 2021

FastAI Lesson Zero: video notes

My notes from Jeremy Howard’s FastAI Lesson 0 video on how to approach learning deep learning effectively.

May 27, 2021

Getting Out of the Intermediate Language Plateau: Arabic Edition / Principles

Principles for breaking through an intermediate plateau in Arabic language learning, drawn from skill acquisition research and personal experience.

May 26, 2021

Arthur Samuel and the ‘Frontier of Automation’

How machine learning as we know it today traces back to Arthur Samuel’s 1962 essay on automating computers to learn from their experience.

May 26, 2021

Telling Cats from Dogs

software

How neural networks learn to classify images differently than traditional programming, illustrated with a cat vs. dog classification example.

May 26, 2021

Deep Learning: Best in Show?

Specific areas where deep learning has already surpassed human-level performance, from translation and medical imaging to protein folding and game-playing.

Held back by misunderstanding

academia

How theoretical misunderstandings about neural networks held back the field of deep learning for decades.

PDP: a precursor to modern neural networks?

history

Looking back at the foundational PDP work from 1968 and how its eight core principles anticipate what we now call deep learning.

Removing Barriers: Deep Learning Edition

Challenging common myths about what you need to get started with deep learning, and why domain expertise matters more than you’d think.

Rosenblatt’s Mark I Perceptron

I learned about Rosenblatt’s Mark I Perceptron, the 1958 machine that pioneered artificial neural networks and how Minsky and Papert’s critique inadvertently triggered the…

Small, unexpectedly powerful boxes

Why GPUs are the small, powerful boxes powering everything from your screen to deep learning models—and why they’ve been impossible to find.

A basic overview of how to use Handlebars

A basic overview of the Handlebars templating language and how to use it with JavaScript to separate HTML from your code.

Dec 10, 2020

How to use jQuery and Handlebars in your website

A quick guide to including jQuery and Handlebars libraries in your HTML with script tags.

Dec 10, 2020

Using APIs to make things happen on the web

How API calls unlock creative possibilities on the web, and what I learned about the simple text behind so much of our online interaction.

Dec 4, 2020

How events drive programming for the web

How I learned to use events and the DOM to make web pages interactive without full page reloads, and some thoughts on the privacy implications of JavaScript event tracking.

Dec 3, 2020

The Four Positions for Inserting Elements into the DOM

How JavaScript’s four position arguments work for inserting elements into the DOM.

Dec 2, 2020

Different ways of accessing the text contents of DOM nodes in JavaScript

I spent some time unpacking the different properties available on DOM nodes for accessing their text contents, and here’s what I learned about how .textContent, .data…

Nov 14, 2020

Using CSS selectors with JavaScript DOM methods

How I learned to use CSS selectors with JavaScript DOM methods like querySelector and querySelectorAll.

Nov 12, 2020

Turning array-like objects into arrays with JavaScript

How I figured out how to convert array-like objects into actual arrays using Array.prototype.slice.call().

Nov 10, 2020

Understanding the use cases for Closures in JavaScript

How I came to understand why closures are actually useful in JavaScript.

Oct 15, 2020

What is Lexical Scope?

Understanding lexical scope and how nested functions access variables in JavaScript.

Oct 13, 2020

Working with JavaScript’s Object Prototype model

Working through JavaScript’s prototype-based object model and exploring OLOO patterns for encapsulation and private data.

Oct 12, 2020

Sholay

bollywood

film

My thoughts on Sholay after finally watching this classic Indian film—what surprised me about the plot, the songs, and how it holds up today.

Jun 14, 2020

Dil Dhadakne Do

bollywood

film

My thoughts on Dil Dhadakne Do—a Bollywood film about a family cruise that aims for drama and romance but lands somewhere between Titanic and Shakespeare.

Jun 11, 2020

Kapoor & Sons

bollywood

film

My thoughts on Kapoor & Sons, a family drama that captured an unfamiliar corner of India and delivered despite its narrative shortcomings.

Jun 11, 2020

Two Ruby patterns around map and reduce

ruby

Two fundamental patterns for transforming data in Ruby: using map to convert arrays into transformed arrays, and using reduce to combine multiple values into a single result.

Feb 12, 2020

How the Internet Works

Deep dive into the layers and protocols that make the internet function, from physical infrastructure to the application level.

Jan 29, 2020

New book, new ways to order

publishing

I announced a new book by Abdul Hai Mutma’in, a Taliban insider and former political advisor to Mullah Omar, and explained why firsthand accounts like this matter for…

Sep 10, 2019

Mastery-based Learning with Launch School

A podcast episode where I spoke with Chris Lee from Launch School about mastery-based learning and the tradeoffs involved in designing an effective curriculum.

Mar 21, 2019

Sources and Methods Does Technology

I spoke with the creators of RightLobeMath about their online abacus teaching program, and shared what I’ve learned from using their course over the past few months.

Mar 12, 2019

Using Ruby’s .digits method

ruby

I discovered Ruby’s .digits method and explored when it’s actually worth using over simpler alternatives like .to_s.chars.

Feb 25, 2019

Solid Study Habits for Coders

Reflections on study habits I’ve developed while working through a coding bootcamp curriculum, with emphasis on core principles like mastering fundamentals, focusing on…

Feb 16, 2019

Using Ruby’s .zip method to combine arrays

ruby

How I used Ruby’s .zip method to combine two arrays into paired elements.

Feb 13, 2019

Pain: A Love Story

My experience living with chronic pain for the past five years, and what I’ve learned about living in uncertainty without clear answers.

Jan 31, 2019

RaspberryLPIC: A New Series & Setup Steps

Starting a new series working through the LPIC-1 exam using a Raspberry Pi as my learning environment, and the setup steps I took to get it running.

Dec 31, 2018

Earning a certificate in Linux Essentials from LPI

linux

I earned the LPI Linux Essentials certification and here’s what I learned from studying for and taking the exam.

Dec 2, 2018

In Afghanistan, watching someone learn to code for the first time

Reflections on watching someone start learning to code in Kabul, and the challenges of self-teaching computer science in Afghanistan.

Nov 13, 2018

Learn Persian / Farsi / Dari with Podcasts

A guide to learning Persian, Farsi, and Dari through podcasts, with recommendations across different difficulty levels and topic areas.

Nov 7, 2018

Learn Pashto with Podcasts

I returned to studying Pashto after a few years away and compiled a list of podcasts for language learners, since options are limited despite millions of Pashto speakers…

Nov 5, 2018

Using Regex with Python to Find Strings

I worked through regex pattern matching in Python to find strings in my PDF data processing project, and documented the basic syntax for future reference.

Jul 8, 2018

Python Virtual Environments, Testing Environments and Markdown Strikethrough

python

Setting up my Python project with virtual environments, testing considerations, and project structure decisions.

Jun 24, 2018

Real-World Go with Referenced Functions

golang

How I figured out structuring real-world Go projects with functions split across multiple files.

Jun 23, 2018

Splitting PDFs with Python

I built a Python script to split multi-page PDFs into individual single-page files, using PyPDF2 and exploring different approaches to iterate over files in a directory.

Jun 23, 2018

Diagnosing Diabetes with Weka & Machine Learning

I built a diabetes diagnosis classifier using the Pima Indians dataset and Weka, working through a practical machine learning workflow on a classic binary classification…

Jun 18, 2018

Table Tests in Go

testing

golang

How I learned to use table tests in Go to test multiple scenarios against the same function.

Jun 18, 2018

Figuring out the Go testing ecosystem

testing

golang

I worked through Go’s testing tools, learning how to write benchmarks and examples while exploring what works and what doesn’t in the testing ecosystem.

Jun 17, 2018

From AI to to Brahms

Reflections on attending PyLondinium and CogX conferences, and how an evening of classical music provided perspective on what humans uniquely offer.

Jun 13, 2018

My new book: The Taliban Reader

productivity

talibansourcesproject

writing

I published The Taliban Reader, a comprehensive book that brings Taliban studies back to primary sources.

Jun 5, 2018

Machine Learning with Weka

Getting started with machine learning using Weka’s graphical interface, and working through the Titanic dataset from Kaggle to build a foundation in ML workflows before…

Jun 4, 2018

My First Arabic Book Translation

I translated Sami Al-Hajj’s memoirs from Arabic to English—my first major translation work from Arabic, and a project that turned out to be both more challenging and more…

May 6, 2018

Fuzzy Searching and Foreign Name Recognition

How I tackled fuzzy searching and name matching across multiple spellings, particularly for transliterated Afghan names, using approaches like Levenshtein distance and the…

Jan 31, 2018

Tweeting to the Void

How I used a Chrome extension to stop mindlessly scrolling Twitter and reclaim some time.

Jan 25, 2018

Installing PostgreSQL on a Mac

A straightforward guide to installing PostgreSQL on Mac using Postgres.app and setting up psycopg2 for Python integration.

Jan 24, 2018

Making and shuffling lists in Python

Quick reference for useful Numpy functions I discovered for creating and shuffling lists in Python.

Jan 23, 2018

Tabula for extracting table data from PDFs

I discovered Tabula, a tool that extracts table data from PDFs and exports it to formats like CSV and JSON.

Jan 17, 2018

Language Learner’s Journal: Homestay Edition

amman

taylorjournal

How I decided to do a homestay in Amman to push my conversational Arabic skills to the next level.

Oct 20, 2017

Language Learner’s Journal: Phone Calls and Timed Breaks

How taking extended breaks and daily small pauses improved my Arabic learning, and what I gained from spontaneous language practice during time off.

Aug 13, 2017

Spaced Repetition Without Computers

How to use spaced repetition techniques without needing digital tools or apps.

Jun 27, 2017

The book you need to read on bin Laden’s life post-2001

My review of The Exile, a book that finally gives us an intimate look at bin Laden’s life in hiding through accounts from his wives and family members.

Jun 26, 2017

Italian Comprehension: Putting Myself On the Hook

How I’m learning to read Italian in two months using Clozemaster and public accountability.

Jun 22, 2017

Robert Caro’s Big Long Book

urban-planning

What I learned from finally finishing Robert Caro’s million-word biography of Robert Moses.

Jun 19, 2017

How We Forget

Reflections on Emma Jane Kirby’s The Optician of Lampedusa, and how easily we forget the human tragedy unfolding at Europe’s borders.

Jun 4, 2017

Language Learner’s Journal: Meaningful Leisure

incremental-elephant

Reflections on shifting to a third phase of Arabic study focused on making genuine friendships and participating in everyday leisure activities around Amman, rather than…

May 24, 2017

Language Learner’s Journal: Increasing Spoken Fluency

speaking

reading

How I’m working to improve my spoken Arabic fluency through shadowing, reading aloud, and structured practice.

Apr 30, 2017

Guest Post: Can robots be language coaches?

A guest post exploring whether robots can serve as language coaches, inspired by reflections on learner-centered coaching methods and self-directed learning.

Apr 29, 2017

On Reading in Arabic: The Evidence

What ElSaid Badawi’s 1970-1977 study on Arabic reading instruction teaches us about language learning.

Apr 17, 2017

You need to be reading more to get ahead in Arabic

Why reading is essential for Arabic learners, even if your goal is speaking fluency.

Apr 15, 2017

Language Learner’s Journal: Independent Study

coaching

taylorjournal

How I’m approaching independent study in Arabic dialect, from reading unglossed media articles to seeking out immersive experiences beyond the classroom.

Apr 9, 2017

Language Learner’s Journal: Leaving Qasid

Reflections on finishing two-and-a-half months at Qasid Arabic Institute and deciding to shift focus toward studying ammiya dialect in Amman instead.

Mar 20, 2017

Why do Arabic fonts appear so small? (and how to fix it)

Why Arabic fonts appear smaller than English text on websites, and what’s causing this design oversight.

Mar 12, 2017

Audio Courses with Language Transfer

web

A recommendation for Language Transfer, a free audio course that’s great for getting your ear attuned to a new language.

Mar 10, 2017

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Guinea Pigs

I read six guinea pig books in a few days and here’s what I learned from each one.

Mar 6, 2017

Walk Around the Block

A simple trick I’ve been using to stay active while working: taking short walks around the block every 45-60 minutes.

Mar 3, 2017

Three Podcast Recommendations

Three podcast recommendations for expanding your listening habits: science-fiction and technology, American foreign policy behind the scenes, and nuclear security.

Feb 26, 2017

Core Language Learning Beliefs

My core beliefs about language learning that shape how I study and coach others.

Feb 23, 2017

Language Learner’s Journal: Keeping Pace

incremental-elephant

learning

taylorjournal

Reflections on a week of Arabic study highs and lows, and what preparation and confidence taught me about speaking fluently.

Feb 18, 2017

How to learn a language without a teacher

Why teachers aren’t necessary for learning a language, and how to take responsibility for your own learning instead.

Feb 14, 2017

‘Master Arabic’ is Out Today!

I’m releasing my book ‘Master Arabic’ today, along with a comprehensive online resource guide featuring over 300 learning resources.

Feb 13, 2017

Language Learner’s Journal: Deepening My Studies

How I’m deepening my Arabic studies through daily speaking practice and immersive classroom work at Qasid.

Feb 4, 2017

Actual Fluency

I was interviewed on the Actual Fluency podcast, discussing topics like learning spoken versus written Arabic, finding materials for languages with limited resources, and…

Feb 3, 2017

Variations on a Pomodoro

How I adapted the Pomodoro technique for translation work, trading longer focus sessions for shorter cycles that better suit the demands of the task.

Jan 31, 2017

How to learn a page of verbs

My approach to memorizing a page of Arabic verbs by attacking the task from multiple angles—using pronunciation, context, example sentences, and online resources.

Jan 27, 2017

Language Learner’s Journal: Adjustments at the Deep End

My adjustments to studying Arabic intensively—how I’m managing a heavy workload at language school and strategies like Anki cards and grammar resources that help me actually…

Jan 23, 2017

Trello to Markdown: a Chrome extension

I discovered a Chrome extension that exports Trello boards to Markdown and other formats, solving my need to work with hundreds of notes offline.

Jan 17, 2017

Language Learner’s Journal: Introducing Taylor

A freelance journalist documents her journey learning Arabic at an intensive institute in Amman, starting from near-zero and navigating the steep learning curve alongside…

Jan 16, 2017

ClozeMaster: learn words in context

Exploring Clozemaster, a language learning tool that teaches vocabulary through cloze tests based on real sentences from Tatoeba, and why learning words in context is more…

Jan 15, 2017

Master Arabic: Behind the Cover

art

masterarabic

Behind the cover of my new Arabic book—a painting by my mother created after her stroke, and why its story of perseverance resonates with language learning.

Jan 15, 2017

Developing for Android with Udacity

I was awarded a Udacity scholarship to learn Android development and explore building an offline version of my CoachBot language-learning tool.

Jan 13, 2017

Master Arabic: What’s in the Premium Edition?

What’s included in the premium edition of my Master Arabic book—from expert interviews and discount codes to resource lists, cheat sheets, and access to an exclusive…

Jan 12, 2017

10 podcasts to learn about data science and programming

My favorite podcasts for learning about data science and programming, from shows focused on career journeys to deep dives on industry trends.

Jan 11, 2017

Resetting my base line: caffeine edition

productivity

focus

tea

How I realized my caffeine intake had crept up during busy work months, and what I learned about when caffeine helps versus hurts my productivity.

Jan 11, 2017

Classical Arabic and a Sources and Methods Recap

Launching a new classical Arabic literature podcast series with Talha Ahsan exploring Ibn al-Muqafaa’, plus a Sources and Methods bonus episode reflecting on the past year.

Jan 9, 2017

How to best work with a language coach

Tips for getting the most value out of working with a language coach.

Jan 8, 2017

Introducing CoachBot: Your Personal Language Taskmaster

I built CoachBot to solve the choice paralysis I faced when studying intermediate languages—a tool that suggests randomized language-learning tasks based on your current…

Jan 6, 2017

Taskpaper –> Omnifocus

How I copy hierarchical task lists from Taskpaper into Omnifocus using a simple paste trick.

Jan 5, 2017

Randomise Your Learning

study

learning

Why randomising your learning through interleaved practice helps concepts stick better than studying topics in isolation.

Jan 5, 2017

Things We Control: On Internal vs External Goals

Some reflections on distinguishing between internal and external goals, and why focusing on what you actually control leads to better outcomes.

Jan 4, 2017

Everything You Need to Study Jordanian Arabic

My review of the best resources for learning Jordanian Arabic, from textbooks and vocabulary guides to listening materials and comedy shows.

Jan 3, 2017

The ways memory skills augment your life

A conversation with Lynne Kelly about how ancient memory techniques can enhance modern life, drawing from her research into historical monuments and her personal memory…

Jan 2, 2017

Pet Peeve: Tech Switching

A rant about tech writers constantly switching between applications without explaining why, and a plea for more substantive reasoning behind their recommendations.

Jan 2, 2017

New Year, New Arabic-language Podcast

I started a mostly-Arabic-only podcast this year to stay committed to improving my language skills alongside publishing a book on intermediate-advanced Arabic.

Jan 1, 2017

Pre-Order Now: ‘Master Arabic’

Announcing the pre-order for my book on advancing past the intermediate plateau in Arabic, with interviews from educators and students across the region.

Dec 30, 2016

Dinner Party Decision Matrix: A Python Tool

I built a Python tool to solve my dinner party dilemma using weighted decision-making—and learned some valuable lessons about lists, dictionaries, and testing along the way.

Dec 29, 2016

Knot 4: Empathy, Tech Scepticism and Climate Change

Reflections on empathy, technology skepticism, and climate change through a curated selection of articles and books.

Dec 28, 2016

Talking DevonThink with Gabe Weatherhead

I talked with Gabe Weatherhead about his DevonThink workflow and how he’s stepped back from mainstream social media.

Dec 26, 2016

Syria’s Revolution: The First Draft

Reflections on Burning Country, a book about Syria’s revolution told through diverse firsthand accounts and oral histories from those living through the conflict.

Dec 25, 2016

Share the Gift of Language Coaching

business

incremental-elephant

I offer custom language coaching to help you—or someone you’re gift-giving for—finally start or stick with learning a language.

Dec 23, 2016

The Best Books I Read in 2016

My favorite books from 2016, including reflections on reading fewer novels than planned and standout works like A Little Life and Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan series.

Dec 21, 2016

Reading and the American Revolution

My thoughts on a book about George Washington’s reading habits and how they shaped his leadership during the American Revolution.

Dec 21, 2016

Two Charities Needing Your Support

funding

charity

Two charities I think deserve your support right now—CAGE in the UK and the Kabul Mobile Mini-Circus for Children.

Dec 21, 2016

Django vs Flask

Weighing Django vs Flask for building a language tool—comparing their tradeoffs in learning curve, built-in features, and speed to prototype.

Dec 20, 2016

DevonThink Resurgent

Why I’m excited about DevonThink right now — and why Mac users frustrated with Evernote should consider trying it.

Dec 19, 2016

Seeking Python Code Mentor

Looking for a Python code mentor to help guide a web app project involving a frontend, Python backend, and PostgreSQL database.

Dec 18, 2016

Knot 3: Encryption, Race and Tunnels

A roundup of articles on encryption, privacy policy, language funding, and creative responses to geopolitics.

Dec 17, 2016

Into Eternity: the construction of Onkalo’s tunnels

A review of the documentary Into Eternity, which follows the construction of Finland’s Onkalo nuclear waste repository designed to safely contain radioactive material for…

Dec 16, 2016

Broken Pots

An exploration of kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with gold or silver to make them more beautiful than before, and how this philosophy applies to…

Dec 15, 2016

Notification Zero

How I eliminated digital distractions to maintain deep focus during a major project.

Dec 13, 2016

Daddybot

travel

I listened to a podcast episode about how a parent used a telepresence robot to stay connected with his kids while deployed overseas.

Dec 11, 2016

Highlights + DevonThink = Pretty Great

How Highlights streamlined my PDF annotation workflow with DevonThink.

Dec 9, 2016

Knot 2: Translation as Trauma, Taxis and Artificial Intelligence

artificialintelligence

translation

war

conflict

A curated collection of articles on translation and trauma in Syria, taxi disruption in Amman, the colonial origins of .io domains, and the current state of artificial…

Dec 9, 2016

The Two Books Every Intermediate Arabic Student Needs to Read

My recommendation for intermediate Arabic learners: the Arabic Voices series by Lingualism, which uses authentic monologues from across the Arab world to navigate dialect…

Dec 9, 2016

Nutritional Density

Exploring how the concept of nutritional density applies beyond food—to the information we consume and how choosing substantive, timeless content over ephemeral media might…

Dec 8, 2016

The Taliban on the Clintons (May 2000)

Climbing Routes Without Numbers

I climbed an ungraded route at my local gym and rediscovered what I’d been missing about climbing — the simple enjoyment of moving without worrying about the next difficulty…

Reading the Taliban: Himal Magazine article

primarysources

writing

An article I wrote for Himal Magazine in 2014 about understanding the Taliban through their own primary sources—statements, poems, and internal memos—rather than through…

Knot 1: Solitary Confinement & Digital Security

The inaugural post in a recurring feature linking to recent reads—covering solitary confinement in American prisons, AI applications in illegal fishing, data science in…

Positive feedback on my Memory Skills course

Positive feedback I’ve received from users of my Memory Skills course, which teaches memory techniques using the 99 Names of God as a learning framework.

Looking the Wrong Way: Faces in ‘Arrival’

Reflections on how Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival uses close-ups of Amy Adams’ face to create tension and convey spectacle, rather than relying on conventional special effects.

Nov 29, 2016

The Inner Game: How a Perspective Shift Can Radically Improve Your Performance

How a perspective shift and mental reframing can unlock better performance, inspired by W. Timothy Gallwey’s classic sports psychology book.

Nov 23, 2016

Learning a Language? Try a New Approach

A reflection on twenty-five years of language learning and the different approaches I’ve tried—from vocabulary-heavy methods to immersion programs, online courses, and…

Nov 22, 2016

Different Kinds of Climbing

I went climbing at a hall in Kuwait and realized the biggest obstacle for beginners isn’t strength—it’s fear and mental barriers.

Nov 20, 2016

Encrypt Your Dropbox Files

How I encrypted my Dropbox files using Boxcryptor to secure my digital life.

Nov 17, 2016

Kukicha or Twig Tea

tea

I discovered kukicha tea this week and was impressed enough to share what makes it special—a low-caffeine Japanese tea that’s perfect if you want some mental lift without…

Nov 14, 2016

Music, Sound & Technology

Reflections on a Steven Johnson podcast series exploring how technological innovation and cultural shifts have shaped our sonic landscape, with a focus on episode 3’s…

Nov 12, 2016

Squarespace Goes SSL

News on Squarespace offering free SSL for all hosted sites, and why it matters for security and SEO.

Nov 11, 2016

Finishing GMB’s Elements

Completing my eight-week journey through GMB’s Elements training programme and what it’s taught me about balancing pushing and pulling movements alongside climbing.

Nov 5, 2016

Climbing Fuheis: Two and a Half Ascents

movement

climbing

A video from a climbing trip to Fuheis where I completed two and a half ascents and confronted some mental blocks about foot placement and trust, along with some reflections…

Nov 5, 2016

Python Side-Project: Approach

How I’m structuring my Python side-project: building the core functionality as a standalone program first, then adding a web interface later.

Nov 5, 2016

Scratching Below the Surface with David Heinemeier Hansson

Reflections on a podcast interview with DHH on curiosity, learning, systems thinking, and flow.

Oct 30, 2016

A Greener Technological Footprint

Switching from Dreamhost to GreenGeeks to reduce my technological footprint, and what I learned about carbon offsetting in the web hosting industry.

Oct 28, 2016

Kael Weston on Sources and Methods

A podcast episode with Kael Weston discussing his experience living in Fallujah, the importance of language in fieldwork, and U.S. political systems in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Oct 27, 2016

On Completing Udacity’s Intro to Programming Nanodegree

Reflections on completing Udacity’s Introduction to Programming Nanodegree and what I learned along the way.

Oct 24, 2016

Letting Go

climbing

fear

skills

Confronting my fear of falling on the climbing wall, and what I learned about progress not being linear.

Oct 21, 2016

Different Uses for Spaced Repetition

Exploring different applications for spaced repetition beyond vocabulary learning—from remembering birthdays to retaining key insights from books and articles.

Oct 18, 2016

Bots: Part of the Future of Language Learning?

I tried Duolingo’s new Bots feature for language learning and discovered it’s far more limited than the marketing suggested—the conversations run on rails, not free-flowing…

Oct 17, 2016

Fundamentals Versus Hacks

Why fundamentals matter more than productivity hacks, and what actually moves the needle on learning and work.

Oct 16, 2016

Skills Development: Foundations

My notes on Allison Kaptur’s talk about effective learning strategies, covering growth mindset, deliberate practice, and how to approach skill development in unstructured…

Oct 15, 2016

On the demise of afghanistannewscenter.com

research

Keep Moving

climbing

movement

A lesson from rock climbing about the power of momentum: sometimes keeping moving forward is more important than stopping to reflect.

Oct 13, 2016

Seeing The Forest But For The Trees: On Exist.io

How I use Exist.io to make sense of all my fragmented personal data and find patterns across multiple services.

Oct 11, 2016

Coming Soon: The Taliban Reader

talibansourcesproject

taliban-poetry

Announcing The Taliban Reader, a collection of primary sources on the Afghan Taliban compiled over a decade of fieldwork, coming soon from Hurst Publishers.

Oct 5, 2016

Learning Without Seams

Thoughts on learning from others by studying both the polished final results and the visible struggles in between—and why you need both to develop your own craft.

Sep 29, 2016

Sustainable Climbing: Three Book Reviews

I read three climbing books back-to-back and here are my thoughts on what they each brought to the table.

Sep 28, 2016

Lessons Learnt: Language Study Habits That Work

What I’ve learned about the study habits that actually move the needle for language learners, based on coaching dozens of students.

Sep 27, 2016

Turn Off Facebook’s News Feed

How I use the News Feed Eradicator Chrome extension to disable Facebook’s feed and avoid its distractions.

Sep 24, 2016

PhD Tools: Tea

How tea became both a procrastination project and a crucial part of my PhD workflow—finding the right amount of caffeine to sustain long work sessions without overdoing it.

Sep 19, 2016

Coding Chronicles: Failure

udacity

Reflections on hitting a wall while working through Udacity’s data analysis nanodegree—what happens when the difficulty jumps and you can’t seem to break through.

Sep 17, 2016

PhD Tools: Sleep and Movement to Nourish the Body

phd

productivity

movement

How prioritizing sleep and movement helped me maintain focus and productivity during my PhD.

Sep 16, 2016

PhD Tools: Goodreads for Cross-Pollination

How I used Goodreads to track wide reading across unrelated topics during my PhD, and why diverse books were essential to avoid getting trapped in my own narrow research…

Sep 15, 2016

PhD Tools: ‘Always return to your primary sources’

Why returning to primary sources became my go-to strategy for unsticking myself during PhD research and writing.

Sep 14, 2016

PhD Tools: Freewriting and Journalling to Think Through your Work

How freewriting and daily journaling helped me think through research problems during my PhD.

Sep 13, 2016

PhD Tools: Pen and Paper

Why pen and paper became essential to my PhD process, and how working without constant internet connectivity forced me to think differently about problems.

Sep 13, 2016

PhD Tools: Vitamin-R and the Pomodoro Technique for Getting Going

How I used the Pomodoro Technique and Vitamin-R to build focused work sessions during my PhD.

Sep 12, 2016

PhD Tools: The Secret to Finishing Your PhD

How I finished my PhD by adopting a four-hour daily writing routine inspired by Cal Newport’s Deep Work.

Sep 9, 2016

Starting the Spaced Repetition Foundation

I discovered spaced repetition and decided to build a system around it to improve how I learn and retain information.

Sep 8, 2016

PhD Tools: Omnifocus for Managing your Non-PhD Life

How I use OmniFocus and the Getting Things Done system to manage all the non-PhD tasks that pile up during a PhD.

Sep 7, 2016

PhD Tools: Backup Systems for Staving off Sadness

The backup systems I used during my PhD to avoid losing years of work—and why redundancy matters.

Sep 6, 2016

PhD Tools: Turn Off the Internet with Freedom

I used Freedom to block the internet during dedicated writing time while working on my PhD.

Sep 5, 2016

Svifnökkvinn minn er fullur af álum: Lessons in Icelandic

How I started learning Icelandic and what makes its pronunciation and grammar so notoriously difficult.

Sep 4, 2016

PhD Tools: RescueTime for Time Tracking

My experience using RescueTime to track my productivity during my PhD—how passive time tracking helped me stay honest about how much work I was actually getting done.

Sep 2, 2016

Existential Battles: Climbing in Amman

How I’ve been using climbing to push past my comfort zone and confront my lifelong fear of heights.

Sep 2, 2016

PhD Tools: Mellel for Layout and Final Presentation

Why I used Mellel for formatting my PhD thesis—what made it stand out from Word and Pages for handling complex documents with multiple languages and bibliographies.

Sep 1, 2016

PhD Tools: Bookends for Managing References

How I used Bookends to manage 479 references during my PhD and avoid formatting headaches at submission time.

Aug 31, 2016

PhD Tools: Scrivener for Writing Long Things

How I used Scrivener to manage the structure and word count of my PhD thesis.

Aug 30, 2016

PhD Tools: Save your web links with Pinboard

How I used Pinboard to save and search through thousands of web links during my PhD research.

Aug 29, 2016

PhD Tools: DevonThink for File Storage and Discovery

How I used DevonThink to organize and discover patterns across the hundreds of PDFs I accumulated during my PhD research.

Aug 26, 2016

PhD Tools: Think better with Tinderbox

How I used Tinderbox to organize notes and think through complex ideas during my PhD research.

Aug 25, 2016

PhD Tools: Visualise Structure and Kanban Flow with Trello

How I used Trello to organize my PhD chapters and track my writing progress through the drafting process.

Aug 24, 2016

Walking with Words

How I got back to walking regularly by pairing afternoon strolls with podcasts and audiobooks.

Aug 23, 2016

PhD Tools: Beeminder

How I used Beeminder to stay accountable on my PhD writing goals through financial commitment.

Aug 22, 2016

Learn all the districts of Afghanistan with Anki!

I created an Anki deck to learn all the districts of Afghanistan, with audio pronunciation and a manageable daily schedule.

Aug 21, 2016

Walking Amman

Exploring why Google Maps fails as a navigation tool in Amman and considering data science solutions to account for the city’s topography.

Aug 19, 2016

Jordan Diaries: Start with Geography

Starting with geography to get oriented in Jordan—learning the governorates and their capitals as a foundation for understanding conversations and information.

Aug 18, 2016

Remove Your Colour

A simple trick for resisting digital distraction: switch your devices to grayscale and remove the color that apps and websites use to keep you hooked.

Aug 18, 2016

On Learning New Skills, #showyourwork and other housekeeping

Reflections on learning new skills and expanding literacy in data science, statistics, and Python—and the practical challenges that come with it.

Aug 15, 2016

Chondrichthyan Fun: a review of Shark MOOC

My reward to myself while waiting for my PhD viva: a review of an edX course on shark biology, ecology, and conservation.

Jul 24, 2016

How to become a memorisation and language ninja

Announcing two new projects: an email course on memorization techniques using the 99 Names of God as the learning material, and one-on-one coaching for language learning and…

May 25, 2016

Reading the Afghan Taliban: 67 Sources You Should Be Studying

talibansourcesproject

primarysources

documents

A curated list of 67 sources for understanding pre-2001 Afghan Taliban history, including books, reports, and primary source collections I relied on during my PhD research.

Dec 26, 2015

The Best Books I Read in 2015

My year of reading 150 books—what I learned about my habits and what I’m changing for 2016.

Dec 16, 2015

‘Obedience to the Amir’, or how the Afghan Taliban govern

pakistan

publishing

I published a translated volume of ‘Obedience to the Amir’, a primary source document that Mullah Omar distributed to visitors as the essential guide to how the Taliban…

Nov 29, 2015

On Untangling Syria’s Socially Mediated War

Reflections on a USIP study about monitoring Syria’s conflict through social media, and what gets lost when researchers only track English-language sources.

Nov 22, 2015

Upcoming Maniac Week

Announcing my commitment to a maniac week—an intensive work sprint where I’ll focus on my PhD dissertation for 7 days straight, with strict rules around sleep, offline time…

Nov 15, 2015

Misquoting Mohammad meets Sources & Methods

islam

An interview with Jonathan Brown on the Sources & Methods podcast discussing authority and sourcing in Islamic tradition, his approach to choosing examples for his books…

Nov 8, 2015

Vanishing Interest in Afghanistan

Why international interest in Afghanistan has steadily declined since 2009.

Nov 1, 2015

Four Colours

How I use a four-colour pen system to take more meaningful handwritten notes.

Oct 13, 2015

Taliban public punishments, 1996–2001

A compilation of 101 documented incidents of Taliban public punishments between 1996–2001, compiled from news archives and cross-referenced sources to provide context for…

Sep 24, 2015

Ecolinguism and the ethics of learning new languages

media

Reflections on ecolinguism and the ethics behind which languages we choose to learn, discussed through an interview about language study and community building.

Sep 18, 2015

Sources and Methods: Back for Season 2

Announcing the return of the Sources & Methods podcast for season 2, with a new episode featuring Will McCants discussing his book on ISIS, policy versus academia, and the…

Sep 9, 2015

How to Survive Middlebury’s Arabic Summer School Programme

Practical tips and reflections on my experience attending Middlebury’s eight-week intensive Arabic summer programme, including how to make the most of the language pledge…

Sep 2, 2015

AFP covers the Taliban Sources Project

Media coverage of my Taliban Sources Project after the British Library declined to host our digitized collection of Afghan Taliban documents.

Aug 28, 2015

Arabic Language Update: I did it! (Almost)

How I prepared for an intensive Arabic language course by logging 100 hours of study in June, using iTalki lessons, podcasts, and extensive reading to refresh skills I…

Jun 7, 2015

How I use Goodreads to pick what I read

How I use Goodreads to pick what I read, sorting my reading list by average rating to balance challenging books with more accessible ones.

Mar 21, 2015

Apocalypse Then: a short review of Filiu’s ‘Apocalypse in Islam’ (2011)

islam

apocalypse

My thoughts on Jean-Pierre Filiu’s history of apocalyptic ideas in Islamic discourse, from the Qur’an through 2011, and what his account reveals—and omits—about how these…

Feb 25, 2015

North Waziristan: A Reading List

I compiled a reading list of English-language sources on North Waziristan, focusing on factual accounts of names, dates, places and events rather than analysis alone.

Dec 31, 2014

Some Books and Other Things from 2014

My year reading 117 books, and some reflections on what I learned from tracking my reading habits and favorite discoveries along the way.

Dec 22, 2014

New book: An Educator’s Tale

I helped launch a publishing house with Felix Kuehn, and our first book is out—an oral history of Sharif Fayez, an Afghan educator who shaped higher education in the country…

Dec 10, 2014

Note-Taking Jujitsu, Or How I Make Sense Of What I Read

My approach to note-taking when reading books, especially the challenges that came with early digital formats and how I’ve worked through them.

Oct 24, 2014

Sources & Methods: Podcast Follow-Up

A follow-up on the fifth episode of my podcast with Matt Trevithick, featuring an interview with Mark Bernstein about note-taking, thinking, and the tools we use to organize…

Oct 23, 2014

Our First Publication: ‘I Am Akbar Agha’, Memoir of a Taliban Insider

Announcing the publication of our first book, a memoir by Taliban insider Akbar Agha spanning from 1980s Afghanistan through the fall of the Islamic Emirate and beyond.

Sep 16, 2014

Sources & Methods, or why I started a podcast

Why I started a podcast called Sources & Methods with Matt Trevithick, and what we’re hoping to do with it.

Sep 7, 2014

An Ankified Urdu Frequency Dictionary

pakistan

I created an Anki deck from a 1969 Urdu frequency dictionary, complete with audio pronunciations for nearly 10,000 words.

Sep 5, 2014

Two new co-authored reports on Afghanistan

Two reports I co-authored on Afghanistan have just been published—one with Felix Kuehn for Chatham House on political settlement beyond Taliban talks, and another as expert…

Aug 9, 2014

How to learn a language to fluency: interview with Gabe Wyner

I interviewed Gabe Wyner about his method for learning languages to fluency, covering spaced repetition, mnemonics, and tools like Anki and Lang-8.

Aug 5, 2014

The Best Books I Read in 2013

My favorite books from 2013, ranging from Afghanistan history and literary fiction to unexpected reads about conservation and thought-mapping.

Dec 27, 2013

Taliban Time Travel, or How Our Understanding Is Almost Always Two Years Old

Reflections on why our understanding of Taliban dynamics lags years behind what’s actually happening on the ground.

Sep 23, 2013

Book of the Week: ‘Al-Shabab in Somalia’

somalia

My review of Al-Shabab in Somalia, a concise history of the group that draws surprising parallels to Afghanistan’s Taliban.

Jul 20, 2013

Translators Sought – Job Opening

uncategorized

Hiring translators for a year-long archive translation project converting Pashto and Dari newspapers and magazines into English.

Apr 20, 2013

Learning to Code

My suggestions for getting started with programming languages, with resources for learning Python and Ruby.

Feb 4, 2013

Following Pakistan’s Elections

pakistan

A journalist’s daily newsletter tracking Pakistan’s summer elections, featuring headlines from multiple news sources and candidate profiles.

Jan 22, 2013

ISAF’s First Fifteen Days

I analyzed ISAF press releases to compare operation and casualty data across the first fifteen days of January in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Jan 15, 2013

A Jedi-Mind Trick and Three Other Approaches to Learning Vocabulary

Four approaches to learning vocabulary, including the memory palace technique and word association strategies I’ve found effective.

Jan 13, 2013

Five Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Learning Languages

study

Reflections on what I wish I’d known about language learning, based on years of studying Arabic, Farsi, Pashto, and other languages.

Jan 7, 2013

Useful Tools: Pinboard

An overview of Pinboard, the bookmarking service I use to archive everything I read online, plus two recent examples of how I’ve put it to use.

Jan 2, 2013

Some Things I Read

Some books and longform pieces I read in 2012, including essays on jihadi thought, Taliban history, and Pakistani politics.

Dec 29, 2012

Catching Up: Poetry of the Taliban

I co-edited a collection of translated Taliban poetry with Felix Kuehn, and it sparked quite a bit of debate about the value of publishing these cultural artifacts.

Dec 22, 2012

Catching Up: An Enemy We Created

Updates on the release and reception of my book An Enemy We Created, including positive reviews and speaking engagements at universities where it’s being used as required…

Dec 16, 2012

Catching Up: AAN Report on ISAF Night Raids

I co-authored a report with Felix Kuehn analyzing ISAF’s night raids and other operations based on their press releases, published by the Afghanistan Analysts Network in…

Dec 10, 2012

Writing the history of the Taliban movement

uncategorized

Reflections on the gaps in Taliban historiography and why a definitive history of the movement remains to be written.

Nov 26, 2012

talibantwitterfight: The News Story That Wasn’t

How media coverage of the Taliban’s Twitter presence got the facts wrong, and why the Senate’s concern about it didn’t make sense.

Dec 28, 2011

Entropy and insurgent radicalisation: an ISAF goal?

Reflections on the fragmentation of the Afghan insurgency and what the Taliban’s eroding control over affiliated groups reveals about the conflict’s underlying political…

Dec 7, 2011

Vietnam’s Kill-Capture Raids

I examined Mark Moyar’s account of the Phoenix program and Vietnam’s targeted raids on insurgent cadres, drawing parallels to modern counterinsurgency operations in…

Sep 19, 2011

Those ‘40 al-Qaeda insurgents’…

A critical examination of how ISAF press releases inflate al-Qaeda numbers in Afghanistan, with analysis of military operations tallied against the actual evidence presented…

Sep 13, 2011

An Appeal for Funding

phd

An appeal for funding to translate and digitize a comprehensive collection of Taliban documents spanning from the 1980s to present day.

Aug 20, 2011

ISAF Press Release Word Clouds

phd

Word clouds showing the most frequently used terms in ISAF press releases from November 2009 through May 2011, broken down by time period.

May 17, 2011

More data on ‘Kill-Capture’ Raids

I broke down ISAF press release data into individual incidents to show that while the number of releases decreased, the actual count of kill-capture operations remained high.

May 16, 2011

Kandahar Prison Escape: the Taliban’s Tale

Translations of two articles from the Taliban’s Al-Somood magazine detailing their account of the 2011 prison escape from Kandahar’s Sarpoza jail, including background on…

May 15, 2011

TalQaeda: the Timeline

A timeline tracking the relationship between the Taliban and al-Qaeda, compiled from research for a book on the topic.

May 13, 2011

The Afghan Taliban react to bin Laden’s death

Analyzing the Afghan Taliban’s cautious response to bin Laden’s death and what their non-committal statement reveals about their position.

May 3, 2011

The Petraeus Effect

I analyzed ISAF press releases quantitatively to examine trends in how military operations were reported, particularly around night raids and detentions during the Petraeus…

May 1, 2011

‘The Kill Team’

Reflections on the Kill Team controversy, with recommended books on soldier experiences in Afghanistan and Vietnam.

Apr 3, 2011

Afghanistan’s Child Soldiers

A photo and reflection on child soldiers in Afghanistan’s security forces, following a New York Times investigation.

Jan 30, 2011

Helmand Refugee Appeal Update - Distribution Day

An update on the Helmand refugee appeal, including details from the distribution day when donations were delivered to displaced families living in camps in Kabul.

Jan 21, 2011

‘An Enemy We Created’: the website

I launched the website for An Enemy We Created, a book I co-authored with Felix Kuehn about US involvement in Afghanistan.

Jan 10, 2011

UPDATED: An Appeal

A call to action on behalf of Afghan refugees displaced by conflict in Helmand province, with details on how to help those living in camps near Kabul.

Dec 28, 2010

Deedee Derksen picks her 2010 books

Deedee Derksen shares her favorite books from 2010, including autobiographies by Keith Richards and Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, biographies of Somerset Maugham and Patricia…

Dec 22, 2010

Real People as Agents

Reflections on historical agency and why attributing change to abstractions rather than real people obscures what’s actually happening—especially when discussing ideology…

Dec 22, 2010

The Best Books of 2010 (UPDATED)

My favorite books of 2010, including long-form journalism and nonfiction works on the Middle East and beyond, plus recommendations from friends.

Dec 18, 2010

Open Letter: The Response (UPDATED)

Tracking the media coverage and response to an open letter I co-signed to President Obama about Afghanistan, along with reprints, commentary from signatories, and news…

Dec 14, 2010

An Open Letter to President Obama

I added my name to an open letter to President Obama about the unsustainable course of the war in Afghanistan, signed by academics, experts, and NGO workers.

Dec 11, 2010

No Comment: McChrystal and Petraeus

Reflections on Stanley McChrystal and David Petraeus, two influential military commanders and their impact on counterinsurgency strategy.

Dec 5, 2010

Taliban Realism over the September 11 Attacks

A shift in Taliban acknowledgment of al-Qaeda’s role in the September 11 attacks, based on an interview with former Taliban Ambassador Mawlawi Abdul Salam Zaeef.

Nov 26, 2010

Foreign fighters down south?

Questioning claims about the number of foreign fighters in southern Afghanistan made in a Sunday Times article.

Nov 23, 2010

Petraeus, Lisbon and the Great PR Push

My thoughts on the messaging around the Lisbon NATO meeting and the upcoming December Strategic Review, and what General Petraeus is trying to make us believe about…

Nov 22, 2010

‘Fly Freely’ - Afghan Women’s Poetry

poetry

I’m republishing translations of poems by Afghan poet Nadia Anjuman, whose work explores resilience and beauty amid hardship.

Nov 13, 2010

Marie Colvin in Kandahar for the Sunday Times

A critical reading of Marie Colvin’s reporting from Kandahar, examining what her account of Taliban violence gets right and what it misses about the city’s assassination…

Nov 7, 2010

Irish Parallels

Reflections on lessons from the Irish conflict while reading about Northern Ireland’s political history and strategy.

Jul 7, 2010

Hope Is Not A Strategy

Reflections on reading an article about Afghanistan’s peace prospects and why hope-based thinking, without concrete strategy, falls short.

Jul 3, 2010

Kandahar Timeline 1979-2010

A comprehensive timeline of events in Kandahar from 1979 to 2010, compiled from various research projects and presented using Tinderbox.

Jun 21, 2010

On Experts

A reflection on expertise, prompted by Joe Alex Morris’s warning to John Cooley about claiming authority on the Middle East.

May 22, 2010

Kandahar Portraits

I finally finished a long-form piece about Kandahar that got published in The National’s weekend supplement.

May 14, 2010

From ‘Ghazal’ by Shin Gul Aajiz

taliban-poetry

Sharing lines from a Ghazal poem by Shin Gul Aajiz that I’m editing for a collection with Felix, spanning love, politics, and other themes from Taliban-era poetry.

May 1, 2010

Kandahar Chronology (September 2001-October 2009)

I compiled a chronology of significant events in Kandahar province from September 2001 to October 2009, sourced primarily from the New York Times archives and…

Apr 29, 2010

Ask the Scholars: when and where was Mullah Mohammad Omar born?

I compiled conflicting scholarly accounts of Mullah Mohammad Omar’s birthdate and birthplace, ranging across a 15-year span and multiple locations in Afghanistan.

Apr 26, 2010

New(ish) Kandahar Blogs

A roundup of three blogs posting from Kandahar worth following for on-the-ground perspectives from the region.

Apr 25, 2010

Jere van Dyk’s ‘Captive’

A review of Jere van Dyk’s memoir about being captured by the Taliban in 2008, with particular interest in his deep knowledge of Afghan tribal dynamics from his earlier work…

Apr 24, 2010

Kandahar’s Electricity Problems

My thoughts on the debate over quick-fix generator programs versus sustainable electricity solutions in Kandahar, and why delivering reliable power matters more than the…

Apr 23, 2010

Mullah Omar captured?

Discussing rumors about the capture of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in Karachi.

Apr 19, 2010

Kandahar Survey

I share my thoughts on a survey of Kandahar Province, noting its findings on corruption and insecurity while questioning its methodology and timeliness.

Apr 18, 2010

‘So how is it?’

Personal reflections on the deteriorating security situation in Kandahar, where people I know were caught in or affected by recent attacks.

Apr 16, 2010

Civilian Casualties from Zheray

Reporting on a bus attack by NATO troops on the Herat-Kandahar road and documenting civilian casualties at Kandahar hospitals.

Apr 12, 2010

Hearts and Minds

Reflections on power outages in Kandahar and the disconnect between infrastructure needs and counterinsurgency priorities, plus observations on local rumors and religious…

Apr 12, 2010

overheardinkandahar

Overheard warnings from a businessman in Kandahar City about an impending crisis and the choices people face.

Apr 12, 2010

Back Home

Reflections on returning to Kandahar after two months away and finding the security situation significantly deteriorated, along with the research and reading I’m diving into…

Apr 11, 2010

Real People, Real War

A reminder that behind the headlines of military strategy in Afghanistan are real people suffering the human cost of war.

Feb 8, 2010

FT does Kandahar

uncategorized

Thoughts on a Financial Times article about a key power broker in Kandahar, and what the reporter missed about Amir Mohammad Agha’s connection to Mullah Omar.

Feb 5, 2010

John Nagl and ‘the future of counterinsurgency’

Reflections on John Nagl’s lecture on counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, and where his US military perspective diverges from lived experience on the ground.

Feb 2, 2010

‘Talking to Terrorists’

Reflections on a book about negotiating with armed groups in Northern Ireland and the Basque Country, and what lessons it might offer for current policy discussions around…

Jan 30, 2010

Presenting Mullah Zaeef

Upcoming presentations in the UK and USA for my book with Felix Kuehn, including talks at SOAS, LSE, the Brookings Institution, and Harvard.

Jan 13, 2010

Staying Apart

travel

Reflections on the physical, linguistic, and institutional distances that separate foreign forces, journalists, and aid workers from the people of southern Afghanistan.

Jan 8, 2010

5 Books Everyone Should Read About Afghanistan

Five book recommendations for understanding Afghanistan, chosen for anyone preparing to work or travel there.

Jan 1, 2010

New Year, New Website